The worlds of hackers and journalists are coming together, as reporting goes digital and Internet companies become media empires.

Journalists call themselves "hacks," someone who can churn out words in any situation. Hackers use the digital equivalent of duct tape to whip out code.

Hacker-journalists try and bridge the two worlds. This group aims to bring all these people together -- those who are working to help people make sense of our world. It's for hackers exploring technologies to filter and visualize information, and for journalists who use technology to find and tell stories. In the age of information overload and collapse of traditional business models for legacy media, their work has become even more crucial.

The African Media Initiative (AMI), the continent's largest association of media owners, recognises this and is spearheading the establishment of a network of HacksHackers chapters across Africa to help bring together pioneers for collaborative projects and new ventures.

AMI also runs the www.AfricanNewsChallenge.org and the AMI Prototype Fund ($12,500 per pilot project) to help kickstart the best new ideas.

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