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HONOLULU (Dec. 1, 2023) – The East-West Center, in partnership with Report for the World, has launched a new initiative supporting local newsrooms across the Pacific Islands who are committed to public service journalism.
The Pacific Islands Financial Investigative Reporting and Mentorship Initiative (the FIRM) will support the establishment and expansion of financial investigative reporting units within six Pacific Island newsrooms starting in early 2024. Each of the selected newsrooms will receive salary support to hire a full-time, seasoned financial investigative journalist to staff the unit for up to three years. Media organizations eligible to apply under this special Call for Applications include newsrooms from the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Sāmoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
About the FIRM Initiative
Public service journalism is at risk in countries around the world as most local independent newsrooms lack the resources to provide their citizens with professional, verifiable, and trustworthy reporting on critical and under-covered but important issues that affect public policy and public trust.
Independent media holds the key to checking power and connecting communities by demanding transparency and holding government leaders, administrative agencies, private sector actors, and others accountable for their actions or inactions. Strengthening the voices of independent media can lead to impactful and positive change in good governance practices.
This initiative is designed to boost the capacity of local, independent media in the Indo-Pacific region to undertake in-depth and consistent reporting on financial transactions involving the use of public monies, including transnational investment schemes, private dealmaking, and other opaque finance-related matters that can have major impacts on a country’s economic and political systems.
Newsrooms selected to participate in the FIRM initiative will receive specialized and targeted professional development and mentorship services provided by the East-West Center, Report for the World, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and other expert resources as required.
The journalists participating in the FIRM initiative will join the East-West Center’s media alumni network and become Corps members of Report for the World’s international network of newsroom partners and journalists committed to transformative, on-the-ground reporting.
The FIRM is funded in part by PROJECT Governance, a multi-year partnership between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Pacific Community, and the East-West Center to strengthen democratic institutions and promote sound, just, and responsive government throughout the Pacific Islands.
About the East-West Center
The East-West Center was established by the United States Congress in 1960 to serve as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options. The Center is an independent, public nonprofit organization with funding from the United States government and additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and governments in the region.
The Center has been supporting independent journalism in the Indo-Pacific and the United States since 1967. The EWC Alumni network includes more than 4,000 journalists working in the United States, Asia, and the Pacific Islands who have participated in the Center’s prestigious reporting fellowships, dialogue exchanges, collaborative professional development programs, and a flagship International Media Conference held every two years in a major Asia-Pacific hub. The Center’s bi-annual International Media Conference offers a unique professional networking opportunity to discuss key issues and trends in media. The only international media conference regularly held with an Indo-Pacific and United States focus, these gatherings have grown into one of the region’s most influential media events.
About Report for the World
Report for the World is an international journalism program that matches local newsrooms with talented journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe. By creating a more sustainable and impactful media ecosystem, Report for the World informs, engages, and enables communities through public service journalism. Report for the World is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.
Report for the World currently partners with 32 newsrooms in 20 countries across the globe. Selected newsrooms will join its growing network of host newsroom partners, as it deepens its presence in different regions through editorial collaborations and professional development of its reporting corps.
Report for the World is supported by Google News Initiative, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Microsoft, JournalismFund.eu and individual contributors from around the globe.
HONOLULU (Dec. 1, 2023) – The East-West Center, in partnership with Report for the World, has launched a new initiative supporting local newsrooms across the Pacific Islands who are committed to public service journalism.
The Pacific Islands Financial Investigative Reporting and Mentorship Initiative (the FIRM) will support the establishment and expansion of financial investigative reporting units within six Pacific Island newsrooms starting in early 2024. Each of the selected newsrooms will receive salary support to hire a full-time, seasoned financial investigative journalist to staff the unit for up to three years. Media organizations eligible to apply under this special Call for Applications include newsrooms from the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Sāmoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
About the FIRM Initiative
Public service journalism is at risk in countries around the world as most local independent newsrooms lack the resources to provide their citizens with professional, verifiable, and trustworthy reporting on critical and under-covered but important issues that affect public policy and public trust.
Independent media holds the key to checking power and connecting communities by demanding transparency and holding government leaders, administrative agencies, private sector actors, and others accountable for their actions or inactions. Strengthening the voices of independent media can lead to impactful and positive change in good governance practices.
This initiative is designed to boost the capacity of local, independent media in the Indo-Pacific region to undertake in-depth and consistent reporting on financial transactions involving the use of public monies, including transnational investment schemes, private dealmaking, and other opaque finance-related matters that can have major impacts on a country’s economic and political systems.
Newsrooms selected to participate in the FIRM initiative will receive specialized and targeted professional development and mentorship services provided by the East-West Center, Report for the World, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and other expert resources as required.
The journalists participating in the FIRM initiative will join the East-West Center’s media alumni network and become Corps members of Report for the World’s international network of newsroom partners and journalists committed to transformative, on-the-ground reporting.
The FIRM is funded in part by PROJECT Governance, a multi-year partnership between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Pacific Community, and the East-West Center to strengthen democratic institutions and promote sound, just, and responsive government throughout the Pacific Islands.
About the East-West Center
The East-West Center was established by the United States Congress in 1960 to serve as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options. The Center is an independent, public nonprofit organization with funding from the United States government and additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and governments in the region.
The Center has been supporting independent journalism in the Indo-Pacific and the United States since 1967. The EWC Alumni network includes more than 4,000 journalists working in the United States, Asia, and the Pacific Islands who have participated in the Center’s prestigious reporting fellowships, dialogue exchanges, collaborative professional development programs, and a flagship International Media Conference held every two years in a major Asia-Pacific hub. The Center’s bi-annual International Media Conference offers a unique professional networking opportunity to discuss key issues and trends in media. The only international media conference regularly held with an Indo-Pacific and United States focus, these gatherings have grown into one of the region’s most influential media events.
About Report for the World
Report for the World is an international journalism program that matches local newsrooms with talented journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe. By creating a more sustainable and impactful media ecosystem, Report for the World informs, engages, and enables communities through public service journalism. Report for the World is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.
Report for the World currently partners with 32 newsrooms in 20 countries across the globe. Selected newsrooms will join its growing network of host newsroom partners, as it deepens its presence in different regions through editorial collaborations and professional development of its reporting corps.
Report for the World is supported by Google News Initiative, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Microsoft, JournalismFund.eu and individual contributors from around the globe.
