The Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas has just marked one year since its establishment.
We have already launched more than a dozen projects which have helped to create new jobs and more than 100 great stories.
Grants have been shared with media from across Australia — from a hyperlocal start-up in regional Victoria to a remote radio station in WA and major media organisations in Sydney and Melbourne. We’ve also supported the creation of new international bureaus and new reporting projects in Asia and the Pacific.
In May, we launched the Asian Reporting Fellowship and sent 12 Australian journalists to Hong Kong. As event partner of the Antidote Festival at the Sydney Opera House we brought some of world’s leading journalists to Australia.
2020 will be even bigger. We are planning new projects in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. We will launch new education initiatives to sharpen reporters’ skills and we will host journalists and thought leaders from around the world.
We have an optimistic view of journalism. Disruption and experimentation will be a constant, but people will always want great stories, told well. It is for this reason that the role of JNI is not just to support quality journalism, but to celebrate it as well.
Thank you for your support this year. We look forward to staying in touch in 2020.
Mark Ryan, Executive Director
Recent projects
Improving media literacy in remote communities
ABC journalists are working with schools, in remote communities across Australia, to help students analyse the news they consume. The program aims to narrow the media literacy gap between kids in the city and the bush.
Find out more about the Regional Schools Ambassadors Program
Learning from investigative reporters
Democracy’s Watchdogs explores the triumphs and challenges of journalism, through interviews with Australia’s leading investigative journalists. The series features award-winning reporters, including Nick McKenzie and Adele Ferguson.
The AFR reopens Jakarta bureau
The Australian Financial Review shuttered its bureau in Jakarta in 2009. With JNI’s support, it reopened this year and is providing extensive coverage of the issues affecting Australia’s closest neighbour and the region.
Read the latest from south-east Asia correspondent Emma Connors
Asian Reporting Fellowships
In partnership with HKU’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre, JNI sent 12 Australian journalists to Hong Kong for an intensive education program on Hong Kong and China. The reporters filed more than 40 stories, in a highly-productive two week visit.
Learn more about the fellowships
Prize for regional journalism
The Kennedy Foundation recognises the best of Australian regional journalism. This year the Judith Neilson Institute sponsored the Chris Watson Award for Outstanding Regional Newspaper Reporting. The award was won by Joanne McCarthy from the Newcastle Herald.
See the full list of Kennedy Award winners
Antidote Festival
The Antidote festival at the Sydney Opera House saw hundreds of people gather to debate the most pressing issues of our time, including climate change and free speech. As event partner, JNI helped add several high-profile international journalists to the discussions.
Strengthening community broadcasting
Based in Roebourne in Western Australia, Ngaarda Media is sharing the vibrant stories of the First Nations People of the Pilbara through its radio, photography and video.
Listen to Ngaarda’s breakfast program with Tangiora Hinaki
7am broadens its storytelling
Schwartz Media’s 7am podcast is delivering news and analysis of the latest events in Australia and overseas, each morning. With JNI’s support, 7am added features and field producer Elle Marsh to its team.
Exploring China’s influence abroad
In The Australian‘s series on China’s diaspora, senior writer Graham Lloyd and photographer Vanessa Hunter are examining the economic, cultural and political influence of China’s 60 million expats.
Read the first stories from the series
The Guardian Pacific Project
Led by pacific editor Kate Lyons, Guardian Australia is working with local journalists to increase coverage of the social, geo-political, environmental and economic issues affecting the region.
Read the latest from the Guardian’s Pacific project
Civic journalism in regional Victoria
Experienced journalist Carol Altmann offers news, analysis and opinion on the issues affecting Warrnambool, on the south-west coast of Victoria, through her website, The Terrier.
Grants for freelance journalism
The Walkley Foundation’s Grants for Freelance Journalism were boosted by JNI and funded 11 public interest journalism projects on a range of topics, including the environment, health policy, school funding and refugees.
Read the grant recipients’ stories
Australia Votes 2019: The Junction live
The Junction, JERAA’s national collaborative online platform for student journalism covered the 2019 Federal Election, including a live television program from RMIT’s television studios.