Announcing New Midwest Journalism Fund

We are looking for 50 journalists to join the program which starts on October 3rd. Applications are open until September 26th, apply here:

There are over 127 million acres of agricultural land in the Midwest, a landscape dominated by intensive industrial farming. Midwestern states also have some of the strictest ag-gag laws in the nation, which makes reporting on injustices related to industrial agriculture a challenge for new journalists.

That’s why we created the Midwest Journalism Fund. This program aims to build a better support network for writers in the Midwest who are interested in reporting on agriculture and the environment and culminates in a pitch competition, judged by journalists at Sentient Media and Vox, where the $10,000 fund will be distributed between the successful writers for new reporting. Throughout the program, the writers will also be given the opportunity to meet with editors from Sentient Media’s network, including Grist, to pitch and share ideas. 

By training those reporting in the Midwest, we will directly influence the number of articles published in local media exploring the impact of industrial animal agriculture on the environment, thus directly influencing the public understanding of large-scale industrial agriculture.

Program Offering: 

• Train reporters to become more effective at reporting on the environment and the impact of industrial farming in the Midwest.
• Course on Reporting on the Environment and Animal Agriculture featuring lessons from Marina Bolotnikova, Jeff Sebo, Silvia Secchi and many more.
• Course on Undercover Investigations created by Pete Paxton, an award-winning undercover investigator.
• Events featuring environment and animal agriculture experts and journalists from Grist and Vox.
• Access to Sentient Media’s global community of advocates, journalists, and mentors.
• Self-guided program that ends in a pitch competition on November 17th. All materials are available to you on demand, which gives learners the flexibility to complete the courses at their own pace.

Important dates:

Applications open: August 26th
Applications close: September 26th, 5pm Eastern

Program begins: October 3rd

Who can apply:

• Journalists based in the Midwest
• Strong interest in reporting on the environment
• Must have published at least 2 articles this year