OpenNews

OpenNews operates as a non-profit organization focused on fostering a more equitable, inclusive, and collaborative journalism industry. The organization originated in 2011 as a strategic partnership between the Knight Foundation and the Mozilla Foundation. Initially, it was designed to embed technologists as fellows within news organizations to drive innovation. The project was led by Dan Sinker, a journalist and entrepreneur who had previously founded Punk Planet magazine and taught at Columbia College Chicago. His background in independent media and digital journalism shaped the initiative's direction from its inception.

After being incubated at Mozilla from 2011 to 2016, OpenNews transitioned in 2017 to become an independent project fiscally sponsored by Community Partners, a move supported by a significant $1.1 million grant from the Knight Foundation. This milestone allowed the organization to expand its programs and solidify its operational independence. The business model is primarily grant- and donation-based, receiving funding from foundations, corporate sponsors, and individual community members. This funding structure supports its mission without reliance on commercial revenue streams.

The organization's core activities revolve around community building and knowledge sharing among developers, designers, journalists, and editors. It organizes several key events, most notably SRCCON, an annual hands-on conference that addresses the practical challenges faced by news technology and data teams. OpenNews also hosts smaller, topic-focused convenings and provides resources like Ticket + Travel scholarships to enhance accessibility to industry events. A key service is 'Source,' a web publication that showcases open technology projects and processes in journalism, featuring case studies, code, and insights from the community. Through these programs, OpenNews connects a global network of professionals to collaborate on open technologies and advocate for systemic change within newsrooms, aiming to make them more anti-racist and representative of the communities they serve.

Keywords: journalism technology, community building, non-profit, media innovation, Knight Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, SRCCON, newsroom collaboration, open source journalism, media development, journalist training, data journalism, civic tech, journalism events, newsroom diversity, equitable journalism, community of practice, media support, journalism funding, Source publication