2012-11-09

Journalismfund.eu had a record number of applications in the past round: 41 managed to submit in time! We also had a record high rate of money needed and money available: € 314.000 were asked, and we had only € 20.000 to distribute. The jury was strict, the decisions are made. But future applicants can learn a lot from jury members’ comments. The most important ones are compiled here. 

 

The jury of Journalismfund.eu is in the lucky position, that it gets a lot of applications from committed and excellent journalist. At the same time it is in the terrible position that it has to make a selection among the best of these. 
 
So here come greetings from the jury with indications on how to focus and sharpen your application. This will help you and the jury. 
 
You need a very clear story idea: Call it a hypothesis or a lead or pre-research. The clearer your working hypothesis, the easier for you to compose a strong team of journalists and make a clear research and publication plan. With the rather small amounts Jouranlismfund.eu currently has to distribute, we do not fund pre-research. If you – for example – want to build a database to document your hypothesis, you have to explain the jury what story lead you are looking to document with the help of such a database.  At this stage of the preparation of your research, you will have an idea whether this lead needs research in other countries or not. Not all stories are crossborder or European stories, and in many cases it is easiest to document a lead in one country before going international. 
 
You need an investigative story: Your story has to be investigative. This term is not reserved to a few star journalists. Investigative or research-journalism uses methods, persistence and clear thought which can be used by all journalists when a given subject requires it. There are numerous definitions of the term “investigative journalism”. We thus must discuss the characteristics of the term “investigative” in the community of journalists to keep it alive. However there are some clear indicators for investigative journalism, some of them have been gathered here. Read them and see, whether your story fulfils these criteria. If you – for example – do not expect to reveal anything new, but intend to compile an overview over already public information, you have to argue very, very clearly, why your compilation will be something new. Or if you wish to describe a certain aspect of a known problem through your well-researched feature, you have to argue very, very clearly, what new you expect to unveil.
 
You need a good team: It has to be clear, that the story, you intend to research, needs a team of journalists from different countries to be researched and published in the most efficient way. The team, that you present in the application, should be composed in a way, that provides the necessary competences for exactly the hypothesis, you are aiming to prove. Yes, Journalismfund does write, that we occasionally support individual journalists. But this is the exception, and in such a case you need to argue clearly, why it will be easier to get documentation for your hypothesis by working alone on a cross-border or European story. 
 
You need a clear research plan: You have a hypothesis, an assumption of something being wrong. How are you going to prove it? What information do you have already, and what information do you still need? How can you realistically obtain this information? Who on the team has the competences to do so? What is your timing, and why is it best to prove your assumption? Have you thought about security, in case your story touches upon issues, where journalists on your team could be attacked one way or the other?
 
You need a clear plan on how to achieve the best impact for your story: You have a great story lead, you intend to spend a lot of time on researching it, you ask for donor-money to help you and your team. Of course you want the story out as broadly as possible, so it obtains the maximum attention! And so those responsible for the problems, you unveil, are held accountable! Use the capacity of each team member to get access to the largest or most respected or most relevant media in each team member’s country. Use the large amount of research material that you are going to gather, to pitch the story to European or internationally focused media. Don’t send a letter of intent from an irrelevant publication just to fulfil the formal criteria of Journalismfund.eu. 
 
Apart from that, of course, read carefully the rules for application and the assessment criteria before applying to see, whether Journalismfund.eu is something for you. 
 

A First Comparative Study Indicates the Fragile Situation for Local Media Across the EU

2024-02-28

ONLINE - The study “Uncovering news deserts in Europe. Risks and opportunities for local and community media in the EU” by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) was published today. This research detects challenges and opportunities for local and community media in the 27 EU Member States, analysing the news deserts phenomenon from a holistic perspective. 

Pre-application sessions for potential applicants - grants journalists

Questions? In-house assistance to better prepare your application

2024-03-07

BRUSSELS - Let us walk you through your application to increase your chances of getting funded.