Deadline: 14-Jan-22
Internews Philippines is offering reporting grants to support the publication and production of in-depth, data-driven, innovative, community-based, and multimedia stories on the electoral processes and issues.
Internews Philippines is seeking to help keep the vibrant media ecosystem alive and meaningfully engage community journalists and media practitioners on issues related to elections and disinformation. The story grants will allow for the media to keep conducting their public information mission, which is even more essential in the conduct of elections during a pandemic.
In the Philippines, Internews promotes and protects a healthy information ecosystem responding to challenges like attacks against media, disinformation, and closing civic space.
Story themes
- Topics could include, but are not limited to voter education, voter suppression, political conversations, electoral mis- and disinformation, conduct of campaigns and elections, polling and tracking trends, vote counting and tabulation, electoral dispute resolution, electoral influence operations, etc.
- Internews values citizen participation and empowerment. They also champion accountability and solutions journalism as well as investigative and enterprise reporting.
Story Approach and Format
They expect to award 10 grants with the average amount being USD 1,500. They may consider larger grant amounts for up to USD 3,000 for stories that utilize collaborative work and innovative approaches that may be more costly and time-consuming.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications are open to Filipino journalists and content creators (print, visual, broadcast, online, and multimedia) with demonstrable background and experience in reporting news and public interest issues.
- They encourage pitches from freelancers and staff from all types of media organizations — international, national, local — especially those with particular interest in storytelling that tackle underreported narratives and are relevant to vulnerable and marginalized communities.
- They will accept both individual and group applications from early-career and senior journalists and content creators.
Judging Criteria
Applicants should consider the following points for their story pitches:
- Relevance: Does the proposal meet the criteria and objectives of the call? Why does this story matter and to whom? Is the main idea, context and overall value to the target audience clearly defined?
- Angle: If the story has been covered by mainstream media, does your proposal bring new insights into the topic or offer a fresh angle?
- Impact: Does the proposal have a compelling narrative or investigative element that will inform and engage, draw attention, trigger debate, and urge action?
- Innovative storytelling: The use of creative approaches, multimedia and data visualization will be considered a plus.
For more information, visit https://internews.org/call-for-proposals-story-grants-on-the-may-2022-campaign-and-elections/