The contest is being backed by Sony VAIO and Intel, so the prizes are sure to create some excitement.  More important is YouTube’s partnership with the Pulitzer Center, which lends quite a bit of authority to any matter and leads to Project: Report’s journalistic focus.

"[N]on-professional, aspiring journalists" are being encouraged "to tell stories that might not otherwise be covered by traditional media."  In the first of three rounds, participants should "profile someone in your community, in three minutes or less, highlighting a story you think deserves to be heard by a wide audience," according to a post on the YouTube Blog.

Then, following the October 5th end of the submission period, judges will narrow the field to 10 finalists, and more information about the second and third rounds should be released.  The overall winner will get grants, gear, and the opportunity to work with the Pulitzer Center on an international reporting project.

Project: Report won’t turn YouTube into some beacon of truth overnight, and to be honest, such a beacon probably wouldn’t be half as popular.  YouTube’s at least demonstrating a sort of ability to be mature, though, and taken in conjunction with all of its recent political coverage, this development may be part of a trend.