Story Grants to Report on the Mediterranean Sea

• Eligibility Criteria:
  – Applications are open to journalists and groups of journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio) and other expert media practitioners with professional reporting experience.
  – Freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations – international, national, local and community-based are eligible to apply.
• Type of funding: Programmatic
• Target countries: Countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea
• Application language: English or French

Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is pleased to offer five story grants for the second round of the Mediterranean Media Initiative to selected journalists to report on overfishing, illegal fishing and the biodiversity crisis in the Mediterranean region.

Launched in March 2022, the Mediterranean Media Initiative aims to build the capacity of journalists to produce independent reports on the current state of the Mediterranean Sea, cover solutions-based approaches proposed through technology and citizen-led innovations and investigate criminality and corruption which is either transboundary in nature or within national waters.

In addition to funding, selected journalists will receive support from experienced mentors through the story production process.

EJN welcomes story ideas that focus on the following themes:

• Biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean Sea
• Endangered marine species
• Marine protected areas
• Marine pollution
• The deep sea
• Illegal and destructive fishing
• Destructive impact of bottom trawling
• Destructive fishing practices (trawling, nets, dynamite)
• Overfishing of species such as blackspot seabreams, European hake, blue and red shrimp, deep-water rose shrimp, sardines, anchovies, sardinellas, red mullets, Black Sea turbots, European eels and common dolphinfish as well as the impact of incidental catch of vulnerable species including sharks, seabirds and sea turtles.

EJN is looking to receive proposals which highlight the impact of these practices on coastal communities, including the loss of sustainable livelihoods, the challenges of small-scale fishermen, the decline of valuable ecosystems and the loss of natural and cultural heritage.

See here to learn more and apply.

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