AKRON, Ohio (Jan. 13, 2010) – Akron Community Foundation has announced its plans to strengthen Akron’s digital footprint by launching a new digital media academy, which will train community members to become citizen journalists in the first local project of its kind. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will support the project with a $350,000 grant, with the ultimate goal of connecting residents at the neighborhood level while promoting digital literacy throughout greater Akron.
Academy leaders will equip citizens with the tools and training they need to tell their stories through videos, news reports, blogs and visual design projects. Students of all ages will learn to express themselves by producing relevant, local content using such new technologies as mobile media players, digital video cameras and editing software. Students also will learn basic journalism tenets and Web-broadcasting skills.
The project leverages the talent of existing media and technology resources in the community. The University of Akron's Information Technology Services department will lend technical expertise to the project and the Akron Beacon Journal will provide space on its Web site, Ohio.com, to host a user-generated, open-application portal through which citizens can upload content for broadcast.
Staff members from the Akron Beacon Journal will serve as curriculum advisers for the academy, sharing their journalistic expertise, business experience and strong community presence. Using Ohio.com as a platform allows the new digital media academy to reach a large segment of the Akron community through an existing, well-maintained online infrastructure.
“The Beacon Journal and Ohio.com are ready to provide infrastructure and support so the dollars secured through this grant may be spent on the core mission of citizen journalist training, social networking, arts and entertainment, making the digital media academy unique and useful to our many communities,” said Beacon Journal Publisher Andrea Mathewson. “As Summit County’s oldest continually operated business, the Beacon Journal brings credibility, expertise and experience that will move this project from the seed of an excellent idea to bear the fruit of long-term sustainability for Akron and its communities.”
Project coordinators expect the portal to become a hub for neighborhood news, locally produced videos, student art projects, social networking, sports and business information, and more. Local residents will be able to tap into the portal using their mobile phones, computers and other emerging technologies.
The project will take advantage of the new downtown wireless corridor to keep residents plugged into their community and introduce traditional media users to the advantages of digital technology. In its early stages, the project will be piloted by such groups and organizations as the Akron Police Department, the Akron Art Museum and the University Park neighborhood – a hub of downtown activity near the University of Akron.
“Akron Community Foundation is thrilled to launch this new media academy that will promote civic engagement and help democratize information in greater Akron,” said foundation President and CEO John T. Petures Jr. “This project will position Akron as a leader in the digital media field and help build local talent.”
Said Trabian Shorters, Knight Foundation’s vice president for communities: “Information is as important to a thriving democracy as clean air, jobs and schools. As leaders, local foundations are taking the initiative to meet those information needs. This project and others like it help ensure that everyone has the information necessary to make decisions about their governments and their lives.”
In developing the project, Akron Community Foundation partnered with four local journalism and technology professionals. Partners include writer, editor and Web publisher Chris Miller; video producer Blue Green; new media specialist Todd Volkmer; and multimedia communications specialist Joanne Green. All are Akron-area residents with extensive experience in digital media.
Akron Community Foundation has committed to the project $100,000 of its own funds, which will be combined with the Knight Foundation grant for a total of $450,000. The foundation applied for the grant last year as part of the Knight Foundation’s Knight Community Information Challenge. The challenge is a five-year, $24 million initiative to help community and place-based foundations find creative ways to use new media and technology to keep residents informed and engaged.
In Akron, the grant will facilitate the collaboration of media users from every corner of the community, from artists and school groups to theater organizations and the local government.
“We are in the middle of an information renaissance,” Petures said. “As more people become digitally literate, the depth and quality of communication in Akron will increase exponentially.”
About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 54 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation is a $120 million philanthropic endowment with a growing family of more than 320 funds. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the foundation, which works to improve the quality of life in Greater Akron. It accepts charitable gifts and bequests from individuals, families, organizations and corporations committed to making a difference in the community for generations to come. To date, the foundation and its funds have awarded more than $82 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. To learn more about Akron Community Foundation, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.akroncommunityfdn.org.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote community engagement and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.
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Media Contacts:
- Tina Boyes, Akron Community Foundation, Vice President, Communications
Phone: 330-376-8522, E-mail: tboyes@akroncommunityfdn.org - Marc Fest, Knight Foundation, Vice President, Communications
Phone: 305-908-2677, E-mail: fest@knightfoundation.org
