Calling Balkan and Visegrad Newsrooms: Apply Now for Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants

Deadline: 10-Jul-23

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) is calling on Balkan and Visegrad newsrooms to apply for Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants to receive funding, training, mentoring and access to an innovative digital tool to engage with audiences.

Scope and Objectives

Audience-engaged journalism breaks down the barriers between newsrooms and audiences by actively engaging communities in reporting. From proposing story topics to contributing evidence or expertise, communities play an essential role in shaping media content. Through this approach, audience-engaged journalism aims to amplify diverse voices, including those of women, young people, marginalised groups and ethnic minorities, and create a more representative and inclusive media landscape.
To help newsrooms reach their audience, BIRN has developed an audience-engaged tool.
Based on similar internationally successful platforms for engaging citizens, such as Bureau Local in the UK, ProPublica in the US, or Correctiv in Germany, the cutting-edge digital platform enables journalists to leverage the collective knowledge and insight of citizens, and harnesses the power of crowdsourcing to uncover crucial information and untold stories.
Grants are designed to achieve following outcomes with project-supported media outlets:
- Access to audience-engaged tool, which will be actively used to involve communities in story development
- Training and on the job mentoring in engagement journalism and audience-engaged tool usage
- Production of investigative and engaging stories of local and regional interest that are based on the feedback received from the communities
- Support to join forces and collaborate, sharing their knowledge and expertise with one another
- Support to continue using the audience-engaged tool, fostering a sustained culture of community engagement

Types of Grants

Two following types of grants are available under this Call for Applications:
- Individual Grants for media outlets wishing to cover national / regional / local topics using their own newsroom resources
- Crossborder Grants for media outlets interested in investigating cross-border topics in partnership with the other media outlet. Partnership can be:
  - Pre-established, in situations where a media outlet already has a media partner for a cross-border story, they may apply together for a grant of €10,000 to cover expenses for both parties
  - Teamed up with BIRN’s support, in situation where a media outlet proposes a crossborder story and does not have a pre-established partnership, BIRN can assist in finding a possible match partner for collaboration. In this matter, individual applicants may be considered for pairing depending on their expertise and story proposal. The Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants foster a collaborative environment where media outlets can come together to share their proficiency and expertise. By working together media outlets not only enhance their reporting capabilities but also increase their reach and impact.

Grants offered?

BIRN will award €4,000 to two (2) successful applicants interested in producing individual audience-engaged investigative stories.
BIRN will grant €5,000 to eight (8) successful applicants interested in producing a cross-border audience-engaged story. In situations in which a media outlet already has a media partner for a cross-border story, they may apply together for a grant of €10,000 to cover expenses for both parties.
BIRN encourages participants to collaborate and share knowledge to create compelling stories that are relevant and impactful for their audiences. The Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants foster a collaborative environment in which media outlets can come together to share their proficiency and expertise. By working together, media outlets not only enhance their reporting capabilities but also increase their reach and impact.
Media outlets are expected to begin implementing their project’s activities on 1 September 2023 and can last up to a maximum of eight (8) months from the date of contract signature, thus all activities must conclude no later than 30 April 2023.

Who will be supported?

Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants support media outlets that want to engage their audiences in reporting by providing them with training and mentorship in engagement journalism and usage of the Audience-Engaged Tool developed by BIRN.
The Audience-Engaged Tool is an innovative platform which harnesses the power of crowdsourcing to uncover crucial information and untold stories. The online tool enables the direct engagement of many citizens interested in sharing information and evidence related to issues they are facing.
In a four-day online training course, the participating media outlets will learn how to use the tool to produce engaging and investigative reports, how to select engaging topics, how to develop a callout, how to analyse crowdsourced data, how to incorporate data into stories and how to shape their story proposal according to audience-engaged journalism.
All participants will gain access to the tool and have a mentor assigned to lead them through the project.

Eligible Countries

Eligibility Criteria

In order to apply, applicants must fulfil the following criteria:
- Demonstrate a commitment to producing high-quality, independent journalism that serves the public interest
- Propose a story with investigative and in-depth angle, impactful for community:
  - If applying for an individual grant, the proposed story must address and issue relevant to the national / regional / local audience;
  - If applying for a cross-border grant, the proposed story must address and issue relevant to audience in Balkan and Visegrad countries, and reflect collaborative effort
- Express clear intention and means of including underrepresented communities in stories.
- These communities may include marginalised group such as minorities, youth, women, and other underreported communities.
- Be legally register entity within the country of application on or before January 1, 2022

For more information, visit BIRN.