Call for the Autumn 2016 applications to the Perspektivy programme is now open

August 14 2016

We warmly invite mid-career journalists with over three years experience to apply for the series of workshops on “Reporting skills in the digital era” organised by the professional development programme ‘Perspektivy’. The workshops aim to develop skills on news repoting and how best to promote it in the challenging environment of the digital era.

Programme dates for the Autumn 2016 workshop sessions:

  • 2-4 September: “Reporting news, reports, long reads for the media of the digital era”
  • 29-30 September: “Theory and practice of interviews, working with sources of information for use in the digital media”

Application deadline is 14 August 2016.

We are looking for:

  • Journalists who are in the middle part of their career with at least three years of professional experience
  • Journalists with a proven motivation to stay in the profession in the future
  • both journalists and freelancers working in any medium (print, online, radio or television),
  • bloggers with journalistic experience or degree
  • those whose working language is Russian and who are professionally based anywhere in Russia, Eastern Europe or Central Asia and produce stories for Russian-language media.

Additional information:
  • Working language is Russian.
  • Participation is free of charge.
  • Travel costs, hotel-accommodation and meals, and small general expenses will be covered by workshops organisers.

Workshop description
The core activity concerns the actual writing and reporting of news, as practiced by Reuters and other global agencies. Practical exercises form the core of the programme, with an emphasis on improving basic reporting and writing skills including accuracy, impartiality, speed, clarity and structure, whilst understanding the principles of developing text for web-media. Participants will also study modern media tools and techniques on promoting stories in the digital media.

The course will help journalists recognise their good habits and provide them the time and space to work on their weak points, within a mentored framework.

The focus of the course is on news writing and news reporting: techniques for structuring a story, tips to write clear and simple copy, analysis and headlines, reinforcement of the basic journalist qualities of balance, accuracy and speed, tips on conducting better interviews, techniques to recognize the relative importance of different sources, and the correct treatment of sources and quotes.

Participants will study the basic requirements of text required for web-platforms and social media, approaches for fact checking, modern multimedia tools for long reads, and techniques for promoting stories on web and social media.

Application
You are welcome to apply for the programme by filling out the application form. Sections of the application form ask for your general information, professional background, and require your preposition on a story idea that could transcend your regional interest.

Journalists working for a news organisation will need the consent of their editor to take part. Freelancers should provide evidence of their collaboration with one or more media organisations which publish their work on a regular basis. You will be asked to provide examples of your work.

Results will be announced on 22nd August 2016. You will receive information on your e-mails provided in the application form.

Please note that the size of any uploaded files must not exceed 5 MB.

Click here to begin the application.

Perspektivy is a joint initiative by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Fritt Ord Foundation.

Read participant’s feedback about Perspektivy’s workshop in April 2016

Other opportunities open for journalists

News

Frie stemmer Deeyah Khan:

November 24 2024

Dokumentarfilmskaper Deeyah Khan startet sin karriere med å lage en dokumentar om en kvinne som ble utsatt for æresdrap. Filmen ble vendepunktet i hennes anvendelse av ytringsfriheten, sier hun. Khan er basert i London og jobber internasjonalt.

– Det som skiller Norge fra mange andre land, er evnen til å delta i konstruktiv offentlig dialog rundt vanskelige og ofte polariserende temaer. Samtidig kan vi bli flinkere til å inkludere et større mangfold og flere minoritetsstemmer, sier hun.

Intervjuet er på engelsk.

Refuse to be silenced. Free Media Awards handed out in Oslo

September 17 2024

We refuse to be silenced.
That was the common message when six media outlets, journalists, and editors from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus received the Free Media Awards 2024 on September 17 at the Nobel Institute in Oslo.
– Threatening, attacking, kidnapping, and murdering journalists has become a war tactic, said documentary filmmaker Tonje Hessen Schei in her speech to the prize winners.

Fritt Ord's grants for master’s degrees

September 9 2024

Is your master’s project about freedom of expression, social debate or journalism? If so, you can apply for a student grant from the Fritt Ord Foundation.

The History of History – graphic novels can shed light on history in new ways

September 9 2024

Graphic novels that address historical topics was this year’s focus among the 144 public libraries that responded to the Fritt Ord Foundation’s call for applications from libraries for 2024, "The History of History».
According to graphic art creators as well as librarians, graphic novels can recount history in new ways to new groups of readers. Forty-four libraries have been granted MNOK 2.6 to organise meetings on nonfictional prose, fiction and graphic novels. This is the largest amount since the calls for applications from libraries began in 2008.