A project created by two former ASU students will provide plenty of information on and around the light rail for those who want it.
Adam Klawonn, a 2001 print journalism graduate and managing editor at Phoenix Magazine, and Aleksandra Chojnacka, who received her master’s degree in business administration with a specialization in marketing this year, won funding for their news project in the 2009 Knight Foundation News Challenge.
The pair won $95,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for creating the Daily Phoenix, a digital project that gives light-rail users information, social networking tools and interactive games.
“We kind of want to be light rail experts for people,” Chojnacka said.
She said the digital landscape and other newer formats are the way to go for news delivery.
“I think that nowadays people are looking for new ways to deliver information,” Chojnacka said.
She said there is a need for more local news and emphasized a point she’s heard before.
“A lot of the news out there right now — it’s easier to get news about Darfur than know what’s going on around your block,” Chojnacka said.
She said she thinks the project won funding for its digital platform and possible widespread use.
“Perhaps it’s because our project is scalable to other cities,” Chojnacka said.
She said the funding will allow her and Klawonn to carry out a marketing strategy, build mobile and Web technology and develop the software.
“We’re hoping that this project allows people … to really get to know [Phoenix] a lot better than they do,” Chojnacka said.
Klawonn said the pair started working on the project around August 2008 and submitted their application in December.
“Basically we’re harnessing technology to build digital communities around the light rail,” Klawonn said.
He said he thinks the project won funding because it’s local, focused on the light rail and can be used in other cities.
“[The Foundation] see[s] that very local reporting is going away,” Klawonn said. “They liked the idea of wrapping it around the light rail.”
He said some upcoming features will be social networking, classified ads around the light rail stops, text message alerts and possibly a print publication.
He added that this project could help small businesses.
“I think it’s going to help everybody by allowing them to be more connected to Downtown Phoenix,” Klawonn said.
Gary Kebbel, the journalism program director at the Foundation, said in an e-mail that there were 2,323 applications, 69 finalists and nine winning projects.
“Adam and Aleksandra won because their project is a new and creative way to use news, information and social networking about different light rail stops to build community around the businesses and events at those stops,” Kebbel said.
The project was in line with the goal of the News Challenge.
“[The goal is] to use digital innovations to spread news and information to specific, geographic communities,” Kebbel said.
Reach the reporter at reweaver@asu.edu
