What
Upcoming deadlines for global grants applications and other opportunities
This selection is aimed at media workers, practitioners, researchers and journalists. More information can be found by following the links under each summary.
All opportunities are in chronological order.
Good luck!
Around the world public media organisations and funders have also launched funds to help support producers, freelancers and creators and provide security during uncertain times. For more details about these opportunities, check out our dedicated public media funding page.
Also check out our Coronavirus resources and best practices page, which includes a list of additional funding opportunities that aim to support media professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Featured Opportunities
Why does media matter for development? – MOOC
Course starts: 4 January 2021
The Public Media Alliance has joined forces with colleagues at the Department of International Development, University of East Anglia (UEA) to launch the free, four-week, online course via FutureLearn that explores why media matters for development.
Throughout the course, participants will cover different types of media including participatory, community, social and public media as well as media representations and how they play a vital role in development processes and social change.
The course is designed for individuals who have an interest in studying or working in the fields of media and international development and is open to all.
Click here for more details and to register onto the course.
The Global Investigative Journalism Network (IGJN) launched a collaborative network during a GIJN webinar. This is a platform where pitches for investigative documentaries and long-form productions about Covid-19 can be submitted and passed onto several public broadcaster production teams including BBC Africa, BBC Arabic, CBC Canada, PBS Frontline and RTS in Switzerland as well as Premières Lignes, an independent French TV production and news agency that has worked with France Télévisions.
Collaborative News Content [PMA Members]
PMA has partnered with Orb Media, a research journalism non-profit organisation, which specialises in transforming “global, long-term issues of social and environmental sustainability into locally actionable information”, to provide our members with free, high-quality news content and resources. Their latest project explores the impact of community health workers tackling some of the world’s most pressing health challenges.
More information can be found at the Orb Media website, while PMA members should contact PMA for access.
Month by month
Why does media matter for development? – MOOC
Course starts: 4 January 2021
The Public Media Alliance has joined forces with colleagues at the Department of International Development, University of East Anglia (UEA) to launch the free, four-week, online course via FutureLearn that explores why media matters for development.
Throughout the course, participants will cover different types of media including participatory, community, social and public media as well as media representations and how they play a vital role in development processes and social change.
The course is designed for individuals who have an interest in studying or working in the fields of media and international development and is open to all.
NED offers grants for media projects
Deadlines: 11 January 2021 (via email); 29 January 2021 (via portal)
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is seeking proposals for projects that advance democratic goals and strengthen democratic institutions. NED encourages applications from organizations working in diverse environments including newly established democracies, semi-authoritarian countries, highly repressive societies and countries undergoing democratic transition. Grant amounts vary depending on the size and scope of the projects, but the average grant lasts 12 months and is around US$50,000.
[Text sourced from IJNet]
European Development Journalism Grants programme
Deadline: 18 January 2021
The European Journalism Centre (EJC) will be awarding up to eight grants of EUR 112,500 on average to report on global development topics. Projects must address one or more of the first six Sustainable Development Goals as well as focus on at least one UN-defined ‘Least Developed Country’ and/or their development relations with key European donor countries. This opportunity is open to media outlets in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Reporting on Immunisation training programme
Deadline: 18 January
Thomson Reuters Foundation in partnership with the Sabin Vaccine Institute launches a five-day training programme “Reporting on Immunisation and Vaccination” for staff or freelance journalists from Honduras, Bolivia and Guyana. The course will be available in English and Spanish and will run for two separate groups of 15 people each. While the English workshop is primarily intended for journalists in Guyana, it is open to any journalist with full English proficiency in low- and middle-income countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region*, including Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Suriname and St. Vincent and the Grenadines .
[Text sourced from Thomson Reuters Foundation]
European Commission Media Freedom and Investigative Journalism funding (Call for proposals)
Deadline: 20 January 2021
As threats to investigative journalism and the safety of journalists continue to rise, the European Union announced that it has made 3.9 million euros available for actions and initiatives to support media freedom and media diversity across the EU.
The Call for Proposals comes under three Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions: Action 1 – ‘A Europe-wide response mechanism for violations of press and media freedom’; (Pilot Project); Action 2 – ‘Cross-border investigative journalism fund’ (Preparatory Action), and Action 3 – ‘Supporting investigative journalism and media freedom in the EU’.
“The selected projects will be expected to ensure inter-project coordination and to regularly exchange information on their activities.”
Amnesty International UK Media Awards 2021 [UK based]
Deadline: 21 January 2021
“Amnesty International Media Awards celebrate excellence in human rights journalism and applaud the courage and determination of journalists and editors who put their lives on the line to tell important human rights stories.”
Categories include written and broadcast news, investigation, feature, student journalism, documentaries, radio and podcasts, among several others.
