NewsSpectrum is delighted to share that 17 fellowships have been awarded to EU/UK-based minority-language journalists in the programme’s second application round.
Grantees will carry out collaborative reporting projects and professional placements 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 expert jury awarded around €160,000 to 11 reporting projects and 6 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.
Diverse set of fellows
Fellows and majority-language partners represent media based in 10 EU countries plus Britain, with backgrounds in 11 different languages, including regional minority languages, migrant languages, and Roma languages.
Under the Collaborative Reporting Fellowship scheme, the eleven NewsSpectrum fellows selected result in the following minority/majority media partnerships:
- Al-Fanar Media and Podium – UK
- Freelancer and taz – Germany
- Freelancer/Romblog and Deutsche Welle – Austria/Germany
- Latgales laiks and Latvijas Mediji JSC – Latvia
- Freelancer/Romblog and Deutsche Welle – Austria/Germany
- RusRadio LT and Delfi Lithuania – Lithuania
- Freelancer and ERIAC/Proud Roma Free Europe – Germany
- ROMEA TV and Deutsche Welle – Czech Republic/Germany
- Transindex.ro and Telex.hu – Romania/Hungary
- Freelance and LSM/Public Broadcasting of Latvia – Latvia
- Baynana and La Marea – Spain
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 six NewsSpectrum fellows selected result in the following minority/majority media partnerships:
- Gazeta de Spania and Sud Vest – Spain/Romania
- Kurzemes Vārds and TV Kurzeme – Latvia
- Rai Südtirol and BR – Bayerischer Rundfunk – Italy/Germany
- Freelancer/Roma Standing Conference and ERIAC/Proud Roma Free Europe – Bulgaria/Germany
- Freelancer/Refugee Journalism Project (UK) and TBC – UK
- Gipsy TV/Gipsy Radio and Deutsche Welle – Austria/Germany
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.
Final application round open now
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 (ERIAC). 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.
The third and final call for NewsSpectrum fellowship applications is currently open with a deadline of September 27.