Applying for a Journalism grant

Are you a TV, print, radio, or online journalist or photojournalist interested in ending the shame, judgement and social exclusion that people living with mental distress can face?

Applying for one of our three Journalism Grants for up to $10,000 is as easy as following these three steps:
1. Reading our tips page, which provides pointers on how to give your project the best chance of success
2. Reading our Journalism Grant themes below, to figure out which one your project will fit under
3. Downloading our Journalism Grant application pack, which includes our criteria, themes list, application form, information on what to include in your video or written project proposal and where you can send your application form to apply. 

Apply for a Journalism grant now!
(application pack will download)

Applications are now open and close at 5pm, Friday 9 October 2020.

For any questions, please email:
journalism@mediagrants.org.nz

Choose from the following themes:

What’s it like? Experiences within New Zealand’s mental health system
A media project exploring how our mental health system is working or not working for New Zealanders. The aim of this project is to explore the different kinds of support available, what helps and what doesn’t, and could include a te ao Māori perspective on mental health and recovery. This project must prioritise and centre the voices of mental health service users.

Mental distress and COVID-19
A media project questioning whether COVID-19 has changed the way we see people who live with mental distress. Have our collective hard times helped New Zealanders to understand more about what living with mental health challenges could be like? Your project could question whether mental distress discrimination has heightened or decreased during COVID-19, and what we could change to make Aotearoa a more understanding place for the one in five of us living with distress this year.

Busting the myths
A media project which busts the myths about people who live with mental distress by challenging common stereotypes or untruths about them. What’s it really like to live with mental health challenges? Why do some stereotypes around certain diagnoses persist, and how can we challenge them? The aim of this project is to dispel these negative notions by showing the real experiences of New Zealanders who live with mental distress and how incorrect myths around their experiences can hurt and harm them.

The identities that make us: Intersectionality and mental distress
A media project exploring how living with mental distress alongside other marginalised identities can intersect to create complex life experiences. What does living with mental distress look like if you also identify as rainbow, Pasifika or Māori, or have a background as a refugee? How do these identities combine to create a different perspective on mental distress discrimination, and what can we do to be more inclusive and learn more about these experiences?

Culturally speaking: Perceptions of mental distress from a Te Ao Māori worldview
A media project exploring how the experience of mental distress is seen from a Māori worldview. What does discrimination and social exclusion look like through a Māori lens? How does connection to whānau, iwi, hapū and tikanga contribute to wellbeing, healing, recovery and social inclusion?

Workplaces
A media project exploring the role of work in mental wellbeing. What are the challenges employees with mental distress face in the workplace and how can employers create safe, inclusive environments that promote recovery? What innovative practices do New Zealand workplaces have that help to reduce prejudice and discrimination? How can our workplaces do better post COVID-19?

All projects must address mental distress stigma, discrimination and social exclusion. All projects must also be centred around people with lived experience, rather than their providers or whānau.

Applications for research projects, service delivery or study costs will not be accepted.