The following hyperlocal media projects were selected as the New Voices grant winners for 2009:
GrossePointeToday.com — A collaborative effort between Wayne State University and University of Michigan-Dearborn to cover Detroit’s five Grosse Pointes.
Oakland Local — Covering multiple communities in Oakland, Calif., “with a focus on environment, climate, transportation, housing, local government and community activism.”
Backyard News — Four to six independently owned websites that will cover communities in Harrisburg, Pa.
Maryland School Information Mapping — A geomapping tool to complement public policy information from MarylandCommons.com.
Intersections: The South Los Angeles Reporting Project — Community news website.
The Austin Bulldog — for “public interest and investigative reporting” in Austin, Texas.
New Era Media — Colorado news site aimed at young people.
The Villager: News and Notes from Coconut Grove West — News site for the Miami community.
Track progress of each initiative at www.j-newvoices.org. According to the site:
New Voices is a pioneering program to seed innovative community news ventures in the United States. Through 2010, New Voices is helping to fund the start-up of 56 micro-local news projects. 2009 and 2010 grantees will receive $17,000 grants and have the opportunity for $8,000 in follow-up funding after one year. New Voices is administered by
J-Lab at American University and supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
