Deadline: 26-Feb-23
ICFJ, in partnership with Meta and different Brazilian media associations, launches the Accelerating Digital Businesses program, which will contribute to the improvement of business models and financial sustainability for media organizations of all types, sizes, and locations that serve the Brazilian public.
The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ’s) program also seeks to help them to use digital tools in an innovative and strategic way for the development and growth of their businesses.
Program Phases
- Training
- The first phase of the program consists of a webinar series with specialists, both Brazilian and international, in the areas of media and business, which will support Brazilian media organizations to improve their business management skills, reinforce the organizational relationship with their digital audiences, develop new projects and products, generate revenue, and construct innovative and sustainable business models. The webinars will be in Portuguese. In the event that the invited specialist is foreign, there will be simultaneous interpretation into Portuguese through Zoom.
- This phase will be divided into two groups: the first, open to specialists and professionals that work in media organizations or independently, and the second, reserved for executives. The specialist training begins in March and will last 10 weeks.
- Executives will have the opportunity to apply for an exclusive training with an international business school to keep themselves updated on the latest trends in the strategic management of digital businesses.
- Executives can also apply for the specialist trainings, if they are interested.
- All of the participants will receive certificates at the end of the trainings, sent by ICFJ as well as the university, for the executive training.
- The first phase of the program consists of a webinar series with specialists, both Brazilian and international, in the areas of media and business, which will support Brazilian media organizations to improve their business management skills, reinforce the organizational relationship with their digital audiences, develop new projects and products, generate revenue, and construct innovative and sustainable business models. The webinars will be in Portuguese. In the event that the invited specialist is foreign, there will be simultaneous interpretation into Portuguese through Zoom.
- Mentorship and Grant Funding
- In the second phase of the program, participants can apply to receive exclusive mentorship for five months, in addition to financial support for the development of projects that will innovate or accelerate their digital businesses. The selected participants will be mentored by specialists in the market with substantial experience in the development of digital products and strategies.
- Media organizations can apply to receive up to $15,000 USD and independent journalists can receive up to $2,500 USD.
Eligibility Criteria
- Brazilian media organizations (of any type or size, both digitally-native and traditional) and independent journalists/freelancers can apply to participate in the program.
- Important: to be considered eligible to receive the mentorship and grant, organizations and independent journalists must participate in at least 75% of the webinar sessions offered in the first program phase.
- For the “Mentorship Phase”, Meta and ICFJ will consider one application per organization. innovative business. They will also have the option of registering individuals.
- Organizations (collectively, “applicants”) must meet the following requirements to apply to the “Mentoring Phase” of the program:
- Be a media organization of any type and size (digital, print, radio, TV, etc.).
- If the organization is a new company (start-up, for example), it must have been formally incorporated at least 12 months prior to the time of application. In the case of another type of media organization (digital, printed, radio, TV), it must have been formally constituted at least 24 months before. The “Mentorship Phase” will also provide innovation funds to financially support participants in developing a project or product or review processes and help them produce successful strategies based on training and mentoring sessions they receive throughout the program.
- Have an audience based in Brazil and operate primarily from Brazil (they give preference to submissions from organizations that operate in areas considered near news deserts.
- Generate journalistic content and update it periodically
- Be independent of political parties and aspire to economic and editorial independence.
- Have most of the original content in Portuguese.
- Be a for-profit or non-profit news organization with the majority of business located in Brazil.
- Have at least 2 full-time employees.
- Be a journalist or student of journalism.
- Being hired, collaborating or having collaborated with news outlets listed in the Atlas of the News.
- Be independent of political parties.
- Have most of the original content in Portuguese.
- Submit a project to create a new independent local media outlet or enhance an independent local media outlet that has not yet been formalized.
- Projects in cities characterized as news deserts and near news deserts will be given preference when selecting beneficiaries.
For more information, visit ICFJ.