Open Call 01- “Migration & Borders”

Moldova – Georgia – Tunisia – Libya

The Open Media Hub has launched the first Call for Expression of Interest for Production Support ,a scheme to enable TV and online video journalists in the European Neighbourhood to create contents related to the European Union and their respective countries’ relations with the European Union. The scheme is now open for Georgia, Moldova, Libya and Tunisia and will be extended to more countries in a few months.

Besides financial support, media professionals will benefit from practical guidance to produce audio-visual stories, video news and features, online portfolio, as well as to disseminate contents at an appropriate quality level. This entire programme aims at delivering greater public awareness of the actions and impact of the European Neighbourhood Policy and strengthening domestic and local audience interest in EU issues; it also seeks to increase the amount of analytic, in-depth quality programming.

Topic:

Visa free travel and re-entry policies, migrants and refugees, population movements, resettlements, national borders are at the centre of political negotiation and massive humanitarian aid. These factors all impact daily life. Journalists and media outlets in Georgia, Moldova, Libya and Tunisia may now apply to obtain financial support and guidance in order to produce stories – positive or negative – on the impact of these decisions and policies.

Story proposals should illustrate the impact of these decisions on daily life, by collecting testimonies, describing unfolding events.

Application and Eligibility

All applicants must pitch their story and fill in the online application form (Français, English,  Arabic, Russian). All the required documents, including contract, letter of intent, intended budget, waivers and risk assessments must be submitted together. Templates are available for download on http://openmediahub.com/open-calls/application-documents/.

Applicants need to demonstrate that they are duly authorised by the legal entity to produce and to publish their story by producing a letter of intent from an authorised representative. This letter must state an eligible media outlet’s intention to broadcast or publish the eventual production, including an indication of the date(s) and context(s) of the planned broadcast or publication.

Eligible applicants are:

• News organisations (e.g., TV stations, online news companies);
• Journalistic organisations (e.g., associations, foundations) if they can demonstrate a publication commitment from a media outlet;
• Audio-visual production companies;
• Journalists acting on behalf of any of the above.

Exception: Open Media Hub may decide, on a case by case basis, that individual journalists or television producers are eligible without legal entity backing or endorsement. Similarly, will relevant applications from bloggers, vloggers and citizen-journalists be considered if they can demonstrate a track record of significant audience reach on their platforms.

Budget

The amount of support will always take the topic, media outlet, and country into account and be proportionate to the typical prices and rates in your country.

The average disbursement for

• A news piece up to 3 minutes: €250-€500;
• Story up to 8 minutes: €500-€1,500;
• Story up to 15 minutes: €1,000 – €3,000;
• Story up to 30 minutes/ or more: €2,500 – €8,000
• Productions intended for online media: €250-€1,500

Deadline for submission

5 May 2017 – 21 h 00 CET

Award decision

22 May 2017

Production support agreements shall be issued and signed by 02 June 2017.
A detailed FAQ (frequently asked questions) can be found here.

Any questions? Please write to:

Tunisia, Libya: productionsupportsouth@thomsonfoundation.org
Georgia, Moldova: productionsupporteast@thomsonfoundation.org