Call for Eastern Partnership Journalism Fellows. Deadline: 20 June
CALL FOR FELLOWS: Supporting Independent Journalism in Eastern Partnership Countries
Deadline for submissions to [email protected]: 20 June 2016
Fellowships (including a five-week placement with a media organisation in the EU)
will take place between August 2016-February 2017
Applications are invited from journalists from Eastern Partnership countries, or journalists working for independent or public service media outlets in the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine). Freelance journalists are also welcome to apply.
Download the call for fellows here.
New Diplomacy's Independent Journalism Fellowship for Eastern Partnership Countries is an initiative to raise standards of journalism covering the post-Soviet space, in particular the Eastern Partnership countries. This will be achieved by a programme of mentoring journalists from Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan or Belarus, including placements of four journalism fellows in new EU member states (e.g. the Baltic states and Visegrad Four countries) to work with leading broadcast or print media and engage also with independent non-profit organisations working on the post-Soviet space (human rights organisations, independent media associations and think-tanks).
Through mentoring and co-operation, the journalists will also link up with each other to strengthen co-operation of newsrooms in different Eastern Partnership countries in terms of sharing content, and also in formulating and promoting high standards of news reporting, public service broadcasting standards, and regulation of propaganda in their home countries.
Project objectives
to raise the standards of talented news reporters from Eastern Partnership countries through placements with leading broadcast and print media in EU counties, to strengthen mutual understanding of the challenges facing media in the Eastern Partnership countries, and to improve EU countries' media reporting of events in the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia
to formulate and promote common standards and practices in the Eastern Partnership countries concerning public service broadcasting, concerning policies to curb propaganda, and concerning overall standards of independent news reporting
to increase interlinkages between leading or emerging media outlets and individual journalists in Eastern Partnership countries with counterparts in other Eastern Partnership countries and in EU member countries (e.g. Baltics, Visegrad Four), and further adoption of shared standards and co-operation on news gathering and content sharing.
The New Diplomacy Independent Journalism Fellowship for Eastern Partnership Countries
The fellowships will take place from August 2016-February 2017 (with placements for up to five weeks in an EU country during the period September-December 2016).
The fellowships will comprise:
mentoring of the fellows so that prior to their fellowship visit they conduct research and interviews in their own countries that can then be used for reports to be printed/broadcast during their placement in the respective EU countries.
linking of all the fellows whereby they would work together on a common series of articles/stories on common themes around democratisation and media reforms - based on the subject focus and complementary experience of the respective journalists.
participation in a multi-country effort to strengthen standards on public service broadcasting, on control and sanctions against propaganda, and on common quality standards for independent news reporting
a five-week stay at a host media outlet in the EU, including:
visits to media regulatory authorities and independent media watchdogs/media institutes to research existing practice and standards in independent journalism and media regulation
visits to NGOs, media professional associations, and human rights organizations/independent think-tanks working on democracy, media and human rights in Eastern Partner countries
work/cooperation on news stories for the host media institution, resulting in printed articles and/or broadcast news stories
work/cooperation on news stories for the fellow's own media outlet in her/his respective home country
participation in roundtable event on independent media and the parallel challenges of journalism quality standards and Russian propaganda (to be organised by the mentor and/or host media organization)
research by each fellow into selected aspects of journalism standards and regulations (agreed with the mentors in close consultation with New Diplomacy)
More information can be found here.