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The media becomes an activist for democracy
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July 22, 2013, 2:06 p.m.

Alberto Ibargüen, president of Knight Foundation, made some comments about the history and strategy of their philanthropy around news innovation at the MIT-Knight Civic Media conference a few weeks ago. We wrote about it:

But the big news is what Knight Foundation CEO Alberto Ibargüen just said here in Cambridge at the opening morning of the 2013 MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference. He asked openly for ideas on what the future of the News Challenge should be, because, as he put it, “It may be finished. It may be that, as a device for doing something, it may be that we’ve gone as far as we can take it.”

Today, Knight released a report on their funding strategy that highlights the importance of framing grants around competition and contests. It’s the first in a series that suggests Knight is heading further down the path of introspection, trying to hone in on what makes for the most impactful giving. Here’s the gist:

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The media becomes an activist for democracy
“We cannot be neutral about this, by definition. A free press that doesn’t agitate for democracy is an oxymoron.”
Embracing influencers as allies
“News organizations will increasingly rely on digital creators not just as amplifiers but as integral partners in storytelling.”
Action over analysis
“We’ve overindexed on problem articulation, to the point of problem admiring. The risk is that we are analyzing ourselves into inaction and irrelevance.”