US: Knight Foundation funds research to engage youth in news via Facebook

Posted by Rosemary D'Amour on December 16, 2008 at 11:07 AM

The Knight Foundation has supplied University of Minnesota researcher Christine Greenhow and Seattle-based news aggregator NewsCloud with a grant to launch two social media publications on social networking site Facebook, according to a press release.

The two publications will be focused on climate change and news sharing and community features for students at UM. A study by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reveals that 24% of youth are getting no news on a typical day, increasing from 24% in 1998.

Researchers will "investigate how online social network sites such as Facebook can engage youth in world events, build community and generate real world impact."

Facebook is the "most-trafficked social media site in the world," according to the press release, and was the "ideal space" in which to study youth trends.

The goal, Greenhow said, is to understand how to design and develop successful media publications, and how youth "not only consume online information but manipulate, produce and talk through it."

The study will evaluate strategies to engage 16 to 25 year-olds in the news, and how the Internet can be used to "deliver educational materials in innovative and effective ways."

The Knight foundation is known for its endorsement of media initiatives, such as the recent investigative journalism project Spot.Us, and its annual News Challenge, which provides funding for tools that "transform" media.

Source: Press Release