About the Fellowship  

Thibi and the Internews Earth Journalism Network’s Environmental Data Journalism Academy prepares passionate environmental journalists in India for careers in data-driven accountability reporting.

The intensive six-month Academy has been created for select journalists to produce in-depth data-driven journalism on critical environmental issues in India. The course, which will run in 2024, is divided into two parts: two months of Fundamentals of Data Journalism online learning, and four months of Advanced Data Storytelling (combination of in-person and remote). The Advanced Data Storytelling phase will provide story mentorships that come with a story production stipend to 15 fellows who completed the Fundamentals phase and successfully pitched a story.

Journalists will work on under-reported data-driven environmental stories, particularly on India’s water resources, that are in the public interest.

The Environmental Data Journalism Academy teaches a structured, reusable process for telling data-driven stories about any beat using a wide array of tools. By diving deep into specific environmental data in India, journalists go through guided exercises to produce data-driven stories and develop mastery over the key issues, tools and storytelling techniques for finding scoops hidden in data.

Fundamentals of Data Journalism:

In the Fundamentals course, journalists produce a data-driven story package as a group by following a Data Story Recipe on an urgent environmental issue facing the country. Journalists apply the core skill sets learned in the course to understand and interview the data and tell the story. The course will combine synchronous and asynchronous learning with participants expected to attend up to 10 hours of online sessions per week as well as complete assignments. Journalists who successfully pass the course shall receive a certificate of completion.

Following the completion of the Fundamentals course, journalists will be asked to pitch data story ideas covering water and environmental issues in India. 15-20 journalists will be selected to progress to the Advanced Data Storytelling course, and will be provided with mentorships. 15 of them will be provided with a story production stipend to support the production of the data journalism projects.

Advanced Data Storytelling:

This course expands on the basic process by equipping journalists with the skills to iterate nuanced hypotheses, wrangle more complex data and ask more penetrating questions of both the data and the experts who understand the story it has to tell. While continuing to work on a core set of environmental data, journalists will be invited to find new angles to uncover new insights into the topic and explore new ways of telling those stories.

Each story grant recipient will receive one-on-one remote coaching for several hours a week through publication by both data and long-form journalism experts as they apply the process learned in the course to their own investigation. We will also work closely with editors and publishers to ensure that interactive content and longform storytelling are effectively integrated into various platforms.

Under the thematic focus of water and environment in India, each grantee will receive funding to support a story that is part of an explanatory series on a single issue.

The single most important predictor for success for this program is a passion for in-depth storytelling and a track record to prove it. We are looking for self-motivated, high-potential individuals in India who are open to learning a new process for investigating a story through data. Applicants might be employed at media companies or freelancers. We also welcome teams from a single media house. We welcome newsroom reporters, designers and developers who have some experience covering the environmental beat.

Eligibility

The Academy is seeking students who:

• Are fiercely committed to in-depth journalism
• Are willing to embrace an inquiry-based approach to reporting
• Are eager to grow as journalists and apply what they learn in the newsroom
• Are problem-solvers who overcome obstacles to report important stories
• Are committed to collaboration, transparency and accountability

Apply here:

Application form