Deadline: 30 October 2018
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania (BIRN Albania) has launched a call for investigative stories on organised crime themes.
BIRN is offering grants for three journalists to cover organised crime stories, as well as mentoring by experienced editors. The call is part of the project ‘Strengthening Media’s Role in the Fight against Corruption’, financed by the Open Society Foundation in Albania.
The project’s aim is to strengthen reporting on corruption in the country through cooperation with civil society, in order to contribute to a more informed citizenry that is engaged in the democratic process.
Through this competition three (3) investigative journalists will be selected to produce investigative items in the field of organized crime, in cooperation with civil society. The winners will be selected from an independent jury composed of experienced journalists and experts in the field of organized crime.
Benefits
Selected applicants who will receive a $ 1,200 (minus personal income tax) scholarship will have a three-month period available to complete their investigation and preparation of the article for publication.
Criteria
- Candidates should formulate a detailed proposal for the competition. Proposals should aim to expose concrete cases of lack of law enforcement in the area of organized crime. Selection priority will be devoted to proposals that include one of the following topics, suggested as a priority during a roundtable discussion among journalists and civil society representatives organized by BIRN Albania:
- The sequestration process of assets deriving from criminal activity and their management by responsible institutions;
- Trafficking in human beings and narcotics;
- Decriminalization of politics and public administration;
- Use of natural resources from organized crime;
- Money laundering by criminal groups;
- Efficiency of proactive police and prosecutorial investigations;
- Problems in detecting or adjudicating criminal events by law enforcement institutions;
- Area of operation / control of criminal groups in Albania
- extradition and conversion of punishments to members of organized crime convicted in EU countries.
- Organized crime links with business or politics.
- Applicants may submit more than one application, but only one candidate proposal will be selected.
- The right to apply applies to all journalists in Albania, employed by other media or in the free profession.
How to Apply
Applicants must download the application form available on the given website.
For more information, please visit BIRN Albania.