J-Lab | Articles

Eligibility Guidelines

To be eligible, projects must foster an open exchange of journalistically sound information. Eligible projects will include enterprise reporting that involves investigative or explanatory journalism, watchdog or accountability journalism or computer-assisted reporting. The reporting must enhance the public’s understanding of important city or regional issues, engage in solutions around public affairs problems, and/or reveal new information.

Funding may only be used for news and information projects; advocacy and government information projects are not eligible.

Submissions must also meet the following criteria:

The journalism must adhere to principles of accuracy, fairness and transparency.
Only projects focused on the City of Philadelphia and the eight-county Greater Philadelphia Region may apply. Harrisburg- and Trenton-based projects focused on the Philadelphia region are eligible to apply.
Reports must be published or aired within six months of receiving the award.
Applicants must describe specific plans for content collaboration and shared distribution. Collaboration partners could include other news organizations, news sites, other content creators or disseminators, web developers, technological innovators, journalism schools or others. Creativity in collaborations is welcome.

Funding may be used for such things as hiring freelance reporters, editing, purchasing databases, data analysis, design of searchable databases, creation of news games or exercises, development of mobile applications, or to meet other needs to make the story happen.

In accepting their award, winners agree to work with J-Lab researchers to prepare a report on lessons learned. The research will seek to examine whether there is:

Increased understanding among members of the mainstream media, new media sites, and the William Penn Foundation of the opportunities and challenges associated with collaboration.
Increased understanding of specific public issues raised by funded projects as evidenced by follow-up coverage and/or actions taken by public officials to address identified problems.
A menu of recommendations and solutions that can be created to help the planning and development of a Greater Philadelphia Networked Journalism Collaborative.