Tools
Platforms. There are a number of online platforms with which developers build Web sites. The platforms are often similar; it's important to see whether a platform has features your project needs. Many are open-source, which means the underlying code and instructions are public and developers can modify them to suit a particular project. Open-source products often have robust support communities that share information and development advice.
These are widely used tools:
Drupal. This site and Knight Pulse are built with Drupal. The community news site Hartsfield Today also runs on Drupal. Knight is supporting improvements to this platform with the Knight Drupal Initiative. In addition, a subscription package that includes key Drupal features including blogs, wik, community form, social networks, ratings and voting is available from Acquia.
Ruby on Rails. The Knight News Challenge project Spot.Us is built with Ruby.
Django. The Knight News Challenge project News Mixer is built with Django.
Populous Project. This Knight News Challenge project has created an open-source platform that features calendar, photo and video uploads and blogging. It is tailored to collegiate and small town news organizations. The project envisions improvements that will help editors and reporters communicate and organize content from remote locations.