Extractive Reporting Fellowships

Do you want to write with authority about natural resources?

100Reporters is inviting proposals for three Extractive Reporting Fellowships, to run for eight months. Extractive Reporting Fellows will receive financial and editorial support to complete reporting projects that will significantly advance what is known about natural resource governance in their country or region. Fellowships will provide mentorship and editorial support from experienced editors, as well as a stipend for fellows and assistance with reporting expenses. The goal will be to publish the resulting reports in local and regional news outlets, or as podcasts. If appropriate for an international audience, the resulting stories may also appear on the 100Reporters website, with possible co-publication in global news outlets. Beyond the immediate investigations, the overarching goal of the fellowships is hands-on training and support of promising journalists in watchdog reporting on the extractive sector.

Eligibility:

The inaugural fellowship is open to applicants working in Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda and Myanmar. The fellowship is open to both freelance and staff journalists at news organizations working in print, radio or television, and welcomes multi-media projects. Eligible journalists will be mid-career, either freelance or employed by a media organization. (If employed by a media organization, the supervising editor must support the proposal and conditionally agree to publish the resulting stories.)
Priority will be given to well-researched proposals that investigate revenue management and public returns from government agreements in the extractive sector. Proposals may also highlight known red flags for corruption, such as unusual bidding processes for awarding licenses to extractive companies, the use of beneficial ownership to conceal the identity of government officials poised to profit privately from mining operations, shell companies, and the diversion of funds from national treasuries. Coverage published under this fellowship will have complete editorial independence from the funding source, however the Natural Resource Governance Institute will make extractive industry experts available to assist in research and for background.

The criteria used to judge the proposals will include:
• Originality of proposed idea
• Potential for advancing what is known about extractive sector
• Opportunity for expanding arsenal of reporting skills and techniques (e.g., via data analysis, contract analysis, multimedia journalism)
• Overall quality of proposal
• Likelihood of completion within allotted timeframe
• Potential impact

To Apply:

To apply, please submit your proposal of up to three pages outlining the reporting project, telling us what you expect to prove, and how the story or stories will advance what is already known about the issue. Your proposal should be specific and based on fact, not rumor or opinion, with enough information and research to demonstrate the story is solid. Tell us about what has already been published elsewhere on the issue, where your reporting will break new ground, and why it matters.

Your proposal should include a plan showing how you will carry out the reporting, including a rough timeline for its completion. If you will rely on documents or information made available through resource governance laws such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, tell us that, too. Please include a conditional letter of commitment for publication or broadcast from a news organization agreeing to publish the story or project, provided it meets the outlet’s expectations and standards.

Proposals must include a budget outlining expenses for any out-of-pocket costs, such as travel, lodging, and interpreters or other assistance needed. If approved, 100Reporters will develop a safety and security plan in consultation with fellows, as needed. Budgets must be expressed in dollars.

Proposals should include with three samples of your work and a resume, as well as references from two editors who have worked with you.

Proposals and stories must be written in English, and submitted to fellowship@100R.org. The deadline for applications is September 15, 2018. Selections will be announced by September 30.

This fellowship is supported by a grant from the Natural Resources Governance Institute, which has endorsed the complete editorial independence of the project. Read more from https://100r.org/2018/08/extractive-reporting-fellowships/