Deadline: 15-Nov-21
Free Press Unlimited (FPU), jointly with Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Tactical Tech (TT), is launching an open call for applications for the selection of three regional media hubs in the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), the Visegrád Four (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), and Southern Europe (Greece, Italy and Spain), as part of a broader initiative aimed at enabling and enhancing independent collaborative and investigative journalism across Europe.
The call is open to media organisations that have a proven track record and an established media network in the field of collaborative and investigative journalism in their respective regions (Baltic States, Visegrád Four, Southern Europe). The programme’s guiding principle is regional engagement and empowering existing regional initiatives as opposed to creating new ones.
Media hubs will act as an informal “network of networks” and will support quality collaborative and investigative journalism by promoting and implementing a common set of ethical codes, professional principles and guidelines in line with the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI). The hubs’ networks will have access to an accelerator for start-ups, including the availability of seed financing and micro grants to explore innovative ideas in the field.
This call is part of the “Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative” (CIJI), which aims to equip independent media outlets and individual journalists with resources, innovative networking infrastructure and standards-based methods that enable them to practice high-quality, ethical and accountable collaborative and investigative journalism. It aims at providing enabling environments for individual journalists and existing news media outlets to excel, and for start-ups to emerge and succeed.
Regional media hubs will receive direct financial support to be able to perform their activities as ambassadors and regional centres of collaborative and investigative journalism.
Funding Information
- Average awarded funding is expected to be around 25,000 EUR per grantee but it can range from 17,000 EUR to 30,000 EUR.
What does the Programme Offer?
- Funding: CIJI will award grants worth up to 30,000 EUR to established local/regional media organisations to support their capacity to act as local/regional hubs for the community of cross-border, collaborative & investigative journalists.
- Accelerator: CIJI will operate an accelerator for small and medium newsrooms and individual journalists, which will give small production grants (up to 7,000 EUR) and facilitate crowdfunding opportunities.
- Training: CIJI will offer training opportunities on topics like advanced collaborative journalism, digital investigation skills and safety.
- Resource sharing: CIJI will serve as a single access point to a variety of tools and resources. It will support exchange among its members and share best practices and case studies.
- Ethical Standards: CIJI will provide an additional European framework by standardising and sharing ethical codes, professional principles and guidelines, adherence to the same set of policies enabling quality journalism. Regional media hubs will also have access to a train-the-trainer programme.
- Network: CIJI will provide a collaborative environment across borders and facilitate a regional network for collaboration and peer-support. Members will have opportunities to engage with fellow colleagues in their own countries, but also on a regional level.
Eligibility Criteria
- This is an open call for applications for selection of three regional media organisations that will act as CIJI regional hubs in three respective geographical locations: Baltic States, Southern Europe and Visegrád Four. They expect local/regional non-profit media organisations, public and commercial media/newsrooms, media associations and cooperatives from the following countries below to respond to the call:
- Media organisations that are state owned and/or editorially controlled by state authorities are not eligible to apply.
- Only organisations present and operational in one of the above countries are eligible to apply.
For more information, visit https://www.freepressunlimited.org/en/jobs/open-call-media-hubs-selected-european-countries
