The FRONTIERS project, a candidate for an open call from the Science Journalism Initiative, has been selected for a grant of 1.5 million euros. It is set to run from 2023 to 2027, and during this period it plans to enable up to 40 science journalists to spend a period of 3 to 5 months with research teams, working on in-depth reporting projects at institutions of their choice.

The objectives of the Science Journalism Initiatives are addresses to tackle the uncertainty that, in recent years, is developing around the occupation of journalism. The digital disruption, and more specifically the Covid-19 pandemic, led the International Federation of Journalist to call for “political and economic measures that will ensure the survival of quality media and professional journalists”.

The main goal of the project is to back the independent science journalism, and for this purpose FRONTIERS intends to provide training on autonomous and ethically responsible science coverage, and promote mutual learning between journalists and researchers.

Universities and research centres conducting frontier research in any field of knowledge will be able to participate in the programme, and all the actors will benefit from the financing provided by the project: journalists’ stays, reporters and host institutions.

FRONTIERS is expected to contribute to public’s trust in science, to tackling misinformation and improving social resilience against disinformation.

It will also propose a long-term model related to a set of ethics principles, best practices and guidelines for journalistic fellowships.