Knight Fellowships to emphasize innovation

t's not the same old story, not in journalism and not at the Knight Fellowships program. Beginning with the 2009-10 fellowship year, the program will put a new emphasis on journalistic innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership.

The program is transforming itself in order to serve the needs of journalism and journalists as much in the years ahead as it has in the past. The dizzying landscape of layoffs and consolidation, Internet media sites, citizen journalism and bloggers make journalism a chaotic and exciting proposition today. We are making bold changes to meet these new realities.

The changes will build on the excellence of the Knight Fellowships program to create an enhanced fellowship experience and to generate benefits that go beyond the individual Fellow. Changes in the program will enable Fellows who embrace the challenges facing journalism to focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership. The bedrock goal remains the same: promoting excellence in journalism.
What's changing

* The program will focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership to foster high quality journalism during a time of profound transformation.
* Given the emphasis on innovation, the program will expect Fellows to come to Stanford with a coherent proposal that will lead to a tangible result.
* Fellows will embody a broader range of experience, media and skills, both in the U.S. and abroad.
* The program welcomes applications from all qualified international journalists, but will pay particular attention to international journalists who can have a direct impact on the development of a free press and flow of information in their countries.
* The program will rely more on Stanford faculty and regional resources, specifically including the rich pool of innovation and entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley.
* The program will enlist Knight Fellowship alumni more directly in the program and in the improvement of journalism.

Click on the headline to read the Foundation news release.