Story Grants to support Coverage of One Health in Asia Pacific

EJN’s Asia-Pacific project aims to increase the quality and quantity of coverage of a wide range of One Health issues. Better informed audiences will be equipped to urge policymakers to bridge silos and adopt One Health measures to curb the growing health, climate and environmental crises.

Story Themes

• Topics journalists may explore include, but are not limited to: the human, animal and environmental health impacts of:
  • Climate change/biodiversity loss
  • Zoonotic and vector-borne diseases
  • Heavy metal contamination
  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Foodborne diseases
  • Air pollution
  • Harmful algal blooms (HABs)
  • Microplastics and persistent organic pollutants, from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) used as pesticides
• They aim to support the production of stories that raise awareness of the interlinkages between human, animal and ecosystem health. They are looking to support explainer journalism that unpacks the science behind One Health issues in a compelling way for their audiences; solutions stories that examine One Health-informed efforts to safeguard human health and environmental resilience; and in-depth reports that dig into the challenges in implementing these approaches at a local, national and regional level. Stories that highlight the transboundary nature of environmental impacts on health are also welcome.
• Proposals that focus on topics or stories that have not been widely covered and are likely to drive conversation among communities and policymakers are preferred. Issues that have already received a lot of media coverage or broad-based ideas that don’t provide unique insights are less likely to be selected.

Funding Information

• They expect to award up to 12 grants with an average budget of $2000 each.

Logistics 

• Each selected journalist will be paired with an editorial mentor and receive guidance from a One Health thematic expert.
• Grantees will receive access to a new health journalism course, delivered via Whatsapp, produced by Internews’ Health Journalism Network and EJN. They will also be invited to join EJN’s soon-to-launch One Health-focused reporters’ community for peer learning and exchange.
• Safety: They encourage reporters to follow public health regulations and best practices for local disease outbreaks when out in the field so you do not endanger yourself or the people you’re interviewing. If needed, you should include any Covid-related costs, such as tests or personal protective equipment, in your budget.
• Language of publication: Stories can be produced in any language. However, applicants who intend to write or produce stories in their local language need to also submit an English translation of the final story, or incorporate English subtitles in their broadcast.
• Story budget: They ask that the budgets be reasonable and account for costs necessary for reporting, such as travel and accommodation.
• Generally speaking, applications with smaller budgets will be more competitive, but they will consider larger grant amounts for stories using innovative, collaborative or investigative approaches that may be more resource-intensive and time-consuming.
• They 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 equipment.
• They will consider a stipend for the reporters’ salary, particularly if the applicant is a freelancer.
• Acknowledgement of EJN support: Published stories and/or broadcasts must disclose EJN support by including this tagline: “This story was produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.” Exceptions will be considered for security reasons on a case-by-case basis.
• Republication rights: Those who are awarded grants are free to publish or broadcast their stories first in their affiliated media as long as Internews’ EJN, its partners and the grant funder are also given rights to edit, republish, broadcast and distribute them freely.

Eligibility Criteria

• They will accept applications from journalists residing in countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific Islands. They will not accept applications from Australia, New Zealand, Central Asia or the Middle East. Journalists from low- and middle-income countries in the region will be prioritized.
• Groups of journalists are eligible. Cross-border collaborations are welcome; however, the application must be made in the name of one lead applicant. Lead applicants are responsible for communicating with EJN and receiving funds on the group’s behalf, if awarded.
• For the purposes of this grant opportunity, they will only be accepting applications in English. Unfortunately, they do not have the capacity to consider applications in other languages at this time. Applicants must either have a working understanding of English or have a translator available to assist with communication with Internews staff.
• Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio) and other expert media practitioners with professional reporting experience. They welcome applications from early-career journalists and experienced reporters with a track record of covering health, climate and environmental issues. They encourage applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations — international, national, local and community-based.
• EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct.

For more information, visit EJN.