SoJo Europe - In Search of 18 European Newsrooms

This programme aims to respond to the need for media organisations across Europe to pursue different approaches to increase reader trust, audience share, and revenue by creating a cross-European solutions journalism journalism knowledge hub and encouraging systemic cooperation between professional news media organisations.

We will issue an open call inviting applications from all eligible countries to recruit a total of 18 newsrooms (first year: 10; second year: 8) to take part in the activities outlined below and be part of the cohort. The consortium partners will select a group of independent jury members with experience in constructive and solutions journalism who will assess the applications for formal compliance with the eligible countries and completeness of answers. The jury members will make their determinations on which media outlets will be part of the cohort based on the criteria set forth. The prospective applicants will then be informed of the jury members' decision and a knowledge hub will then be created to advance this new approach to investigative journalism. 

Activities

1. A training, grant, and mentoring programme to stimulate more solutions/constructive journalism, especially for the climate change beat. 
2. A training, grant, and mentoring programme to stimulate more connected investigative and solutions reporting. 
3. A study tour/exchange programme, grant programme, and international conference to foster greater collaboration among newsrooms across Europe. 
4. A training and mentoring programme to spur increased revenue through solutions/constructive journalism. 
5. A wide dissemination of the supported stories among the European public, and of the learnings and resources among the journalistic community across Europe. 

The project will increase the potential of the sector and its players, across countries and regions with diverse media capabilities, contributing to a free, diverse, and pluralistic media environment and quality journalism in the digital environment.
More info will be available on our social media and on the consortium partners' sites.

Be part of the cohort!

Being part of the cohort, an exclusive group of European media outlets, will be a great opportunity to help shape solutions journalism and share first-hand knowledge the approaches to increasing reader trust and revenue through this knowledge hub via this grant programme. If you are selected through the public call, you will automatically be part of the cohort of media outlets and have the opportunity to receive grants for investigative projects. For more information, please visit the FAQ page of the grant programme.

Financial support

Journalismfund Europe received support from European Commission (Creative Europe) and another funder (TBD). 

Consortium partners

• Transitions (Czech Republic), a non-profit organisation based in Prague which mission is to help build trust in independent, professional journalism and to foster a critically minded, informed, and engaged public, with a special focus on the post-communist countries of Europe and the former Soviet Union.
• Journalismfund Europe (Belgium), a non-profit organisation based in Brussels, which incorporated by citizens in 1998, with a mission to promote democracy by advancing independent cross-border investigative journalism in Europe.
• Constructive Institute (Denmark), a Danish organisation supporting the global news industry to develop constructive approaches for journalism who works with newsrooms across the world in order to change journalism culture and drive a shift to reporting that is solutions-focused, nuanced, and bridge-building.
• The South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (Albania), a network of 19 media NGOs (working on media development, media freedom and media research) across 13 countries of Central and Southeastern Europe.

More info and applications

To apply or to learn more about the eligibility and assessment criteria, timing, jury and conditions, visit our application portal.

Need more help?

Visit our FAQ page. Next, we're always happy to discuss your project ideas or to answer any questions you might have about your application. So don't hesitate to contact us via phone or email, or to make an appointment for a video call.

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