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If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’, now is the time to submit your ideas for investigative articles in the public interest related to the EU integration process. The candidates with the best proposals will undergo a training, which will be held in Montenegro at the end of April 2021.

The training will be followed by a selection process. Three candidates with the best ideas, journalistic skills and knowledge will implement their investigative projects, with a close supervision and mentoring of the editorial team from the country and the region.

After completion of the investigation, all stories will be published at the websites of CIN-CG and BIRN, as well as in a special bilingual publication and e-book.

All journalists from Montenegro who have interest and experience in investigative journalism are eligible to apply. Apart from the training, mentoring and editorial support, the selected applicants will receive € 1,000 bursary for their stories (reduced by approximately 9% tax).

Applications should be submitted by March 26th, 2021 to: konkurscincg@gmail.com and to assistantcincg@gmail.com. The application form is available online HERE.

Should you have any additional questions, please send them to: konkurscincg@gmail.com or assistantcincg@gmail.com.

The programme, now in its 15^th year, provides a 3,000-euro bursary and sustained editorial support to journalists seeking to report in depth on the forces shaping societies and democracies across 14 countries in Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe. The Fellowship emphasises strong storytelling and rigorous, on-the-ground reporting – skills traditionally associated with the best magazine journalism.

The deadline for this year’s entries is 9 April 2021. As usual, applications are solicited under an annual theme. This year’s theme is Transformation. Fellowship editor Neil Arun said the theme gave journalists “a chance to pitch a story that probed the changes that had been set in motion, or that had gathered pace, over the past year.”

The annual selection of 10 journalist Fellows is made by an independent committee. The Fellows are mentored by the programme editor in the course of their reporting, and can also draw on the support of BIRN’s regional network of journalists. In addition to financial and editorial support, the Fellowship offers:

• The chance to participate in an introductory seminar focused on reporting and storytelling techniques
• The chance to win additional awards, worth between 3.000 and 1.000 euros, for the three best stories
• Publication of finished stories in regional languages and in English, through BIRN’s network of media partners
• Membership of the Fellowship alumni network, designed to support networking between journalists who have participated in the programme

This year’s call is open until April 9th. Please send us your proposal using the official application form.
To maximize your chances of a successful application read more about the programme including the tips from our editors.

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network and ERSTE Foundation set up the Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence in 2007.

Since then, more than 140 journalists from 14 countries in Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe have taken part in the Fellowship’s world-class programme for professional development.

Since 2020, the Fellowship has been accepting applications from journalists in the Visegrad group of countries, as well as from the Balkans.

Applications can be made by downloading the official form. Journalists who wish to maximise their chances of a successful application can read these tips from our editors and check out the latest stories on the Fellowship homepage. 

For more information, please contact us on fellowship@birn.eu.com

Investigative stories published from January 1 to December 31, 2020, and related to freedom of expression, rule of law, transparency, abuse of power and fundamental rights, corruption and organised crime are welcome to apply.

The award fund in each country in 2021 (for achievements in 2020) is 10,000 EUR. The first prize will be 5,000 EUR, the second 3,000 EUR, and the third will be 2,000 EUR.

Individuals or groups of journalists are eligible to apply in all journalism forms (print, online, radio and TV) published or broadcast in the media in each country in official, minority or international languages.

Articles eligible for submission must appear in print, online, radio and TV media outlets during the 2020 calendar year.

EU Investigative Journalism Awards in the Western Balkans and Turkey aim to celebrate and promote the outstanding achievements of investigative journalists as well as improve the visibility of quality journalism in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

The awards are a continuation of the ongoing regional EU Investigative Journalism Award in the Western Balkans and Turkey and part of the ongoing project ‘Strengthening Quality News and Independent Journalism in the Western Balkans and Turkey’, funded by the European Union.

The project partners involved all have extensive expertise in the field of media freedom and have been recognised locally and internationally as strong independent media organisations.

The jury for the EU Award comprises media experts, some of them from the project consortia. Others are drawn from the extensive network projects that the consortium members have, such as editors, members of academia and journalists with merits.

Please download individual packages below to find more information about the EU Award for Investigative Journalism in your respective country.

Podcasts are transforming journalism around the globe and their popularity has skyrocketed in recent years. But in the Western Balkans’ media landscape, podcasts that combine the power of investigative journalism and narrative story-telling are still in their infancy. However, there is growing interest in this type of content that can attract a large and diverse audience via mobile devices.

If you are a journalist, editor or producer who wants to learn more about podcasting and are wondering how to turn an ambitious investigative project into a successful podcast, this four-day training will introduce you to the basic concepts and skills needed to adapt investigative stories into podcasts.

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, is organising a training on investigative podcasts for media representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, within the regional “Media for All” project. The workshop is being led by Michael Montgomery, senior producer at Reveal from the US-based Center for Investigative Reporting. Michael will be joined by Sean Glynn, CEO of Novel, one of the UK’s leading audio production companies, and Max O’Brien, Executive Producer of Novel’s The Bellingcat Podcast.

Following the workshop, the best proposals for new podcasts will receive a financial award to cover production costs and further mentoring support from Michael Montgomery and other producers and editors. In addition to covering story development and production, we will ensure that, at the end of the training you understand how to identify and connect with the target audience and the basic steps in marketing and distribution.

