Pluralism Prodemos

2026-07-22

"Corporate and political power is shifting to the international level and local level. That is precisely where independent critical journalism is having the hardest time or has never been able to develop there. Cross-border investigative journalism and small local public-interest media are the most disrupted elements in the media sector. Both need help most urgently. At the same time, they have the greatest potential to form the basis of a new and strong media ecosystem. You can encourage innovation and diversity by getting journalists to work together. Local media are the laboratories of new media and could well be at the basis of a renewal of democracy. “Pluralism Prodemos” (Latin, stands for ""we want to promote pluralism"") therefore aims to encourage and increase the production of cross-border investigative journalism (both local and international) across Europe, and to make Europe's independent news media more sustainable, resilient and international. The project will consist of: (1) a grant, mentoring and scholarships programme for European cross-border investigative journalism (ECB) (2) a grant, mentoring and scholarships programme for European cross-border LOCAL investigative journalism (CBLocal) (3) newsroom training, subgrants for two cohorts of newsrooms, mentoring (4) a cross-border investigative journalism (online) training programme for professional journalists (5) a follow-up and a wide dissemination of the supported stories among the European public, and of the learnings and knowledge among the journalistic community across Europe. The project will support European innovative cross-border journalism partnerships, standards and formats. It will strengthen the potential of the sector and players in countries and regions with different and diverse media capacities. In this way, it will help promote a free, diverse and pluralistic media environment and quality journalism."

Belgium, Czechia

2026-03-01