Apply To Join the Ocean Reporting Network (ORN) Fellowship 2024

Applications are now open to join the second cohort of the Ocean Reporting Network (ORN), 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 we 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.

Check: UNFPA Ghana Youth Leaders (YoLe) Fellowship Programme 2024 { Cohort 6 }

Eligibility of Ocean Reporting Network (ORN) Fellowship 2024

• 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 our 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.

Also Check: African Union (AU) Digital and Innovation Fellowship 2024

Application for Ocean Reporting Network (ORN) Fellowship 2024

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.

Applications for the Fellowships will open on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, and close on Sunday, May 26, 2024, at 11:59pm EDT.