WikiLeaks questions why it was rejected for Knight grant

[superconnected]

Source: Yahoo News

WikiLeaks, the secret-killing online repository for leaked documents and video, was passed over yesterday in the awarding of the Knight Foundation's News Challenge grants, and it's not exactly being gracious in defeat. Each year, the Knight Foundation hands out millions of dollars to support organizations that "use digital technology to inform specific geographic communities." A $500,000 proposal from WikiLeaks was reportedly one of about 50 finalists — winnowed from a field of 2,400 applications — for this year's grants. To judge by founder Julian Assange's increasingly desperate appeals for donations, the site could use the money.

But it wasn't to be, and this morning WikiLeaks suggested via Twitter that something was amiss: "WikiLeaks was highest rated project in the Knight challenge, strongly recommended to the board but gets no funding. Go figure." The implication is that the Knight Foundation backed away from a popular proposal in the face of the recent controversy surrounding the site's collection of sensitive military and diplomatic data. Army investigators are reportedly seeking founder Julian Assange as part of their inquiry into Spc. Bradley Manning, an Army intelligence analyst who's been accused of providing Assange with a massive cache of classified data. The material Manning released includes more than 200,000 State Department cables and a video of a 2009 NATO airstrike in Afghanistan that killed more than 150 civilians.

Knight Foundation spokesman Marc Fest disputed part of WikiLeaks' claim, saying "WikiLeaks was not recommended by Knight staff to the board." Fest said the contest employs an advisory panel of outside experts to winnow applications down to a manageable group. After that, staffers take over and conduct "due diligence" on the finalists. Those staffers, he said, make final recommendations to the board, and WikiLeaks "didn't make the cut."

But Fest did confirm that the advisory panel uses a Web-based system to rate applicants, and he declined to say whether WikiLeaks was indeed the highest-rated project. "In terms of how popular certain applications were among advisers, we don't comment," he said. "Every year some applications that are popular among advisors don't make the cut after Knight staff conducts due diligence. That's not unusual."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100617/ts_ynews/ynews_ts2677_3

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Considering what Wikileaks does, I'm disappointed that they didn't win.

[superconnected]

1. Apparently they need donations. I just donated.

"Assange wrote that " a small organization going through enormous growth and operating in an adverserial , high-security environment" and that "any financial contributions will be of IMMEDIATE assistance."

I'm wondering how long Wikileaks can last though, especially since their leader may not be able to outlive what he does this year.

[Robb]

2. Some good projects were funded, though

http://www.newschallenge.org/content/knight-announces-news-challenge-winners-2010

[superconnected]

3. A cartoon company that turns news into cartoons? An ad company that gets advertisements

out there sooner? A group that's going to follow one battalion in Afghanistan for a year? The Knight foundation just gave each of these over 200 thousand.

Sorry, I'm seeing it as a bit frivolous compared to leaking docs on government corruption and how governments callously kill people and cover it up.

[superconnected]

4. CitySeed - a mobile application to allow users to plant seed of an idea and share with others -

For example, a person might come across a great spot for a community garden.

PRXstorymarket - will allow anyone to pitch and help pay to produce a story for a local public radio station. When the amount is raised (in small contributions), the station will hire a professional journalist to do the report.


How cute!

[earcandle]

5. If 50K people send Wikileaks $10, they will have what they need.

How to organize such a campaign?  Maybe WikiLeaks can send out
a letter making a request?  

[mike_c]

6. part of the problem is that WikiLeaks has a CUMBERSOME system...

...for accepting donations that puts many people off. I don't know why they do it that way, but they do. You have to open a special account at a particular online bank (not Paypal), transfer money into it via authorized bank transfer from your personal bank, and then do a funds transfer to WikiLeaks. Doing it via credit/debit card like DU does would be FAR easier and more straightforward.