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European pioneers such as De Correspondent and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism have built promising models that put community engagement (geographical or topical) at the centre of their ownership, reporting, distribution, impact and revenue.
However support for these types of newsrooms is limited. There’s not enough funding available to organisations emerging in the same space. Very often it is not linked to sustainability, nor does it come with enough support or coaching. Innovation across Europe is siloed, and media environments are very different.
The European Journalism Centre, with funding from the News Integrity Initiative and Civil, seeks to change this with a €1.7m Engaged Journalism Accelerator.
What are they accelerating?
European publishers that place community engagement at the heart of their strategy.
There is incredible variety in new, emerging business models and journalistic practices across Europe in membership, cooperatives, merchandising and partnerships. ECJ are mindful that there’s no single winning model for engagement or revenue.
Funding
€600k of grants will support new revenue and sustainability for 10–15 European organisations. This funding will focus on emerging media organisations with proven user loyalty.
Typically, they will be growing newsrooms who need support in financing expansion, business development and product development. Funds will be available for bringing in new expertise or technology to support this.
Two rounds of open calls will launch in October 2018 and February 2019, with a simple application process designed to attract a diverse range of applicants engaging a diverse range of audiences. To stay up to date, sign up for their Funding newsletter.