Opportunities for covering COVID-19

| April 27, 2020

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In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists, broadcasters, and radio staff play a more important role than ever. The trusted voices of media professionals can help listeners stay safe, informed, and hopeful by sharing reliable information and countering fake news. Here is a list of opportunities designed to help journalists cover COVID-19 safely and accurately.

Google has launched a Journalism Emergency Relief Fundto help small to medium-sized news organizations cover COVID-19.

Applicants are invited to fill out an online application detailing basic information about their organization and how the funds will be spent.

Applicants must represent an organization with a digital presence, and which has been operating for at least 12 months. Eligible organizations include for profit and non-profit news organizations, and radio and/or television broadcasters.

Grants will be made in US dollars or Euros, depending on the region.

The deadline to apply is April 29, 2020.

Submissions can be made by completing the following form: https://newsinitiative.withgoogle.com/journalism-emergency-relief-fund/apply/

For more information, including eligible regions, go to: https://newsinitiative.withgoogle.com/journalism-emergency-relief-fund

The Africa-China Reporting Project is offering reporting grants of up to $1,500 US for public health stories related to COVID-19.

Journalists are invited to submit proposals for stories that investigate ground-level responses, capacity, successes, failures, services, and collaborations on COVID-19 in African countries.

To apply, journalists must submit an up-to-date CV and a story proposal that includes a brief summary of what will be reported and how, including where the investigation will take place. Applicants must indicate where the story will be published and present a detailed budget of up to $1,500 US.

Applications must be submitted in English, although stories may be written in French. The deadline to apply is April 30, 2020.

For more information on suggested topics and how to apply, go to: https://africachinareporting.co.za/2020/03/call-for-applications-public-health-reporting-grants-2020/

The National Geographic Society has launched an emergency fund for local and hyper-local COVID-19 coverage.

Writers, photographers, videographers, audio journalists, cartographers, filmmakers, and data visualization experts are invited to apply. Grants range from $1,000 to $8,000 US for evidence-based reporting on COVID-19 preparation, response, and impact within applicants’ communities.

Stories submitted must prioritize communities which are at high risk or have been heavily impacted by COVID-19, especially indigenous communities, immigrant or refugee communities, underserved, urban, rural, or elderly populations, and children. 

Beyond medical and physical health related to COVID-19, suggested topics include social, emotional, economic, and equity issues that have been brought to light by the pandemic.

Applications must be submitted in English and will be received on a continuous basis.

For more information and to apply, go to: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/funding-opportunities/grants/what-we-fund/covid-19-emergency-fund/

Meedan is offering grants to support initiatives related to COVID-19.

Applicants are invited to submit proposals for fact checking and verification initiatives, local watchdog initiatives, coverage of the realities of quarantine in local communities, tracking the impact of COVID-19-related lockdowns on democracy, and violence against women related to COVID-19.

Individual applicants can apply for up to $500 US, organizations for up to $2,000 US, and collaborative projects for up $2,500 US. Submissions will be judged on the basis of originality and significance, achievability, impact and dissemination, and rigour.

Proposals can be made in English, Arabic, French, Spanish, and Portuguese and will be received on a continuous basis.

Submissions can be made by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfyYCTIZ4sWUL9XaR0tl2x0BTPCkxk_Sfe6PxM7gJW7jSgM5g/viewform

For more information, go to: https://meedan.com/blog/new-microgrants-for-covid-19-media-work-in-emerging-economies/