Application Deadline: May 1st 2019
Thomson Reuters Elections Reporting Program 2019
In an era of “post truth”, fake news and propaganda, fact checking is more important than ever.
Citizens need access to reliable news, based on evidence – particularly
during election campaigns, when the news agenda is dominated by claims,
promises and accusations made by politicians and the candidates vying to
replace them.
However, providing quality, fact-checked coverage of an
election can be a challenge when newsrooms have limited resources and
are under pressure from increasingly short deadlines. Professional media
may also have to contend with a growing lack of transparency from
government sources, and compete with unregulated “information sources”
on social media.
To address these challenges, the Thomson Reuters Foundation is partnering with TRI Facts at Africa Check –
Africa’s first independent fact-checking organisation – to help African
journalists and editors to fact-check their own election coverage.
The programme will provide skills, tools and resources on fact-checking in an African context. It will look at how to develop and integrate evidence-based election coverage into existing newsrooms, and how to make information engaging for an audience that might be fed up with the campaign.
The programme will feature:
- A five-day workshop in Nairobi for journalists
and editors, delivered by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and TRI Facts
(Africa Check’s training and research division). It will feature
practical fact-checking and reporting exercises to equip participants
with the skills they need to fact-check political claims during an
election campaign, and after elections. - A mentoring
scheme: participants will be invited to submit proposals for stories or
projects and a selection will receive one-to-one support from experts at
the Thomson Reuters Foundation and TRI Facts. It could be a review of
promises made in the previous election, an analysis of how various
government departments use facts, or could involve setting up a “promise
tracker” to follow up on what politicians say in the next campaign. - Participants will also receive support on specific fact-checks, for claims that prove difficult to verify.
ELIGIBILITY
- Journalists and editors working for domestic media in African countries with elections coming up in the near- to mid-term (preferably in 2017 or 2018). These include, but are not limited to: Kenya, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, Somaliland, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mauritania, and Zimbabwe.
- You can be working in any medium – print, radio, TV, online
- We are interested to hear from journalists or editors with the ability to change practice in their newsroom – for example by setting up standardised fact-checking processes
- Applicants must be fluent in English
- Applicants must have a minimum of one year’s experience. They should either be working full-time for a media organisation, or a freelancer whose main work is journalism
FUNDING
Thomson Reuters will cover all transport and subsistence costs of journalists and editors participating in this programme.
SUBMISSIONS
When applying you will be asked to upload the following documents – please have these ready:
- 2 relevant work samples (maximum file
size 5 MB). For stories not in English, please include a 250-word
English summary about the story. Editors may submit stories that they
have edited and which exemplify the output of their team or newsroom. - A letter from your editor (if applicable) consenting to your
participation in the programme and committing to publish/broadcast
resulting stories or implement editorial projects.
If you have any difficulties applying, please email [email protected]
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Thomson Reuters Elections Reporting Program 2019