Reports must be published or broadcast between 1 January and 31 December 2020.
BBC World Service’s international podcast competition
Deadline: 22 January 2021
The BBC World Service has launched its first ever international podcast competition, open to people living in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. Applicants must be 18 years or over, not already professionals in broadcast media or have a credit on a commercial podcast, and the submitted idea must not already exist as a podcast or radio programme. Ideas which resonate with women are of particular interest.
O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism
Deadline: 23 January 2021
The O’Brien Fellowship in public service journalism is open to journalists with five years of experience. Offered by Marquette University in Wisconsin, in partnership with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the fellowship enables journalists to spend nine months reporting and producing an in-depth public service journalism project on a regional, national, or international topic. The fellowship provides a $70,000 salary stipend as well as additional support.
South African radio competition
Deadline: 5 February
Radio journalists from South Africa can enter a competition. The Liberty Radio Awards, sponsored by the Liberty Group, highlight the best of national and community radio talent in South Africa. The awards feature dozens of categories for both presenters and stations. Entries must have been aired in 2020 on campus, community and commercial radio stations. Podcasts and internet-only radio shows are also eligible.
Course on diversity in the news and newsrooms
Deadline: 7 February
This MOOC, from the Knight Center in partnership with the Google News Initiative, provides four weekly modules from 11 January to 7 February, 2021. This instructor-led course aims to explore how diversity can transform journalism by democratising the profession from within. Over the course’s duration, participants will learn about strategies to diversify newsrooms and retain talent and tools to work on stereotypes and racial biases which may colour news coverage.
Fund for Investigative Journalism Regular Grant [US Based]
Deadline: 8 February 2021
“The Fund provides grants to journalists for investigative stories that break new ground – which means they uncover wrongdoing in the public and private sectors and reveal information that was previously unknown or hidden.”
Grants can be between $5,000 and $10,000 and “cover out-of-pocket expenses such as travel, document collection and equipment rental. The Fund also considers requests for small stipends.”
Proposals written for ethnic media or from journalists of colour are encouraged to apply.
Reuters Institute’s Journalist Fellowship Programme
Deadline: 8 February
The Reuters Institute’s Journalist Fellowship Programme is now open. Each year, RISJ accepts around 30 Journalist Fellows from around the world with the aim of furthering their understanding of journalism, the news industry, and their place within it. The programme is open to working journalists and editors. Most Journalist Fellows are fully-funded and receive a stipend to cover travel and living costs.
Sheffield Doc/Fest call for entries
Deadlines: 15 February AND 1 March
The MeetMarket and Arts Talent Market 2021 are now open for applications! MeetMarket is one of the world’s largest documentary and factual markets for feature docs, formats and docu-series. Arts Talent Market is for discussing new projects of digital non fiction narratives, ranging from video, audio and sound art, interactive documentary, immersive virtual reality, augmented and mixed reality, AI, immersive sound technology, games, 360° video, motion comic to performance, expanded cinema and art installations. MeetMarket deadline to apply is Monday 15 February 2021, 12:00 (noon, GMT). Arts Talent Market deadline to apply is Monday 1 March 2021, 12:00 (noon, GMT).
[Text sourced from Sheffield Doc/Fest]
One World Media Awards 2021
Deadline: 16 February 2021
Call for entries: 12 January 2021
The 2021 edition of the One World Media Awards is officially open for entries! The awards recognise outstanding stories — whether they have been printed, broadcast, or screened either in the United Kingdom or internationally — which cover social, political or cultural life within the Global South. Works published between Feb. 13, 2020 and Feb. 16, 2021 are eligible.
The Awards Ceremony is due to take place in June 2021.
NordMedia 2021: Call for abstracts
Deadline: 19 February
The NordMedia 2021 conference call for abstracts is now out and will open for submissions in January 2021. The biannual conference will take place 18 – 20 August 2021 at the University of Iceland in Reykjavík. The theme of NordMedia21 is Crisis and resilience: Nordic media research on the frontline. A pre-conference for PhD-students takes place on 17 August, the day before the main conference. The deadline for abstract submission is February 19th, 2021.
[Text sourced from NordMedia Network]
10 scholarships available from DW Akademie
Deadline: 31 March
DW Akademie is now accepting applications for its International Media Studies program and up to 10 full scholarships are available to applicants from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Journalists, media managers, and other communication professionals who hold a bachelor’s degree, have a good command of English and German, and have at least a year of professional experience in a media-related field can apply.
Beyond survival? A new Human Resources research project for PMA members
Deadline: Ongoing
Our new project aims to develop people management strategies to ensure the development and growth of PSMs in the fragmented digital media landscape.
In an exciting new research project, the Public Media Alliance (PMA) has partnered with Peter Block from the University of Westminster’s Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), to launch a project that will review the processes by which participating PSM’s manage the employer-employee relationship during the employment life-cycle.
