A total of 16 fellowships were awarded to EU/UK-based minority-language journalists to carry out collaborative reporting projects and professional placements in the first of three application rounds under the inaugural NewsSpectrum programme.
The fellowships will be carried out with leading media across the EU and the UK, providing a boost to coverage of public interest and European affairs in minority-language media.
An independent jury awarded about €160,000 to eight reporting projects and eight professional placements, which support newsroom exchanges on reporting or business development. Both the minority-language media professional and majority-language partner could request up to €6000 of support.
Media from 14 countries working in 19 languages
The successful fellows were chosen from over 50 applications made to the Collaborative Reporting Fellowship and the Professional Placement Fellowship programmes. Fellows and majority-language partners represent media based in 13 EU member states plus Britain, producing content in 19 languages.
Under the Collaborative Reporting Fellowship scheme, the eight NewsSpectrum fellows selected result in the following minority/majority media partnerships:
- Artı Gerçek and taz – Germany
- Átlátszó Erdély and Átlátszó.hu – Romania/Hungary
- Hargita Népe and Documentaria – Romania
- RusDelfi and Eesti Päevaleht – Estonia
- Spring Pictures and Česká televize (CT) – United Kingdom/Czech Republic
- Transindex.ro and Telex.hu – Romania/Hungary
- Új Szó and Telex.hu – Slovakia/Hungary
- Xarda and Público – Galicia (Spain)/Portugal
The collaborative reporting projects focus on diverse public interest and European affairs, including minority-related topics, and incorporate a range of journalistic formats, including multimedia journalism and investigative reporting.
Under the Professional Placement Fellowship scheme, the eight NewsSpectrum fellows selected result in the following minority/majority media partnerships:
- Freelancer and Deutsche Welle – Germany/Germany
- Freelancer and Danmarks Radio – Denmark/Denmark
- Berria and The Herald – Basque Country (Spain)/Scotland (UK)
- Der Nordschleswiger and Dagens Nyheter – Denmark/Sweden
- Flensborg Avis and Berlingske Media – Germany/Denmark
- Punskas.pl and Lithuanian National Radio and Television – Poland/Lithuania
- Primorski Dnevnik and L’Espresso – Italy
- Transindex.ro and Telex.hu – Romania/Hungary
The Professional Placement Fellowships will foster skills exchange on a wide range of newsroom-related fields, including digital transition, investigative journalism, and community engagement.
More details on the fellowships will be provided during the course of the year.
Independent jury
The full criteria used by the jury to select fellows is available on the NewsSpectrum.eu website. They include the newsworthiness of minority-language topics and audience relevance for the Collaborative Reporting Fellowship, as well as skills building and knowledge exchange for the Professional Placements Fellowship, among other criteria. Applications were rated by the jury for the sustainability of links and networks between minority and majority-language media.
The NewsSpectrum Fellowships programme is run by the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) in partnership with the European Association of Daily Newspapers in Minority and Regional Languages (MIDAS) and the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture. The fellowship is open to journalists (including freelancers) and other media professionals working for minority-language media in the EU and UK, including Roma and migrant languages.
In the coming weeks and months, collaborative reporting partners will work on location together where possible to complete and publish their stories in both media for their respective audiences in their local languages. Professional placements will also roll out at the same time with minority-language media professionals working on-site when possible at their host majority-language partners’ newsrooms.
A second call for NewsSpectrum applications will be announced in early July.