The Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University proposes to become a guide for New Jersey’s local news ecosystem when it comes to digital news innovation. We plan to bridge the troublesome innovation gap between large and small publishers by creating a Mobile Innovation Lab, which we call the NJ Mobile News Lab. With more than 200 media partners, a close relationship with the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers, plus the advantages of operating in a university setting and our proximity to New York City, we believe we have the capability to help those partners find the mobile news solutions they seek to keep local news alive and help it to thrive.