Brian Gaynor Initiative Business Journalism Funding Award Moves To Rolling Applications

The Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative advises that funding applications for investigative projects can now be submitted throughout the year.

The decision to change from a single, annual funding round was in response to feedback from journalists and editors.

Chair of the BGI, Anna Gibbons, says: “We believe this is more in keeping with the nature of journalism as it’s practiced. We want journalists who come across a potentially substantial investigation to be able to apply when the opportunity arises.

“There will still be an annual request for proposals, but it will be focused on training and educational applications, which the Initiative also seeks to support to upskill journalists who are either already reporting business news or want to move into this field.

Rolling application process and criteria:

Applications for funding will be made through the Universities New Zealand website.

Applications are now open and will be open every year from February 1 to November 30.

Find out more and apply through the BGI website. The selection committee will undertake to respond within three weeks.

Criteria

We are looking for original, investigative projects that clearly demonstrate the potential to break a major business news story or stories.

There is no explicit budget limit. We will entertain applications at any level, although our preference is to fund projects from the income generated annually from the $2 million fund, implying annual income of about $100,000 for distribution.

We are more likely to fund a project with a realistically costed budget.

For applicants who work for a news organisation, we are more likely to look favourably on their application where there is a financial contribution or other commitment from an employer. This is particularly the case if the total budget is more than $30,000.

Funding could cover:

• Travel, both domestic or international in pursuit of the project.
• Additional journalist resource, either to assist with the project or to allow a reporter to be temporarily replaced in a news team while they pursue the project.
• Forensic investigation costs.
• Development of ground-breaking new reporting tools (e.g., data analysis or AI tools). The emphasis is on “ground-breaking” ideas rather than general tech development. Where the fund is being asked to fund such a project in its entirety, we would seek some degree of open-source IP to allow such developments to be more widely used in NZ business journalism.

What we do not cover:

• Travel to international conferences or set-piece news events (e.g., APEC, COP, UNGA meetings. We are not a travel fund for conference coverage;
• Travel for single interviews;
• Applications where there is an intent to become better informed or undertake a general review of an issue;
• General tech/website development.

© Scoop Media