Media Council Launches Health Reporting Grant For Journalists
The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) in partnership with the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA) have launched a Health Reporting Grant.
The grant which aims to support journalists in their reporting on the Corona Virus Disease 19 or COVID-19, will see up to 500 MCK-accredited journalists get the opportunity to apply for grants ranging from KES 1, 000.00 to KES 25, 000.00 to facilitate their reporting and coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya.
Launching the initiative, MCK CEO, David Omwoyo noted that the Ministry of Health (MoH) guidelines on the control of the virus, have had an effect on the work of journalists and that they need support to carry out their work.
“We are eager to see to it that journalists are facilitated to carry out their work in this environment of depressed incomes and economic activity. The media plays a critical role in public health messaging and as such we want to ensure that we do what we can to facilitate their work for the greater public good”, he noted.
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Also speaking during the launch, MCK Head of Media Development & Strategy, Victor Bwire, who will also be coordinating the grant programme, added that successful applicants will also undergo virtual training sessions, facilitated by the Media Council of Kenya.
“We will go beyond the issuing of grants to successful applicants, to also ensuring that some virtual capacity-building takes place via online platforms to enable the journalists to improve on their writing and submit health stories that meet a quality mark as judged by audience interest and response”, concluded Victor Bwire.
Successful applicants will be able to use travel, communications and other related costs in the research, interviewing and compilation processes of their stories.
Applications for the grant close on April 30, 2020 at midnight after which they will be vetted by a team of experts announcing up to 50 grantees per week.
Link to the application form: bit.ly/2KnuoSs
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