The purpose is to highlight issues for the sector at large, identify common themes of staff development needs, and offer some practical recommendations for good practice to the PMA community.
BFI Young Audiences Content Fund
Deadline: Rolling
The BFI is administering a three-year pilot fund of £57 million, derived from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), to help expand the children’s content industry in the UK.
The Fund seeks to support public service broadcasting content aimed at audiences under 18 with the creation and development of new programmes which include PSB values by reflecting UK identity and children’s lives (both regionally and nationally), educating and informing audiences as well as representing more diversity and alternative voices.
‘Production and development awards will contribute to the funding of programmes, shown on television and online platforms, that have public service broadcasting values in live-action and animation and across all genres.’
[Text from BFI]
Collaborative Operations and Services Grant Program [US based]
Organised by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), “The Collaborative Operations and Services (“COS”) grant program is intended to support multistation initiatives to fully develop and implement collaborations, strategic alliances and other forms of partnerships that will increase stations’ abilities and capacities to achieve more together than each can accomplish alone.
The COS will provide smaller grants to assist stations with facilitation, analysis, and research (“FAR”) required for establishing parameters for collaboration efforts (see details below), as well as larger grants for the implementation of serious collaborative efforts.”
[Text sourced from CPB]
Data Journalism Grant
Deadline: Rolling
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-profit organization that supports independent global journalism, is seeking applications for innovative data-driven journalism projects that spotlight under reported issues. This opportunity is open to all newsrooms and independent journalists in the United States and abroad.
[Text sourced from Pulitzer Center]
Funding available for Black journalists
The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) and Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund are providing two emergency funding opportunities. The Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund is designed to provide financial assistance for Black journalists who are unable to pay for mental health support. The IWMF’s United States Journalism Emergency Fund may address needs related to work, such as medical aid, destroyed or stolen equipment and protective gear; or long-term needs such as trauma, mental health services and referrals to legal support. Applicants must be working journalists and must provide proof of their financial need.
[Text sourced from IJNet]
Fund for Environmental Journalism Proposal Guidelines (US-based)
Deadline: Rolling
The 2020 Rapid Response Grants from the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) support journalism projects covering environment-related issues including climate or conservation in North America, the United States, and globally.
ICFJ Knight Fellowships
Deadline: Rolling
The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is looking for outstanding journalists with a background in digital journalism, training or coaching, to work “in key areas of innovation such as newsroom transformation, entrepreneurship and business models, technology creation and adoption, diverse voices in news, investigative reporting, digital security and specialized reporting on health, gender and development.”
“Fellowships are typically a minimum of one year, and may be extended by ICFJ depending on funding and the opportunity for greater impact. Fellowship projects must produce measurable results.”
Proposals for fellowships are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year but there are other opportunities to apply for that can be found on the website.
[Text from ICFJ]
Deadline: Rolling
“The Assistance Desk of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) provides financial and administrative assistance to professional journalists and citizen-journalists who have been the victims of reprisals because of their reporting.” Individuals, NGOs and media outlets can apply for support.
[Text sourced from RSF]
Deadline: Ongoing
The Chilean digital magazine Puroperiodismo, is inviting journalists, developers, designers and innovators residing in Latin America and the Caribbean to participate in this project.
Media professionals who are currently exploring new technologies, approaches to reporting, developing an app or similar are encourage to talk about it in the magazine.
Entries are on an ongoing basis
International Reporting Grants
Deadline: Rolling
The Pulitzer Center’s International Reporting grants support reportage on topics of global importance. Grants are open to reporters, photographers, radio/audio journalists, television/video journalists, and documentary filmmakers. COVID-19 projects are currently being prioritised as well as other projects that can be completed in the near term without much travelling.
IWMF – Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists
The Howard G. Buffet Fund for Women Journalists, established by the International Women’s Media Foundation, provides funding to promote and advance the work of woman-identifying journalists in the news media globally. The fund accepts applications on a rolling basis. Teams of journalists may apply but the submission must be from a woman journalist and her team must include at least 50% women.
Journalism training opportunity: How can solutions journalism enhance how we report on migration?
Deadline: Throughout 2020
Are you a journalist based in the EU and covering (or interested in covering) migration?
The Local’s journalists have developed a curriculum for applying the techniques of solutions journalism to migration reporting as part of an EU-wide project, MAX (Maximising Migrants’ Contributions to Society). Funded by the EU’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, MAX aims to expand the public narrative around immigration in Europe and highlight stories of real people who have migrated and the communities they have joined.
