The Third Pole (www.thethirdpole.net) and Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN), with support from Skoll Global Threats Fund, are providing an opportunity that could be helpful for journalists who have an interest in multimedia and data visualization but lack adequate funding for research and field trips.
Story Themes
The river systems of the Hindu Kush Himalaya are interrelated and cross many national boundaries. The region extends 3,500 km over eight countries from Afghanistan in the west to Myanmar in the east (inlcuding Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan). It is the source of ten large Asian river systems -– the Amu Darya, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo), Irrawaddy, Salween (Nu), Mekong (Lancang), Yangtze (Jinsha), Yellow River (Huanghe), and Tarim (Dayan). These rivers provide water to 1.3 billion people, a fifth of the world’s population
Protecting vital systems and restoring damaged ones demands systemic understanding, sound planning and good decision making.
This requires the most comprehensive information possible to foster the building of expertise, long-term thinking and collaboration between governments, experts and civil organisations.
Stories should focus on issues that connect water issues to climate change, energy development, policy, regional cooperation, and/or biodiversity.
Story Formats
EJN is offering grants of up to $1,500USD depending on the proposal and method of coverage. The proposed reports should include multimedia and /or data-driven content. Data visualization software can be used and reporters should be able to collect data, interpret and make simple understandable maps for their stories. A few stories published under this kind of fellowships in the past are as follows:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/glacial-lakes-ticking-time-bombs-in-uttarakhand/article7704700.ece
https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/high-and-dry-upper-mustang
Applicants should provide a detailed budget with justification for the amount requested. We expect that proposals will largely reflect what equipment the applicant already has access to (including cameras, drones, lighting, tripods, etc) and will not consider budgets that heavily focus on procuring new supplies.
Please download this budget form to complete your application
EXPECTED STORY LENGTHS:*
Long-form Narrative: 2,500 to 5,000 words
News Article: 500 to 1,200 words
Multimedia Package: Video piece around 2-6 minutes in length with possible graphics, photos, text, maps
*NOTE: Applicants for long-form narratives and news articles should include plans for accompanying multimedia elements (i.e. video, photos) in their pitch.
ESTIMATED TIMELINE FOR THE FELLOWSHIPS:
Two months. The deadline for publishing stories is 31, July 2016.
Fellows should publish at least one story during their fellowships for their media outlets. Once published on their media outlets such reports will also be published on www.thethirdpole.net , www.earthjournalism.net
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
- All story ideas are welcome, but special consideration will be given to applicants looking to produce multimedia packages including maps on topics related to river basins. Identifying specific datasets that could be used in the report is preferred.
- Journalists (online, print, television) with a track record of reporting on environmental issues are welcome to apply.
- We encourage freelancers and staff from all types of media outlets—both large and small—to submit applications.
- Technical and editorial support from the Third Pole and Earth Journalism Network is available to fellows and a willingness to work collaboratively is considered as part of the selection process.
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants must have an EJN account which can be created through the given website. If you do not already have an account on the EJN site, you must register for an account before applying. To do so, click on “create an account” below. Once you fill in all the required fields, you can save the application and will receive a confirmation email from the Earth Journalism Network with instructions to finalize your submission.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
http://earthjournalism.net/opportunities/story-fellowships-for-environmental-data-journalism-in-the-hindu-kush-himalayan-region