KCNN.org was created to help citizens use digital media in ways that enrich community, enhance public discourse and enliven democracy, said Jan Schaffer, director of J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism, which manages development of the site. It also seeks to open doors for traditional news organizations seeking to embrace user-generated content.

Among the site's initial offerings are:

• A unique database of U.S. citizen media sites, searchable by keyword, town or state and displayed on a Google map.
• A Things We Like feature, starting with more than 20 cool ideas from sites around the country.
• An interactive overview of the Principles of Citizen Journalism with more than 40 audio and video interviews and scores of resources.
• The latest citizen media research.
• Mini case studies on how to train citizen journalists.
• A list of resources to jumpstart reporting.

J-Lab, a center of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, also administers the Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism. It offers micro grants for citizen media start-ups through its New Voices program. And it offers tutorials on how to use software and hardware to embark on community publishing at www.J-Learning.org.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. The Knight Foundation especially supports ideas and projects that create transformational change.