Media and journalism are among the Fritt Ord Foundation’s core areas, and the Foundation’s mandate is to continue paving the way for and supporting high-quality journalism in several fields.

The call for applications has six deadlines per year. The first deadline is at 3 p.m. on 7 January 2022. Applications should be submitted through the Fritt Ord Foundation’s application centre.

Application requirements
This initiative is completely open when it comes to topics. When applying for project support, journalists, editors and editorial staffs are free to choose the topics and content of their projects. The Foundation’s goal is to help facilitate projects that can become important contributions to the social debate for as many people as possible.

The projects are intended to target the general public. Applicants may use any publication platform and are encouraged to be multi-medial. Any independent, editor-driven publication with Norwegian media users as its target group may apply. While editorial boards and individuals are eligible to apply, all support will go to designated (named) individuals. We are open to new forms of cooperation between several editorial boards/groups of journalists, and freelancers with publication agreements are especially welcome to apply.

We aspire to support work on specific content for publication insofar as possible, while less support will be made available for operating expenses, technical development projects, in-house skills upgrading and the acquisition of equipment.

Applicants are asked to submit project outlines that are 3-5 pages long and contain as much detail as possible. The outline of the project should include a timeline, a description of the content (e.g., a list of articles or publication plan) and a roster of the project team members, including five-line resumes for each of them. Applications must also include an attachment containing information on other sources of funding, own efforts and an overall project budget.
If you are a freelancer, please add a brief confirmation of your publication agreement and the fee level being offered by the editorial board(s) that will be publishing the project. Please note that these grants are intended to supplement fees, and that the fact that you receive funding from Fritt Ord is not to be used to reduce the level of the fee you earn.

Label the application “Norwegian Journalism” in the title field.

For guidance on the application procedure or any other questions, please contact our administrative staff:

Hanne Vorland
hanne.vorland@frittord.no/47 975 45 247
Elin Lutnæs
elin.lutnes@frittord.no/47 900 39 764
Ingvild Bjerkholt
ingvild.bjerkholt@frittord.no/+47 970 22 368

Or Executive Director Knut Olav Åmås: knut.olav.amas@frittord.no

In addition to the funding set aside for Norwegian Journalism, grants will be made for projects in key journalism-related fields such as documentary films, documentary photos and journalistic prose. These will continue to be important priorities for Fritt Ord in the ordinary rounds of applications. Accordingly, they are not under the purview of this scheme. Contact Fritt Ord if you have questions about this, or read more about how to apply for funding here.