Our lead trainer Michael Montgomery is a dynamic, award-winning journalist with an accomplished career in radio/podcasts, television and print. His work has appeared in national and international outlets including Reveal, NPR, Frontline, the BBC and BIRN. He also has extensive experience in the Balkans: he covered the rise of Slobodan Milosevic, the fall of communism throughout the region and the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo for the UK’s prestigious Daily Telegraph.

Sean Glynn is a highly experienced series producer and executive producer whose work spans current affairs, arts, history and politics. Sean has produced stories and flagship factual series for BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service.

Max O’Brien has overseen award-winning audio documentaries and previously produced BBC Radio 4’s popular long-running series Something Understood. Max has recorded everywhere from séance rooms and operating theatres during open heart surgery to the control room of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

Who can apply?

Journalists, editors, producers who wish to learn about podcasting and develop skills that will enable them to create their own podcasts should apply.

All potential participants should apply using the information provided in the application form.

How to apply?

Applicants should complete and submit only one application that you can download below. All applications should be submitted in English to aida.ajanovic@birn.eu.com along with the applicant’s CV.

DATE OF TRAINING:  March 22-31, 2021 (Four day sessions in two weeks)

TRAINING VENUE: Online

LANGUAGE: Working language of the training is English

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Download here

APPLICATION FORM: Download here

DEADLINE: March 14, at midnight Central European Time

DATA PROTECTION INFO: Privacy notice

The questions of self-regulation and regulation of online media are practical for every newsroom, however rarely they have time to constructively discuss these issues and approach potential solutions.

Media in the region face increasing pressures; not only do they no longer control the news cycle, but they are also often failing to deliver quality journalism under the pressure of speed, clicks and disinformation.

How do we arrive at the best solutions for regulation? How can the process ensure solidarity and include all professional media? What are the perils of self-regulation? Is there an option for government regulation that will not turn into censorship? These are some of the questions we aim to tackle during the debate.

The debate, “Online Media Regulation: Newsroom Perspective”, will feature journalists, editors and other media professionals who face different aspects of this problem daily. The debate moderated by Ana Petruseva, country director of BIRN North Macedonia, will be the final discussion in a series of conversations we held in recent months with representatives of regulatory and self-regulatory bodies, legal experts and academics.

Panellists taking part in the discussion include:

• Alen Altoka, head of digital media at Oslobodjenje, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Flutura Kusari, legal advisor at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, Kosovo
• Geri Emiri, editor at Amfora, Albania
• Goran Mihajlovski, editor-in-chief at Sakam da kazam, North Macedonia
• Jelena Vasic, project manager at KRIK, Serbia
• Srdan Kosovic, editor-in-chief at Vijesti, Montenegro

To join our third debate in a series of discussions on online media regulation with different stakeholders – organised as a part of the regional “Media for All” project – connect with us on ZOOM on Wednesday, February 24, at noon CET.

Save the date and register HERE.

Please read the privacy notice before registering.

Through BIRN’s new “Digital Rights Programme for Journalists“ we are looking for journalists interested in fast-evolving digitalisation processes and their impact on democracy, society and lives in Central and Southeastern Europe, particularly the following:

• The use of the algorithms
• The forces fuelling hate speech and discrimination in the digital environment and
• their implications
• Digital security and phishing campaigns
• Privacy and personal data breaches and (non)existing protection mechanisms
• Surveillance policy and use of technology by authoritarian regimes
• Accountability of the major Internet platforms and online safety of users
• Information security breaches
• Arrests for social media posts and pressure applied over online expression and
• activities
• Blocking and filtering of content
• Holding intermediaries liable
• Manipulation and propaganda in the digital environment
• Machine learning algorithms and algorithmic decision-making processes
• 5G technology in the region
• Cryptocurrencies/blockchains in the world of financial crime
• Social media bots and troll farms

We are offering a comprehensive, 10-month programme that includes: regular networking opportunities and meetings with actors and experts dealing with digital rights and emerging tech challenges, financial support, on-the-job mentoring and editorial sessions to produce high-quality journalism and educational sessions focused on digital security for media. The programme aims to cover under-reported topics related to the health of the digital ecosystem and digital rights violations in Central and Southeastern Europe.

If you already have a story on your mind but you lack resources and guidance, this is the programme for you.

Each journalist will receive a bursary of 2,000 euros to support their reporting.

In order to apply for the programme, use the application form attached below to send us a proposal for a regional investigative story.

As part of our Reporting Democracy platform, BIRN’s “Digital Rights Programme for Journalists” will enable media workers to cover under-reported topics relating to growing digital rights challenges in the region.  The stories produced will be published on BIRN’s flagship website Balkan Insight, and by prominent European, regional and international media outlets. The programme is supported by European Artificial Intelligence Fund and ERSTE Foundation.

The call is open until February 21, 2021.

Who can apply?

The programme is open to all journalists who believe they have a good story on an under-reported topic concerning the health of the digital ecosystem in Central and Southeastern Europe. We also welcome applications from staff reporters from local and national media who wish to co-publish the story with us.

BIRN is committed to gender diversity and freedom from prejudice on any grounds.

Story requirements

• The story must deal with at least one of the topics listed above
• The story must be relevant to Central and Southeastern Europe and must cover at least two countries in the region
• We are looking for in-depth, investigative stories
• The story should be around 2,000 words long
• Each selected story must be published within eight months of receipt of the first installment of the bursary.

How to apply?

Download the Story Grant Form

Download the Declaration

Send us your story proposal using the story grant form, downloadable here.

Please send the completed form together with a signed declaration and your CV to applications@birn.eu.com no later than February 21, 2021.