For the years of 2006-2008, News21 was a collaboration of graduate schools of journalism at Columbia University, Northwestern University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Southern California and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

The project was funded by the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education. Each year, the support allowed 44 fellows work throughout the spring and summer to produce innovative and important news content, distributed on a wide variety of digital and traditional platforms.

In 2008, the program was refunded and expanded. Starting for a three-year period set to conclude in 2011, seven more universities entered the alliance, allowing 93 students to be involved. The additional universities are Arizona State (headquarters), Maryland, North Carolina, Syracuse, Texas, Missouri and Nebraska.