I have decided I am going to enter several of my ideas as a candidate for a grant for the Knight News Challenge.

The KNC (as the cool kids call it) will grant up to $5 million (!) to a group or individual in four categories: Ideas, pilot projects, leadership initiatives and new business ventures. The ideas must be open source as well.

Now you may be thinking: “well, what are your ideas?” Truth is, I don’t have them refined enough yet. They are more like “hey wouldn’t it be cool if…” sort of things for now. After all, I have until October.

Also, the KNC prefers ideas to be focused on the local distribution of news, something that never occurred to me.  I find it hard to grasp that a “hyperlocal” site can make any money. And isn’t the real problem with journalism that no body as been able to wed technology, journalism, and profit in a way that would appeal to every party involved?

Part of me believes that having a “local” site on the Internet, humanity’s first truly global medium, is counter productive.  The concept of rallying around geography may be lagging behind people rallying around ideas and people.

Guess we’ll see.