Call for Pitches for Investigative Stories
The Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project (SA | AJP) is a new project to support and strengthen investigative journalism in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It is a partnership between the Henry Nxumalo Foundation, Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Centre, Viewfinder Centre for Accountability Journalism, IJHub, INK Center for Investigative Journalism and the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism. SA | AJP will provide journalists with reporting grants and editorial support to produce investigative stories which seek to advance the public interest in the region. Journalists are invited to submit pitches for the first round of this project by 24 January 2025. Yet, pitches will be adjudicated as they are received and can be submitted at any time. Journalists who pitch early and successfully will be contracted to start straight away.
Story pitches that contain collaborative or cross-border elements will be favoured. Journalists are encouraged to partner with colleagues in other countries (including those outside the SADC region). Any story idea which seeks to expose wrongdoing, abuses of power or failures of accountability in the region will be considered for support.
This opportunity is open to freelancers and to permanently employed journalists who seek to take a sabbatical from daily newsroom responsibilities to pursue an in-depth project.
Funding available: Participating journalists will get funding o up to $300 for input costs (such as travel and data) and a flat fee of $1 200 for delivering a well-reported, investigative story within a set time frame.
Additional support: Each participating journalist will be assigned an editor who will provide guidance and assist the journalist deliver the best possible exposé arising from their pitch. SA | AJP will offer training and contract external experts, photographers and graphic designers to ensure the delivery of a complete story package. SA | AJP will assist journalists to secure publishing partners for their stories, if needed, and to maximise the impact of the story through marketing, publicity and partnerships.
Pitch deadline: For this round of pitches, the deadline is 24 January 2025. Early pitches are encouraged and will be adjudicated as they are received.
How to pitch: Complete this pitching questionnaire on Google Forms.
Information session: A training session on “How to pitch an investigative story idea” effectively will be hosted on Zoom at 14:00 CAT on 15 January 2025. If you would like to attend, sign up here.
Additional queries: If you have additional queries, you may send them to henrynxumalofund@gmail.com
