New Arts Journalism Models to be Unveiled Finalists and honorable mentions hail from eight cities including Philadelphia

Contact:  Karim Olaechea, karimo@philaculture.org P: 215-399-3518, C: 267-971-9716 Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance As anyone who watches television news or reads a newspaper knows, the world of journalism is changing dramatically. Newspapers are shrinking, television news programs are morphing, and the internet is exploding. In response to these profound shifts, in particular to the erosion of arts journalism, the National Endowment for the Arts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation put forward the Knight/NEA Community Arts Journalism Challenge in July 2011. Two hundred and thirty-three individuals and organizations in eight pilot communities including Philadelphia submitted their solutions to preserve and promote arts journalism. From the 233 applications, five finalists (receiving up to $20,000) and six Honorable Mentions (receiving $1,000) were selected. In addition to Philadelphia the pilot cities are Akron, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Macon, Ga.; Charlotte, N.C.; Miami, Fla.; San Jose, Calif.; and St. Paul, Minn. The live webcast announcement of the finalists and honorable mentions made from the Grantmakers in the Arts conference in San Francisco, California is on October 10, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. PST/11:00 a.m. MST/12:00 p.m. CST/1:00 p.m. EST. WHAT: Live webcast announcing finalists and honorable mentions of the Knight/NEA Community Arts Journalism Challenge WHERE: arts.gov WHEN: October 10, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. PST/1:00 p.m. EST WHO: Joan Shigekawa, senior deputy chairman, National Endowment for the Arts Dennis Scholl, vice president/arts, Knight Foundation FOR MORE INFORMATION: artsjournalism.org. Join the conversation at #artsjourn. TO REQUEST AN INTERVIEW: Please contact: Karim Olaechea, karimo@philaculture.org, P: 215-399-3518, C: 267-971-9716

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