Journalism Fellowship Season 2
Health and Governance Issues are explored by media in in-depth news stories
Community journalists whose story pitches were selected for the Philippine Press Institute’s Journalism Fellowship Program 2022 were presented in an online activity on 12 August 2022. The activity also served as an orientation seminar, which informed the fellows about the guidelines for their participation and dates to take note of to stay on track until the deadline for their articles’ publication. Amongst the fellows are members as well as non-members of the PPI, all from local media outfits in different areas of the island groups of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
PPI
The fellowship program offers the practicing journalists the opportunity to do research on and write about a topic of their choice, under the theme “Health and Local Governance.” It affords them the possibility of pursuing in-depth research on issues affecting their community and confronting the Philippines, and telling their story in long-form articles to engage the public in meaningful discourses. It is one way for challenges confronting the country that would have otherwise been paid little attention to can be brought into public conversation, thus contextualizing civic dialogue.
To provide a glimpse of the stories that made the cut, eleven of the fellows introduced their stories. The topics covered ran the gamut, from health problems to be addressed -- such as malaria, schistosomiasis, prenatal care and post-traumatic stress disorder -- to innovative health services and good practices that seemed to have the potential for replication.
Given how health and good governance are related, some of the topics draw attention to how local governments deliver or are working to overcome limitations in an effort to deliver appropriate health services to its constituents, including the absence of electricity, in the face of internal disagreements, and in harnessing the knowledge and experience of informal health workers. Others proposed to look into the participation of civil society organisations in a local government’s planning process and to review the consideration for health care in a local chief’s vision for a city’s development.
Selection from the community journalists’ story proposals was done based on originality, relevance and adherence to framework. The idea was to encourage local media practitioners to observe and seek out concerns in their communities, especially pertaining to health and local governance, that go unnoticed, or are getting less attention in the broader media than they should. The stories are encouraged to reflect different perspectives and explain the complexities of specific issues, to reveal insights from different angles, and ask the incisive questions that initiate deeper discussions.
Beginning 12 August 2022, the fellows have a month’s time until 12 September 2022 to do research for and write their stories. During this period, they are required to consult with the Seminar Director and Editor their working drafts in one-on-one mentoring sessions. Their pieces need to be at least 1500-words long and can be written either in English or the vernacular. As a final requirement, these are to see print after which both the article and the proof of publication can be submitted to the PPI, along with at least two high-resolution images and the option to include video clips.
The PPI Journalism Fellowship Program was launched in 2021 at the height of the pandemic and led to the publication of thirty news articles that provided insightful reporting on concerning health situations communities were fraught with. News articles resulting from this second run are expected to see print from the 12th to 19th of September 2022. This fellowship program was organized by the PPI with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) as part of their project cooperation on civic journalism.