Guardian US receives $2.6m funding injection for mobile innovation research lab
The Guardian US is to launch an innovation lab centred on developing new ways to generate news using upcoming mobile technologies.
The project is being backed by a $2.6m grant the publication has received from the Knight Foundation.
Half of the publisher's traffic already comes via mobile devices, and the lab scheme will comprise a multidisciplinary editorial production team comprising developers, reporters, and designers. This team will focus on developing engaging ways to develop and deliver news on mobile platforms.
The Guardian US's editor-in-chief Katharine Viner said the innovation lab will sit "at the heart" of its US newsroom. “It will draw on the collective expertise of our team…in order to do things differently in the mobile space.
“We’re also really excited to be sharing our results in an open environment, so others can learn from our experiments and get involved in the conversation about mobile journalism,” she added.
The lab will be led by Guardian US editor, Lee Glendinning.