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Wednesday in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced the winners of its annual Knight News Challenge, a contest funding innovative ideas for disseminating news and information to local communities with digital technologies. 12 entrants were awarded a grand total of $2.74 million, the largest share, $400k, going to Eric Rodenbeck and his data visualization project CityTracking.

As struggling newspapers file for bankruptcy left and right, the quest is on to find the new business models for news consumption in a new digital age. Recently the New York Times announced that it has begun investigating and testing a system for placing some of their content behind pay walls based on a daily allowance of free articles, but this may just be a new spin on an old trick. Entrepreneurs are needed to help the news industry as it shifts online, and that's precisely who the Knight Digital Media Center (KDMC) is targeting for an expenses paid seminar this May.

With large daily newspapers filing for bankruptcy left and right, it is no secret that the journalism industry is going through a severe period of change. Old business models focused on advertising and classifieds have been eroded by more target online ads and by the rise of sites like Craigslist. This era of journalism renaissance has ushered in several non-profit startup news organizations, like ProPublica, an investigative journalism organization, and Spot.us, a site which fosters "community funded reporting".

One site, however, the Center for Independent Media (CIM), a non-profit online journalism network, has taken a different approach to the non-profit journalism model, one which has helped them raise $11.5 million in just four years.

If you're familiar with the overseas micro-lending space, then you're familiar with Kiva. In 2008, ReadWriteWeb readers chose Kiva as one of their favorite Web 2.0 apps. In 2009, the company continues to thrive.

Kiva initially allowed users to lend to entrepreneurs in developing countries. However, due to the American financial crisis, the company recently extended its mandate to help US entrepreneurs gain access to micropayment loans. As millions struggle to execute on their dream projects, a number of crowd-based funding options have emerged. Below are a few of these tools.