Knight Foundation The Knight Foundation is casting a broad net for news ideas.

I love it when my e-mail inbox yields hope first thing in the morning. Today it brought me an announcement of the Knight Brothers 21st Century News Challenge -- a new program that will award $5 million in grants in 2007 to "new ideas, pilot projects, commercial products and leadership initiatives that will improve the flow of information and news in the public interest."

What's got me jazzed is that this program is open to anyone -- individuals, organizations, or businesses. Of course, news organizations are welcome to enter -- but I'll bet that many of the best ideas will come from people who never had anything to do with the "news business."

The categories are deliberately vague, to foster creativity:

    
• News Challenge: "This 'crystal ball' category is a cash award for ideas that focus on the future of news and communities and that have the potential to be developed into pilot projects. The award is for the quality and potential of the idea."
    
• Pilot Project & Field Test: "For real-life experiments designed to prove whether or not ideas work. The project should have a sustainability plan."
    
• Leadership: "To help shape, guide and organize many related ideas into a more powerful movement."
    
• Commercial Products & Investment: "For great products that might not yield the return a venture capitalist is looking for, but that nonetheless are likely to be profitable and address a social need."
    
• Open: "To make sure we don't miss working with the next 'Google guys' just because an idea didn't fit a category."

The application deadline is Dec. 31, 2006. Unlike many grant programs, this one doesn't involve an arduous application process (which, in my experience, tends to inhibit truly visionary thinking.) To apply online, you fill out a simple form that constitutes a "letter of inquiry." You only have to write a full-blown proposal if Knight indicates interest in your idea. And you can submit as many letters of inquiry as you want.