Watchdog Journalism for Change
Watchdog Journalism for Change is a new programme from the Europe Foundation that is aiming to support investigative journalists and advocacy groups who work together to highlight systemic corruption, or expose poor governance, for the betterment of society in Georgia.
The programme will involve several different steps:
- Provide legal support to journalists and media outlets to support their investigative work, as well combating unlawful interference with journalistic activities.
- Conduct research on various aspects of the state of the media in Georgia, to gain a clear overview of how the major media players in Georgia are influencing the landscape. The programme is also considering support for more longer-term monitoring of media regulatory bodies.
- Capacity building for investigative journalism with support from European and American journalists and professors.
- Provide grants to media outlets and CSOs for projects that will shine light on systemic corruption or expose uncomfortable truths about various aspects of governance in Georgia.
The programme will actively encourage partnership projects between investigative reporters and advocacy groups, as the best means to wage effective watchdog reporting and advocacy campaigns, is through collaboration between media outlets and civil society organisations.