Facebook Co-Founder to Bring Venture Capital to Journalism

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes joined the Knight Foundation's board in an attempt to pair journalism with venture capital and technology, the foundation reported today.

Hughes, along with Joichi Ito, head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab and John Palfrey, who runs Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, joined the sponsor of journalism-innovation projects, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

The Knight Foundation is shifting its strategy from charity to “social investing” as news and information delivery becomes digital, foundation president Alberto Ibarguen said in an interview. Since 2007, the foundation has invested more than $100 million in new technology for news and information, in more than 200 experiments, according to its website. “Traditionally in the nonprofit sector, because an idea is founded on fate so much of the time, or founded on hope, the typical thing would be for someone to continue and continue until they ran out of money,” Ibarguen said. “An entrepreneur would find a creative way to make it work.”

While we like that the Knight Foundation is shifting its focus to gaining venture capital, we don't know if Hughes is the person for the job. Lord know he's available, but the man who literally gave away his unwanted startup Jumo for a job at GOOD Worldwide, may not be the best choice for coaching businesses or an expert on scaring up cash. 

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