Deadline: 2-Jul-23
Internews invites proposals for grants offered under its project, the Expanding Production of Independent Content in Hungary (EPIC).
Press products, independent journalists and content creators who have been publishing digital content in Hungary for at least a year can apply for grants with ideas for specific media projects or article series. The EPIC project aims to promote the creation and distribution of quality, authentic, attention-grabbing and innovative fact-based multimedia content that addresses topics important to Hungarian communities on various platforms.
Project Goal and Description
- The goal of Internews’ activities in Hungary is to help foster a strong independent media sector that is resistant to powerful interests seeking to manipulate, isolate, or control the press.
- Internews’ activities are funded by an award from the US Department of State (DOS).
- Led by Internews and implemented in partnership with Media Initiatives Center (Armenia), Instytut Reportazu (Poland), Internews Ukraine (Ukraine) and Center for Independent Journalism (Romania), the Expanding Production of Independent Content (EPIC) project aims to support independent media in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus through a varied blend of activities. Its goal is to
- enable media to produce and disseminate high-quality and credible content across platforms that addresses issues of importance in their local communities and counters disinformation,
- improve cross-border content production and contextualize national stories into regional perspectives and better connect media and audiences across target countries, and
- strengthen networks within their countries and across the region.
- Through EPIC, media beneficiaries will have access to community-driven, country-specific and regional research and editorial policies and plans to drive high quality and responsive information, particularly as it relates to the war in Ukraine and vulnerable populations, such as women, youth and those that are discriminated against based on their gender or religion.
Audience, Themes and Topics
- Internews is looking for media projects and series of stories that cover nationwide and local issues in Hungary. Although the capital is an important business and cultural hub, preference will be given projects that cover stories outside of Budapest. Local stories will be considered if the theme, topic, or subject is also relevant to audiences outside of the specific region.
- Media projects and stories should speak to a wide range of audiences or address issues of interest to communities and audience groups that are underserved or especially affected by or vulnerable to misinformation. Such groups include, but are not limited to young people, smaller communities, minorities, and people not regularly reached by a wider range of independent media outlets practicing credible, fact-based reporting.
- Stories for and/or about niche audiences (such as minorities) should prominently feature or speak with the voice of that the specific audience.
- Individual pieces within a project/series should ideally be linked by both a common theme and a common format, but projects united by only a common format or theme will be considered if they are sufficiently innovative and have the potential to fill an important gap in information (for example explainers that cover a wider range of issues).
- Applicants are free to choose the themes and topics of the pieces produced as part of the project, but they must meet the audiences’ needs and address key current issues affecting them in a relevant and informative manner, with a focus on how they reflect on the human experience, especially where there is an important gap in information. Possible such topics and themes include, but are not limited to:
- corruption, including its trickle-down effect in people’s day-to-day lives,
- environmental issues, including how the climate crisis affects life and the economy across Hungary,
- social issues, ranging from how the welfare system functions to individual human interest stories that speak to the wider issue,
- women, the challenges they face in society, families, relationships, the workplace,
- the education system, including providing a big picture view of the system, the role of different stakeholders, any systemic risks,
- the health sector, including the role of private and public health care, their functioning, and systemic relation to each other,
- everyday lives of local people, how small communities interact with each other and their relationships,
- the agricultural sector, including the bigger picture and the lives of people working in it,
- the rising cost of living (for example how it affects everyday life of people and communities, existing and further solutions for coping, etc.),
- currently trending topics where there is a lack of policy debate before decisions are taken, including formats that enable / encourage real policy debates on local issues or cover the lack of transparency over such decisions,
- the effects of the war in Ukraine on the lives of people in Hungary, the lives of refugees living in Hungary, the roles of different actors, and the war’s effect on any of the mentioned areas, especially where there are widely distributed disinformation narratives,
- further topics, such as LGBTQ+, the role of the EU in various aspects of life in Hungary, migration, historical misrepresentations, and other areas where audiences regularly encounter widely distributed misinformation.
What should they offer?
- They are looking to support projects that are innovative in their story approaches and angles, as well as their use of (audio) visual storytelling tools to reach a wide range of audience groups and make content accessible to people with various information needs. Projects should address issues of public interest, the human experiences that reflect them, and have the potential to counter disinformation.
- Multimedia content can include photography, videography, animation, captioned video, infographics (charts, maps, data visualizations), graphics, drawings, audio segments, interactivity or even gamification. Applicants who have less experience with multimedia are also welcome to apply and will be supported with expert consultancy and mentoring to develop capabilities.
Funding Information
- The winning applicants will receive non-refundable financial support for the preparation of the content. Internews expects to award four grants of up to $10,000 per applicant.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must meet the following criteria to be considered eligible for a subaward resulting from this Request for Applications:
- In the case of media outlets, the publishing organization is legally registered in Hungary, in the case of independent journalists and content creators, they have a registered business entity in Hungary, e.g. as a private entrepreneur.
- The applicant is active in the Hungarian online media market as a content producer for more than 1 year,
- The applicant regularly publishes Hungarian language media content that specifically targets a national, local or regional audience,
- The applicant follows an independent editorial policy and has a proven dedication to professional journalistic standards and ethics.
- The applicant has a demonstrated record of producing clear, unbiased, pluralistic content about issues of public interest,
- The applicant publicly self-identifies as an independent organization or journalist,
- The organization publishing this media outlet is not owned or managed by public authorities, local or national governments, political parties, by individuals holding public office or office in political organizations, or their close relatives.
For more information, visit EPIC.