Sunlight grantee NewsTrust.net helps citizens make informed decisions about our democracy by making it easier to find good journalism online. Each day the non-profit, non-partisan group features a selection of articles and opinion pieces that its members rate for fairness, accuracy, context and sourcing. NewsTrust has just launched a new version of its site that promises “a better user experience with enhanced review tools, more visual appeal and higher performance.” And in true Web 2.0 fashion, the redesign was partially guided by suggestions from its members.

As their site states, “it now offers a number of innovative features, such as distinctive  ‘trust-o-meter’ ratings, separate listings for news and opinion, new review forms for beginners and professionals, new rating criteria tracking both quality and popularity, faster story submissions, personal bookmarks and special comment sections.”

And I want to congratulate Fabrice Florin, NewsTrust’s founder and executive editor. Ashoka recently named him as one of their social entrepreneur fellows. Way to go!

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Congratulations to Sunlight grantee NewsTrust.net. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded the ‘Web 2.0′ news review service a hefty multi-year grant. The goal of NewsTrust.net is to help citizens find and evaluate good journalism online. Fabrice Florin, a former executive at Apple and Macromedia, founded NewsTrust.net as a response to the explosion of web-based media outlets.

Media consolidation and growing distrust of mainstream media are creating "a range of problems for democracy," Florin said in a press release released today, "(including) information overload, misinformation, mistrust and civic apathy." NewsTrust.net provides tools that allow users to filter news, evaluate news stories and reporting, and share stories with other users. The site’s focus is on the quality of reporting, not popularity. The whole idea is to help citizens stay informed and engaged in the democratic process. This is a very exciting moment for the good people there. Congrats to them!

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