Independent Journalism Center and Internews launch multimedia news production and regional content exchange project connecting the Balkans and Eurasia

Independent Journalism Center, in partnership with Internews, is launching a multimedia news production and regional content exchange project entitled “Strengthening Independent Media in Europe and Eurasia.” As part of this project, Independent Journalism Center will provide grants and editorial support to national and local media partners to produce and exchange multimedia news stories within Moldova and diversify their website content to better engage their audience. The project will also support production of regional stories and exchange, highlighting common events and issues that are affecting other countries in the Balkans and Eurasia as well as Moldova.

The purpose of the project is to increase citizens’ access to reliable information about local, regional, and international issues of public importance in the Balkans and Eurasia. “Based on our experience of the last years, we can say with certainty that such projects are very important and needed in the Republic of Moldova. Taking into account the current situation on media market, it is almost impossible for many media institutions to produce quality content, adapt themselves to the fast rhythm of development of the Internet and maintain its financial independence. The project is not a panacea, it will not solve suddenly all the problems faced by independent local media, but we believe that at the first stage it will help them to strengthen their capacities, apply innovations, establish links with local communities and, in the end, will help them to increase their sustainability,” said Nadine Gogu, the Executive Director of Independent Journalism Center. This project is an extension of Internews’ “Strengthening Independent Media in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine” project, also implemented by Internews and Independent Journalism Center on a smaller scale.

National media partners based in Chisinau will receive lower-tier grants to research, design, and produce 10 thematic content packages about issues of national importance. The stories will be shared with local media partners, which will adapt them to their own audiences’ needs. Local media partners will receive grants, editorial support, and business skills training and mentorship.

The project will also support the production of regional, cross-border stories on topics of significance to the citizens of the Balkans and Eurasia Content producers selected through a competitive process will receive grants to travel to other project countries and report on common issues.

As part of the project’s efforts to encourage production of high-quality, human-centered stories of public interest, two Storytelling Inspiration Labs will gather journalists and IT specialists from the participating countries in Kyiv, one in 2019 and one in 2020, to familiarize them with best practices, techniques, and tools for creating engrossing digital news stories.

For more information please contact Rodica Catareu, project coordinator (tel: 022 213652, coordonator@ijc.md) at Independent Journalism Center, 53 Sciusev Street, 2012 Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.