Lieutenant Governor’s B.C. Journalism Fellowship (Canada)

The objective is to encourage and enable journalists to go above and beyond their typical level of coverage so that many of the crucial challenges they face today are no longer under-reported and receive deep, complex storytelling to better inform the citizens of British Columbia.

The Lieutenant Governor’s B.C. Journalism Fellowship will provide funding to journalists so they can invest the time and other resources in producing excellent in-depth coverage of important topics.

Funding Information

• The Lieutenant Governor’s B.C. Journalism Fellowship will offer up to $25,000 each year, over three years, starting in 2022.  Each year an eligible journalist or journalists will receive the funds to spend 2 – 4 months to research, produce/write a deep-dive journalism project of significance to British Columbians and have it published/broadcasted by a committed publishing source.

Cost Covered

• Costs that are covered by this fellowship may include:
  • Travel costs, if necessary and as specified and detailed in the project proposal including the costs of travel (air/train/car), ground transfers/local transportation, baggage costs, hotel costs and a per diem of $50 per day for meals and other incidentals.
  • Research costs, as specified and detailed in the project proposal and may also include costs to offset any salary loss if time off is required in order to research/write/complete this project.
  • Production costs, if necessary and as specified and detailed in the project proposal to cover costs for necessary studio or video/audio processing costs in order to complete the project.

Eligibility Criteria

• The fellowship is focused on British Columbia public interest journalism that takes a deep-dive into a subject that is under-reported or may fill a knowledge gap on a matter of significance to the people of British Columbia.
• The topic will be of complexity that requires well substantiated storytelling to support a better-informed public.
• The subject matter must be clearly tied to British Columbia, its people/communities.
• The journalism produced may be of written content for print or digital publishing or may be multimedia such as a video and/or podcast.
• The journalism produced can be in a language other than English.
• While fellowship projects may be published/broadcast in a language other than English, jurors reserve the right to have submissions translated into English.
• B.C.-based journalists with a minimum of three years of experience in various stages of their career are eligible for the fellowship.
• You must be a working journalist, full time or freelance.
• Teams of journalists may also apply.
• You must have a letter of support from a publishing source which confirms to publish/broadcast the work upon its completion.
• If you are a full-time working journalist you must have a letter of support from your employer stating that you may have the requisite time/time-off (2 to 4 months) to work on this project.

Selection Criteria

• The judges will assess the project proposal for its merits, including:
  • the journalist applying for the fellowship, their background, experience;
  • the subject matter to be covered, including relevance to British Columbians, the unique nature of the project, its potential impact, importance, and ability to fill a knowledge gap on a matter of significance to the people of British Columbia;
  • why the topic’s complexity requires deep-dive storytelling to support a better-informed public;
  • the quality and audience reach of media outlet(s) that will publish or broadcast the work;
  • the diversity of research materials, interview subjects and sources used for the project;
  • Does the project represent good value for the funds invested?

For more information, visit Jack Webster Foundation.