The News is Coming

in
Amount: 
$ 630,400
Location: 
Grahamstown, South Africa
Local news reports disseminated through cell phones will help connect an all-black township in South Africa with the white population living in the urban center – giving everyone in Grahamstown equal access to news and information. Articles from the community newspaper, Grocott’s Mail, will be delivered to mobile phones, the only modern communications system available in the rural township. In a partnership with a local university, journalism students will create audio and video feeds for distribution. Meanwhile, masters-level students will study the project’s design and impact, while post-graduate students develop a sustainable business model for the technology. The project will create open-source software so that small town newspapers around the globe will be able to send mobile reports.
Organization: 
Rhodes University
Twitter Link: 
@guyberger
Winner: 
Prof. Guy Berger
Bio: 
Guy Berger heads the School of Journalism & Media Studies at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. He has worked in print media and television. He was deputy chair of the South African National Editors’ Forum from 2003 to 2004 and remains an active member. Berger also writes “Converse,” a column for the Mail & Guardian online. He has a Ph.D. from Rhodes University.
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