This grant and mentoring programme as part of the ongoing PluPro project aims to empower 50 local independent media outlets. The goal is to foster resilience and viability through capacity-building activities, design-learning innovation, and a repository of case studies and best practices. It aims to encourage a culture of innovation at the local level through introducing media personnel to a design-learning approach focused on audience research, prototyping, and testing new products and services.
By the end of the project, it will have accumulated a vast set of case studies and best practices that can then be shared with other newsrooms across Europe, in countries suffering from a lack of plurality and beyond. All project outputs will be freely accessible, fostering ongoing professional development beyond the programme's duration.
This programme will:
- Allow small news outlets in countries where media plurality is under threat to implement new tactics and skills to build resilience and viability;
- Encourage a culture of innovation at the local level through introducing media personnel to a design-learning approach focused on audience research, prototyping, and testing new products and services;
- Accumulate a vast set of case studies and best practices that can then be shared with other newsrooms across Europe, in countries suffering from a lack of plurality and beyond.
Financial support
For the Microgrants for Small Newsrooms (2024-2025), Journalismfund Europe received support from The European Union, Vereniging Veronica and Limelight Foundation.
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For small, local and independent media outlets (legal entities) in EU member states and participating countries in the Creative Europe Programme, with a particular emphasis on countries with a medium- or high-risk rating according to the Media Pluralism Monitor.
In 2024-2025 the total grant budget is €250,000 to distribute over two application rounds (€125,000 per call). Maximum amount per media outlet: €5,000.
For the period 2024-2025, the programme will be supported by 2 foundations and the European Union:
- The European Union
- Limelight Foundation
- Vereniging Veronica