Guardian News & Media announced Monday that it will use a a $2.6 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to establish an editorial and production team for developing new approaches to deliver news and information using mobile technology.
The innovation lab will be run by Guardian US, the U.S.-based newsroom of U.K.-based Guardian News & Media. The Guardian said it would conduct the work in the open and share all data and research with the news industry at large.
“With 50 percent of news now accessed on smartphones, news organizations need to quickly figure out how to present news on a smaller screen while also taking full advantage of all that mobile technology has to offer to enhance the user experience,” said Jennifer Preston, Knight Foundation vice president for journalism, in a statement. “Through the Guardian innovation lab we hope to develop a deeper understanding of how people use and consume mobile news, while also learning how best to engage audiences as participants in spreading and creating content.”