Deadline: 27-Jun-21
The East-West Center and Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, in partnership with the Stimson Center, are pleased to launch a second and final round of fellowships to journalists from Mekong countries.
The fellowship provides fellows with the opportunity to develop data journalism skills and support data-driven investigations into water security challenges and solutions in the Mekong region.
Two rounds of the fellowships are offered to journalists based in the Mekong River Basin, which covers Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Round Two fellows will be selected from journalists who apply to this call for applications. If you applied last time and were not selected, they strongly encourage you to try again this time. For Round two, 20 journalists will be selected to explore water security issues along the Mekong River Basin.
What you will get in return?
- US$3000 per fellow to compensate for your time and cover story production and any costs related to the training or reporting. Fellows will receive the grant in instalments and will need to manage spending themselves.
- Virtual, interactive seminars with global and regional experts on water security issues and river management and their impact on the environment and local communities.
- Free 40-hour live data journalism training and up to 40 hours of video tutorials and self-study materials. Each class will proceed from the one before so selected Fellows will need to commit to join each one. Fellows will be required to spend time outside the training hours to complete assignments and self-study.
- One-on-one mentorship from a senior journalist throughout the story production process.
- Opportunity to network with regional journalists and expertsand build up source lists.
How editors and media outlets will benefit?
- A staff reporter data journalism skills, knowledge of Mekong river sustainability and access to credible sources.
- At least one in-depth data-driven story on Mekong river sustainability, including interactive graphics.
- A region-wide, transboundary, collaborative special reporting project with the potential for content sharing.
- Support for distribution and story promotion through the partnering organizations.
- NOTE: This Fellowship requires participants to commit a considerable amount of time throughout the training. If you find it difficult to convince your supervisor to let you apply for the Fellowship, they can help by contacting your supervisor to explain the benefits of the program.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be nationals of one of the following countries: Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand or Vietnam.
- As the data journalism training courses will be conducted in English (with Burmese language support) or Khmer, applicants can select which language option training they want to join in the application form. They must be proficient in the language taught in the course and have some basic English skill to understand some English-language training materials that will be provided during the course. They will only be accepting applications in English, Burmese or Khmer language.
- They are seeking journalists (online, print, television, radio, multimedia) and other expert media practitioners with 2-3 years of journalism experience, preferably including reporting on environmental issues in the Mekong region and with an interest in applying data journalism in their work. They do not require applicants to have prior data journalism experience.
- They encourage applications from freelancers and staff of all types of media organizations – international, national, local and community-based. Freelance journalists will need to guarantee publication/broadcast and should identify the media outlet(s) through which they plan to distribute their stories.
- What they ask
- Applicants must commit to joining 2 days of virtual seminars; one will be held prior to the launch of the training at the end of July, another in the middle of the training period.
- Applicants must commit to participating in 40 hours of live data journalism training in addition to completing up to 20 hours of video tutorials and up to 20 hours of assignments. The trainings will be held between August and mid-September, with three hour class sessions two to three times a week. Stories are expected to be published before the end of November.
- They require production and publication of data-driven content following the training. They expect each Fellow to produce at least one in-depth story in any format (print, online, audio, broadcast).
- Fellows may be asked to use datasets from the Mekong Infrastructure Tracker and Mekong Dam Monitor to produce their data-driven stories.
Selection Criteria
- A team of judges consisting of staff from the Earth Journalism Network and the East-West Center will review the applications and select the Fellows based on the quality of the application, eligibility and demonstration of interest and commitment to the Fellowship.
- When applying, keep in mind that they are looking for applicants who are:
- Passionate storytellers
- Curious about data
- Can examine an issue from multiple angles
- Committed to telling public interest stories
- Have a clear idea of an environmental issue they want to cover with data
- Open to working together with a diverse team of data experts, designers and editors to tell stories
- NO previous data journalism experience is required.
For more information, visit Earth Journalism Network.
For more information, visit https://earthjournalism.net/opportunities/mekong-data-journalism-fellowship-2021-round-two