Juror Members' Names Revealed

Journalismfund Europe works with a separate independent jury for each grant programme. Our jury members remain anonymous until they leave the jury — this helps us to ensure both the quality of the assessment and the confidentiality of the submitted proposals. After a juror's mandate is finished, we can make the name public, as we do today.

All of the juries consist of experienced journalism experts. The LM4D jury, of which Susanne Fengler and Ingemārs Vekteris were part of, evaluated applications for the Local Media for Democracy grant programme which focused on local journalism and news deserts in the European Union.

"Being a juror allowed me to get so much insights into the fantastic and relevant work being done by committed journalists and newsrooms outside the capital cities of Europe. It was a pleasure!" – Susanne Fengler, Local Media for Democracy grant juror.

Helen Darbishire and Anton Harber were members of the jury which worked on selecting best training proposals to increase capacity of environmental journalism in Europe. 

"I found it enriching to read the excellent proposals that came forward, demonstrating the potential for the kind of collaborative, public service journalism we supported. I also got great pride from enabling valuable projects which might otherwise never see the light of day." — Anton Harber, Professional Development for Environmental Investigative Journalism juror.  

All the four jurors brought extensive experience in media, investigative, local and environmental journalism, adding significant value to the selection process, and we would like to thank them for their remarkable contribution to the success of our grant programmes. 

The Local Media for Democracy grant programme impressed me with the innovative approach of the applicants and their ability to adapt to the rapidly changing media environment. I sincerely hope that the approved projects will provide both emotional and practical inspiration for media outlets to continue their essential work. This programme has offered invaluable opportunities for several regional media to realize their ideas and strengthen their position in an increasingly competitive media landscape. – Ingemārs Vekteris, Local Media for Democracy grant juror. 

The Local Media for Democracy grant programme injected €1,200,000 financial support to local, regional, and community media who are struggling to serve the public interest in places where access to information has significantly decreased.

Susanne Fengler 

Prof. Dr. Susanne Fengler is the academic director of the Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism (www.brost.org) at TU Dortmund University and is full professor for international journalism at the Institute of Journalism, TU Dortmund University, Germany. She has directed numerous comparative research projects in the field of media and migration, media accountability, and foreign coverage. Among her recent key publications are the “Global Handbook of Media Accountability” and the UNESCO Handbook “Reporting on Migrants and Refugees”. She has directed two Graduate Schools and established with EU funds an E-Learning Portal for journalism students in all 27 EU states on EU coverage. She edits two book series at VS Springer, on journalism and international communication. 

Ingemārs Vekteris 

Ingemārs Vekteris has been working in the media industry since 1994. In the past, he actively worked in the industry, creating and managing media outlets and their platforms, such as Radio Skonto, RETV, Radio TEV, and Vidzeme Television. He serves as the Executive Director of the Latvian Broadcasting Association, which unites leading radio and television media in Latvia. In parallel, he works on research related to media resilience, changes in audience behavior, and the application of artificial intelligence in the media sector.

He has extensive experience in research and media development, including work on strengthening the security of the information space and analysing information flows in Latvia's regions. He has also participated in international projects aimed at advancing the media ecosystem in Europe.

215 proposals

The two experts were jury members from May 2023 until October 2023. For the Local Media for Democracy grant programme they assessed 215 project proposals and granted in total more than €1,192,119 to 42 projects from 17 EU countries.

You can take a look at the supported Local Media for Democracy projects here.

Helen Darbishire 

Helen Darbishire established Access Info in Madrid in 2006, with the goal of promoting the right of access to information across Europe and globally. She leads Access Info’s team of transparency specialists, manages EU and international projects, and represents the organisation at events and in the media.

Helen is a human rights activist specialising in the right of access to information (freedom of information) and the development of open and democratic societies with participatory and accountable governments. She is also an Open Government Partnership Envoy, having served two terms on the OGP Steering Committee (2016-2022), and is Chair of the UNCAC Coalition, a global network of civil society organisations working to combat corruption.

Helen has provided expertise to a wide range of non-governmental and inter-governmental organisations, including UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and the World Bank. She is a founder of the global Freedom of Information Advocates Network and served two terms as its chair (2004-2010).

Helen started her career as a campaigner at Article 19 (1989 to 1998) based in London and Paris. She then worked with the Open Society Foundations (1999-2005), based first in Budapest and then in New York, directing global programmes on freedom of expression and freedom of information.

Anton Harber

Anton Harber has been a journalist for 44 years, as a reporter, editor, manager, educator/trainer, columnist and ad advocate for freedom of expression. He was a founder-editor of the anti-apartheid newspaper The Weekly Mail / Mail & Guardian and Editor-in-Chief of the country’s leading TV news station, eNCA.

He is a board member of Africa Check, the Global Investigative Journalism Network and the Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ). He runs non-profit organisations the Campaign for Free Expression and the Henry Nxumalo Foundation which supports investigative reporting.

Anton has written or edited a number of books, including So, for the Record: Behind the headlines in an era of state capture (2020), Diepsloot (2011) and Southern African Muckrakers: 300 years of investigative reporting that shaped the region (2019).

173 proposals

Helen Darbishire and Anton Harber were jury members from December 2021 until March 2024. For the Professional Development grant programme they assessed 173 project proposals and granted in total more than €674.764 to 40 projects.

Here’s an overview of all Journalismfund Europe’s former jury members.

The Professional Development for Environmental Investigative Journalism grant programme continues running in the framework of our Earth Investigations programme, under which Journalismfund Europe distributes €11,600,000 over the course of 6 years.