Online journalism, in-depth

In many countries of Eastern Europe, independent online journalism is struggling with a lack of resources, financial instability and the government's reluctance to provide information. The project aims at strengthening 12 online media outlets in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Belarus by encouraging them to develop their journalistic profile on the topics of either climate change, health or information society.

The challenge...

How to present the impact of climate change without just crunching numbers? How to write about algorithms and social bots in a way that attracts attention not only among computer nerds but also among your typical audience?

Complex issues tend to be tiring or even boring - and reporting on them requires more than just repeating what other media said before. But general advice such as to adapt the topic to your local context and tell an interesting story about real people are easier said than done, especially in a situation, when media struggle with a lack of finances, time, staff and information - or even face political repression. As a result, in many countries, important questions such as the impact of climate change rank surprisingly low on the political agenda. Sometimes media even unintentedly contribute to the dissemination of disinformation (e.g. related to health issues). Online journalism, in-depth provides participating media with funding, time and expertise - the ingredients of high-quality, in-depth reporting.

.. and how the project intends to mitigate it

In the course of the project participating media have a chance

to network with colleagues from neighbouring countries and develop cross-border stories
to receive financial support for content production
to connect with experts on the respective topic
to participate in trainings to learn about new journalistic approaches and improve their journalistic skills
to deepen their personal knowledge about key questions shaping our the nearest future

We believe that close cooperation between journalists and experts will improve the quality of reporting and public debate on important international issues. Therefore, in the long run, the project aims at creating three sustainable networks encompassing journalists, experts and civil society actors – working to the benefit of all: While journalists will gain access to reliable quality information, experts and activists improve their chances to inform public debate and to impact political decision-making.

Internal organisation & funding

The 12 participating media are sorted into three groups, according to their respective focus topic, i.e. there is a climate group, a health group and a info-society group each consisting of 4 media, one from each project country. The groups are corrdinated by one of the project consortium partners: