Earmarked funding for Norwegian Journalism

August 24 2021

The Fritt Ord Foundation will be granting up to MNOK 25 annually for four years for journalistic projects. This MNOK 100 initiative is entitled Norwegian Journalism.

The call for applications has six deadlines for applications during the year and will run for four years. The next deadline is 17 September 2021. Please submit applications to the Fritt Ord Foundation’s application centre.

For quite some time, media and journalism have been among the Fritt Ord Foundation’s core target areas. In the demanding situation being experienced by the media and thereby in the public sphere as a whole today, we aspire to do even more to support and promote high-quality journalism in several areas.

Application requirements
The 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 contents of their projects. The Foundation’s goal is to help facilitate projects that could become important contributions to the social debate and matter to most people.

The general public is the target group for the projects. Applicants are free to use any publication platform, and are encouraged to take a multi-media approach. Any independent, editor-driven publication that targets Norwegian media users can apply. Applications will be accepted from editorial boards or individuals, but all support will be designated to specific named individuals. The programme is open to new forms of cooperation across several editorial boards/groups of journalists, and freelancers with publication agreements are invited to apply.

We aspire as far as possible to support work on content intended for publication, while providing less support for operating expenses, technical development projects, in-house skills upgrading and the purchase of equipment.

We ask that applicants submit a 3 – 5-page project proposal that is as specific as possible. The project proposal should include a schedule, a description of the content (e.g. a list of articles or a publication plan/schedule) and a list of the project team members, featuring five lines of background information on each of them. We also require an attachment containing information on other sources of funding, own efforts and an overall project budget.

If you apply as a freelancer, please attach a brief confirmation of your publishing agreement and fee schedule from the editorial board(s) that will be publishing the project. Please note that grants are intended to supplement fees, and the fact that you receive funding from Fritt Ord cannot be used to reduce the level of the fee you receive.

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

For help with the application process, please contact a staff member:

Hanne Vorland, telephone 230 14640
Elin Lutnæs, telephone 230 14649
Ingvild Bjerkholt, telephone 230 14648

Or Knut Olav Åmås, executive director (email address: knut.olav.amas@frittord.no)

In addition to the funding set aside for Norwegian Journalism, grants will be made in central 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, so they do not fall under the purview of this scheme. Please contact us if you have questions.

News

The Fritt Ord Foundation Prize for 2025 goes to satirical artists May Linn Clement, Marvin Halleraker and Morten Mørland

April 29 2025

The Fritt Ord Foundation Prize for 2025 is awarded to three representatives of Norwegian satirical art for challenging public opinion by standing up to power and for their biting humour: May Linn Clement, Marvin Halleraker and Morten Mørland.

In times of darkness, satire assumes a more important role

May 20 2025

“In times of darkness, when more is at stake, satire has a more important role to play,” said Marvin Halleraker as he accepted the Fritt Ord Prize for 2025, together with May Linn Clemet and Morten Mørland.

Fritt Ord's grants for master’s degrees

May 11 2025

Is your master’s project about freedom of expression, social debate or journalism? If so, you can apply for a student grant from the Fritt Ord Foundation.

Call for nominations: Free Media Awards 2025

March 14 2025

In collaboration with the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS of Hamburg, the Fritt Ord Foundation has allocated the Free Media Awards annually since 2004 to Eastern European journalists and media that defy every obstacle to tirelessly ensure independent press coverage. Russia’s war against Ukraine and the subsequent wave of disinformation clearly demonstrates the need for independent reporting in the region. Journalist, editorial teams and media companies in and from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary who make a contribution to press freedom through their investigative, independent reporting can be nominated for the Free Media Awards.