Public Interest Journalism Fund

• Eligibility criteria:
  – The fund is open to all media entities: from large organisations through to small, local entities, and Māori, Pacific and ethnic media. 
  
• Type of funding: Programmatic
• Target countries: New Zealand
• Application language: English

NZ On Air has launched the Public Interest Journalism Fund, a ring-fenced stream within the NZ Media Fund designed to provide targeted, short to medium-term support for public interest journalism.

The three pillars of the Public Interest Journalism Fund are:

• Project funding – for tightly defined projects delivered to a deadline, similar to those funded via the NZ Media Fund Factual stream
• Role-based funding – supporting newsrooms for the employment of reporters, clearly tied to content outcomes
• Industry development funding – including cross-industry cadetships, and targeted upskilling initiatives

The Public Interest Journalism Fund must achieve all of these things:

• Seek to inform and engage the public about issues that affect a person’s right to flourish within our society and impact on society’s ability to fully support its citizens.
• Provide accurate, accountable, and fair coverage that reflects and empowers all sectors of the community upholding the public’s right to know.
• Actively promote the principles of Partnership, Participation, and Active Protection under Te Tiriti o Waitangi acknowledging Māori as a Te Tiriti partner.
• Reflect the cultural diversity of New Zealand.
• Encourage a robust and sustainable media sector.

The $55m fund is split across three years: $10m for 2020-2021, $25m in 2021-2022, and $20m in 2022-2023.

See here to learn more and apply.

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