Deadline: May 26, 2024
Applications are invited for the Ocean Reporting Network Fellowship 2024. The Ocean Reporting Network is a fellowship program that gives professional journalists the opportunity to spend a whole year working on an in-depth or investigative ocean story.
They welcome ambitious proposals on the main ocean threats of climate change; over- and illegal fishing; biodiversity loss and pollution; and the species, ecosystems, and communities that are being impacted. But they also strongly encourage proposals on underreported topics that also deserve attention, such as deep-sea mining; marine energy generation; blue finance and carbon crediting; marine genetic resources and benefit sharing; shipping, marine carbon dioxide removal and ocean geoengineering; aquaculture; marine protected areas (creation, implementation, and management); polar issues; fishmeal production; and more.
Benefits
- Access to data and documents as well as the opportunity to sharpen your data skills with support from the Pulitzer Center’s Data and Research team.
- Specialized training opportunities such as the use of satellite imagery and other digital tools in investigations, corporate and follow-the-money research, and more.
- The opportunity to work and collaborate with other journalists on stories that transcend your country and region and can achieve true global impact.
- A community of like-minded colleagues that will continue beyond your Fellowship.
- The possibility of renewing your Fellowship for an additional one or two years, based on performance.
- Salaries commensurate with experience.
Eligibility
- Open to experienced journalists with a proven track record of investigative or in-depth ocean or environmental reporting.
- Journalists with a solid understanding of ocean issues and the scientific, environmental, social, legal, political, and commercial forces at play—and why these issues matter to the global well-being.
- Staff or freelance journalists working on various platforms, including print, radio, video, and multimedia. Freelance reporters must have the support of a local or international newsroom that agrees to host them and publish the work they produce during the Fellowship.
- Team players with the experience and ability to work collaboratively across newsrooms and borders, and the willingness to learn new skills.
- Reporters who are motivated to participate in outreach activities related to their investigations, such as meetings in communities and visits to schools and universities.
Application
To apply, you will be asked to provide the following:
- A copy of your résumé or curriculum vitae.
- A description of the investigative or in-depth reporting project you seek to pursue during your Fellowship. Please do not propose general themes, but concrete stories that aim to uncover patterns of wider, systemic wrongdoing/abuse that is underreported or hidden. It is expected that by the time you apply, you will have already undertaken some pre-reporting to determine the scope, feasibility, and novelty of the project. A compelling, well-researched project proposal with a reporting plan will help you stand out among hundreds of applicants. If the investigation includes a cross-border approach, explain your collaboration plan and identify partners outside and within the network. (800 words)
- A plan for how your project will be published and distributed, which audiences you want to reach, and how you will engage them. (500 words)
- A statement of purpose: How does this Fellowship fit in with your career path and why you are best positioned to be a Ocean Reporting Network Fellow. (500 words)
- A plan on how to engage the communities affected by the issue of your reporting and the decision-makers that might use your reporting to improve regulation or business practices.
- A letter of support from your media employer or a newsroom that has agreed to host you as a Ocean Reporting Network Fellow and publish your work.
- Three examples of your most impactful investigations published in the past three-five years.
- Three professional references or letters of recommendation
For more information, visit ORN Fellowship.
