This year’s Knight News Challenge deadline is December 1st. If you have an innovative idea about disseminating community news online, now is the time to apply for this Chicago Community Trust-managed grant competition.
Yesterday, I asked why the Chicago Community Trust’s recently announced ‘Community News Matters’ grant awards seem to ignore the future sustainability of online local news. It turns out there may be a reason for that.
Today, the Chicago Community Trust announced the recipients of its Community News Matters grant awards, aimed at spurring innovation in Chicago’s online local news sector. The recipients list reads like a who’s who of the Chicago community news scene. But it takes a lot of reading between the lines to find any evidence of long-term sustainability for the winning projects.
On the last Saturday in August, I and two dozen other bloggers from across Chicago got together for the C-BOM: Community Blogging & Online Media meetup at the Tribune Tower in downtown Chicago. We arrived to discuss ways to make local blogging financially sustainable.
As initially reported on Gapers Block, the Windy City’s leading independent local news website, Chitown Daily News, has laid off its reporting staff and is shutting down, to re-tool as a for-profit venture. The surprise news comes in the wake of the C-BOM bloggers meetup called last month to discuss ways to make financial ends meet on the local blogosphere.