Deadline: 28-May-21
Applications are now open for 2021 NewsSpectrum’s Collaborative Reporting Fellowship Program to provide support to joint reporting projects between minority- and majority-language media.
The Collaborative Reporting Fellowships provide financial support to specific reporting projects. The Collaborative Reporting Fellowship aims to encourage collaboration and exchange, promote quality coverage of minority-related issues and strengthen the capacity of minority-language media in the EU.
Funding Information
- The results of the reporting project must be published in both the minority-language media organisation and the majority-language media organisation by no later than December 31, 2021. Therefore, all fellowships will end latest on December 31, 2021.
- Up to 20 fellowships will be funded in 2021, providing a total of €240,000 to minority- and majority-language journalists and media outlets in the EU.
- Teams may request up to €12,000. However, each partner in the project (the minority-language journalist fellow and the majority-language media organisation) is limited to no more than €6,000.
- For minority-language journalist fellows, the fellowship can cover:
- Salary costs (full or part) for the duration of the reporting project. Salary costs will be reimbursed directly to the journalist’s employer. Freelance journalists will receive a stipend directly. Salary costs for other staff members of the media outlet can be included if relevant for the project.
- A reasonable stipend to cover local costs as part of the in-person portion of the fellowship (accommodation, local transport, subsistence).
- Travel costs (e.g., airfare/train) to and from the location of the majority-language media organisation. (Note: These travel costs may be covered additionally to the €6,000 limit.)
- Other costs relevant to the reporting project, if necessary and justified (e.g., additional travel costs, research costs).
- For majority-language media organisations, the fellowship will cover:
- Salary costs for staff members involved in the reporting project.
- Other costs relevant to the reporting project, if necessary and justified (e.g., travel costs, research costs).
Eligible topics
- In general, the reporting project can focus on any public-interest topic that is relevant to the audiences of both media organisations.
- However, priority will be given to projects that highlight the specific situation or perspective of minority groups in the EU, that deal with relations between minority and majority groups, and/or that encourage an informed discussion of European affairs in minority-language media and the audiences they serve.
- Applicants are encouraged to put forward projects that offer new information or shed new light on issues of public debate. Cross-border collaborations are encouraged.
- All types of reporting are welcome, including investigative journalism, feature writing, explanatory reporting, and news analysis. Projects can also be a combination of different reporting types.
- Stories can be published in any form, including print, video, and audio. Projects that incorporate digital storytelling techniques and audiovisual formats are especially welcome.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications for the fellowship must be submitted jointly by a team of:
- A journalist or media worker working at a minority-language media organisation in the EU or the UK. This includes freelancers who are regular contributors to a minority-language media organisation; and
- A majority-language media organisation based in the EU or the UK.
- The reporting project must focus on a topic of public interest to the audiences of both media organisations. The project must be planned to be published by both media organisations and must involve collaboration between the minority-language and majority-language journalists/media organisations.
- Applicants are encouraged to include an in-person portion (at least two weeks) during which the minority-language journalist works in-person at the majority-language media organisation. The fellowship will cover the costs of travel and accommodation for this purpose. However, in light of the COVID-19 situation, applicants may put forward a reporting project in which the team members collaborate remotely, providing that the aims of the fellowship can still be met.
- The Fellowship is open to journalists and media organisations working on all platforms, including print, broadcast, online media and multi-platform story-telling.
Which minority media outlets are eligible?
- Minority-language journalists are eligible for the fellowship if their media outlet produces at least 51% of its content in a regional or minority language (including migrant languages and Roma languages) – this means any language that is not a national official language of the country where the media organisation is based.
- In addition, priority will be given to media that meet the following criteria:
- publish original content on a regularly scheduled basis (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly). Original means self-produced information that is not republished content or a simple aggregation of news;
- have a track record of quality content;
- have at least 2 employed journalists or regular contributors; and
- an audience based primarily in the EU or the UK.
For more information, visit https://newsspectrum.eu/fellowships/crf/