NPR Story Lab
Deadline: Rolling
“The NPR Story Lab is looking for great ideas. In fact, we’re an idea hub – generating new segments for our news programs, creating radio shows, and launching new podcasts. We want to collaborate with member stations and independent producers. We want to work with new talent that brings a fresh perspective to NPR. We want to keep innovating and leading in the podcast and radio world. The NPR Story Lab is a true creative studio at the heart of NPR, one that fosters experimentation and continues to evolve the sound of public radio. Tell us your ideas, and let’s make stuff!”
Are you interested in submitting your story or pitching a programme idea to America’s foremost public radio station? NPR are accepting applications on a rolling basis. Get involved via the link below.
OPEN Media Hub offers free online courses [Eastern Europe, MENA]
Deadline: Rolling
Journalists, media managers and other media professionals can take self-directed courses in English, French, Arabic and Russian. The OPEN Media Hub provides e-learning courses as a part of the support for media professionals in the countries of the European Neighborhood, including Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Topics range from media management and content production to media coverage of migration and COVID-19. All courses are free of charge and permanently open. Certificates are available to users who successfully complete them.
[Text sourced from IJNet]
Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa
Deadline: Ongoing
“OSIEA plays an active role in encouraging open, informed dialogue on issues of importance in Eastern Africa. Through a combination of grant making, advocacy and convening power, OSIEA is able to support and amplify the voices of pro-democracy organizations and individuals in the region and to strengthen their capacity to hold their governments accountable. This includes efforts to defend and support rights activists and pro-democracy advocates who come under attack for their work. ”
The eligibility criteria includes supporting projects based around media and access to information. The OSIEA is available to both organisations and individuals.
Interested grant seekers should consult the OSIEA website for more information on eligibility and application guidelines.
Pitching Investigative Documentaries – GIJN
Deadline: Rolling
The Global Investigative Journalism Network (IGJN) launched a collaborative network during a GIJN webinar. This is a platform where pitches for investigative documentaries and long-form productions about Covid-19 can be submitted and passed onto several public broadcaster production teams including BBC Africa, BBC Arabic, CBC Canada, PBS Frontline and RTS in Switzerland as well as Premières Lignes, an independent French TV production and news agency that has worked with France Télévisions.
Submit your pitch here:
Rory Peck Trust Assistance Grants for Freelance Journalists
The Rory Peck Trust provides assistance to freelance journalists and their families around the world. Applicants must be able to receive a grant from a British registered charity.
Rory Peck Trust Training Fund for Freelance Journalists
The Rory Peck Training Fund provides training to freelance journalists to equip them with the essential skills and knowledge needed to work in difficult and potentially dangerous situations. The training fund is available to freelancers who have worked in newsgathering and/or current affairs for a minimum of 18 months. Priority is given to those who work in hostile environments and to those with confirmed assignments.
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Grants
Deadline: Ongoing
The Pulitzer Center has published an advisory note to all new applicants in light of Covid-19. Please read here.
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting offers several ongoing grants “to support in-depth, high-impact reporting on topics of global importance, including investigations of systemic problems that are often overlooked by mainstream U.S. media.” These include the International Reporting Grant, Rainforest Journalism Fund and Bringing Stories Home: Local Reporting Grants. Freelance and staff journalists from news outlets can apply.
Find out how to apply and the other grants available via the link below:
The Self-Investigation: A free online stress management program for journalists
In partnership with the ICFJ, Open News and the Online News Association, “The self-investigation is a free online program designed to support journalists with knowledge and evidence-based practices they can use to relate to stress and digital overload in a healthier way. This is an opportunity to get access to ongoing support from professionals so you can feel more balanced and tap into your innate resilience. The English language edition will take place over four weeks in July.”
[Text sourced from The Self-Investigation]
Training: Online Courses for Media Professionals
Deadline: Ongoing
A selection of online tutorials created by the European Journalism Centre and supported by the Google News Initiative.
The diverse new set of courses include ‘Where to hire a data journalist’; ‘Python for journalists’ as well as “Google Search for Journalists”; “Verification: the basics” and “Managing Data Journalism Projects” among many others.
All courses are free and vary in difficulty. Courses can be completed at the participant’s preferred pace.
Transatlantic Media Fellowship
Deadline: Ongoing
European media representatives are invited to apply for this fellowship, which will give them the chance to travel across the United States and expand on their knowledge of America and its citizens.
Organized by the Transatlantic Media Network (TMN), the goal of this fellowship is to strengthen the existing transatlantic relationship and improving mutual understanding among journalists and media professionals of both sides of the Atlantic.
The visiting journalists will follow an individual itinerary, created on their skills and interests, which will take them mostly around Washington DC and to visit TMN’s partner institutions, such as universities and journalism schools.
The fellowships may have a different duration but they will all be up to three months.
Last updated on 15 January 2021.
If you have any suggestions for grants applications and other opportunities please email PMA at editor@publicmediaalliance.org.