Before the launch of the next Media Forward Fund call for proposals on 9 February, the team presented the fund in Erfurt. We were there and have summarised the most important points for you:

💪🏻 The aim of the Media Forward Fund is to strengthen journalism and thus democracy.

🚀 With funding of up to €400,000 (for two years), public interest media organisations will be enabled to publish strong and trustworthy content and then finance themselves sustainably in the long term.

🔎 There is a particular focus on organisations that report on target groups that have been neglected by journalism to date or are now being neglected, thus filling gaps in regional, local or even national reporting.

🏆 Organisations that have already received funding include, for example, the podcast radio station detektor.fm from Saxony-Anhalt and the Austrian media company andererseits.

MDR editor-in-chief Christin Bohmann provided an impetus on the topic of "Journalism in times of social transformation." She addressed the question of how media can remain relevant in times of social upheaval. Her position: "We must be close to the action, effective and diverse." Specifically, this means that journalists must embrace complexity, focus on impact rather than reach, and ensure that their editorial teams are more diverse in terms of perspectives and approaches.

👉🏻 If you would like to learn more about the Media Forward Fund or apply with your organisation, you can find all the information about the funding programme in the FAQ section of the website: https://www.mediaforwardfund.org/faq-allgemeine-foerderlinie