Call for Applications: Rural Media Support Programme (Pakistan)

Benefits

• By participating in this programme, media outlets will be able to:
  • Strengthen their internal capacities in order to operate in a safer, more inclusive, and resilient manner.
  • Elevate their content production skills and amplify the representation of rural voices in media.
  • Connect with fellow independent rural media outlets for cross-regional learning and advocacy.

Programme Structure

• Coaching Sessions
  • Throughout the programme, selected media outlets will participate in a series of coaching sessions designed to strengthen their internal capacities in the following areas:
    • Gender and inclusion.
    • (Digital) safety
    • Internal governance and organizational procedures.
    • Audience engagement
    • Alternative production models and SWOT analyses.
• Fellowships
  • Selected media outlets and their respective pools of (freelance) journalists will also participate in four rounds of six-month fellowships designed to enhance content production skills and amplify rural voices in Pakistani media.
  • Media outlets will elevate their content production skills through a series of workshops facilitated by experts. These will focus on the following topics:
    • Digital storytelling, audience engagement, and alternative production/business models, including the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    • Ethical journalism, fact-checking, and pre/debunking mis/disinformation
    • Inclusive reporting.
• Advocacy
  • Selected media outlets will also have the opportunity to engage, exchange, and connect with fellow rural media outlets through the creation of a dedicated network. As part of this initiative, three coalition-building workshops will be organized to foster collaboration and stimulate joint advocacy on the following thematic challenges:
    • Press freedom and journalists’ physical safety.
    • Gender, diversity, and inclusion in the media sector.
    • The influence of emerging technologies on media.
    • Financial sustainability.

Eligibility Criteria

• They welcome applications from media outlets that meet the following eligibility criteria:
  • Located in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh or South Punjab
  • Operational for at least 1 year
  • Financially and editorially independent
  • Committed to gender equality and inclusion
  • Actively engaged in public interest journalism
  • Able to prove reasonable capacity, recent activity, and on-the ground presence.

For more information, visit PPF.