Public discourse is shifting everywhere. Are we still part of the relevant conversations?
The opening speech from our 2024 CE Media Trends conference and 22 active calls.
We just wrapped up our second CE Media Trends conference yesterday, and while I currently have the intellectual capacity of a very small language model, I didn’t want to skip this week’s edition—especially with several new calls announced.
I might be a bit biased, but I think we had three fantastic days in Warsaw. A big thanks to Zinc Network (we are co-organizing the conference with them), as well as our supporters—including USAID, MDIF, PCSC, ABF, and many others—who made it all possible.
The event grew slightly this year, bringing together around 180 participants from 11 countries. These included representatives from 60 digital news publishers across Central and Eastern Europe, along with dozens of experts, facilitators, and developers. I’ll share the key takeaways next week, but for now, here’s a lightly edited version of my Monday morning opening speech, followed by details on the latest calls.
Good morning, everyone. It's great to be here with all of you today. I'm going to be reading some of this. I had a decent speech prepared, but then last night happened.
Late last night, I found myself sitting at the bar with reporters and editors from Romania, just as their election results were coming in. The mood was… not cheerful. These great journalists weren’t upset about the results themselves, but because they hadn’t seen them coming. A candidate they hadn’t taken seriously—someone outside the mainstream, who leveraged TikTok to engage voters directly—performed far better than expected. They were blaming themselves—not for the outcome, but for failing their audiences.
Public discourse is shifting everywhere, Romania is just one example. In the world’s most powerful democracy, some argue that a candidate skipping a podcast appearance may have influenced election results. Being part of the right conversations clearly matters—it carries real consequences. But are we—the people in this room—still part of the most relevant conversations? And if we’re not, how do we reclaim that space? In a world where trust increasingly flows to individuals, how can our institutions compete? For attention. For that trust. For support.
This shift doesn’t have to be a threat—it can also be an opportunity. Many independent creators have built loyal audiences by being relatable, transparent, and nimble. What can we, as news organisations, learn from their ability to connect directly and authentically with people? While we continue to stand for accuracy and public service, we must adapt to these new dynamics. That means collaborating with emerging voices, sharing platforms, and aligning our credibility with relatability.
Many of us here have dedicated our lives to journalism because we believe deeply in its importance. But increasingly, we’re realising that this value—so obvious to us—is no longer self-evident to others.
Consider funding, a topic that - lets be honest - is never far from our minds.
When a charity spends €100,000 on vaccines or clean water, they can quantify the lives saved or improved. We believe our work benefits society—and I believe this too—but how do we prove it? How do we demonstrate the real-world impact of our journalism? Where are the metrics that connect our stories to economic, social, or political progress? And if we can’t show this impact, how do we make our case to philanthropies, governments, or development organisations?
These are difficult questions, but there’s no better place to confront them than here, together. And despite the challenges, there are reasons for optimism.
In Hungary—a country not widely known for its media-friendly environment—journalists uncovered evidence that the president pardoned someone convicted of covering up child abuse. The story led to the resignations of both the president and the justice minister, disrupting a political system many believed immune to accountability.
In Bulgaria, investigative journalists exposed clear links between fraud, covert foreign influence, and an extremist party. After years of neglect, authorities were finally compelled to act.
In Romania, reporting on harassment and abuse in higher education has led to suspensions and is paving the way for institutional reforms.
These feats of extraordinary journalism were not achieved by a lone voice, laid-back conversations or a viral social media post – they required the resources, the persistence and collaborative strength of established news organisations. They required reporters who could withstand pressure from powerful interests, backed by institutions committed to accuracy, fairness, and public service.
Our work matters, of course it does. It’s critical to a healthy society.
And as difficult as it was to witness, the reaction of those Romanian journalists last night gives me hope. You were upset—believe me, they were upset—but you weren’t blaming anyone else. You were looking inward, asking yourselves what you could have done better. That kind of honesty—our willingness to face hard truths about ourselves while maintaining an unwavering dedication to public service—is exactly what our profession needs to move forward.
If we want to survive—and more than that, if we want to thrive—we need to redefine and articulate the value we bring. To funders. To policymakers. To platforms. And most importantly, to our audiences.
Thank you and I hope we’ll have a wonderful time together in Warsaw.
Now here are the active calls, with the largest at the top:
DRL Internet Freedom Annual Program
Who: US Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor
How much: USD 500,000 - 3,000,000
What is it for: Defending digital freedom and promoting online security
Deadline: January 9th, 2025
Eligible countries: Global
Media Freedom Rapid Response Mechanism
Who: European Commission
How much: No maximum grant (estimated budget: EUR 3,000,000)
What is it for: Support media freedom and journalist safety
How long: Up to 24 months
Deadline: January 15th, 2025
Eligible countries: Creative Europe participating countries (EU member states and non-EU countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme
Journalism Partnerships - Pluralism
Who: European Commission
How much: Up to EUR 2,500,000
What is it for: Protection of independent media and journalism
How long: Up to 24 months
Deadline: February 27th, 2025
Eligible countries: Creative Europe participating countries (EU member states and non-EU countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme)
Journalism Partnerships - Collaborations
Who: European Commission
How much: Up to EUR 2,000,000
What is it for: Cross-border media collaborations
How long: Up to 24 months
Deadline: February 27th, 2025
Eligible countries: Creative Europe participating countries (EU member states and non-EU countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme)
CREA - TV and online content
Who: European Commission
How much: Up to EUR 2,000,000
What is it for: Boost audiovisual producers' capacity to develop projects
How long: Up to 36 months
Deadline: December 5th, 2024
Eligible countries: Creative Europe participating countries (EU member states and non-EU countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme)
Internet Freedom Fund
Who: Open Technology Fund (OTF)
How much: USD 10,000 – 900,000
What is it for: Support innovative internet freedom projects
How long: Up to 24 months
Deadline: Rolling applications
Eligible countries: Global, except those subject to U.S. trade restrictions or export sanctions
Media Literacy
Who: European Commission
How much: Up to EUR 500,000
What is it for: Media literacy
How long: Up to 24 months
Deadline: March 6th, 2025
Eligible countries: Creative Europe participating countries (EU member states and non-EU countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme)
Media actions in the area of communication - NEW
Who: European Parliament
How much: EUR 30,000 -150,000
What is it for: Provide EU info, combat disinformation, promote media literacy
How long: At least 6 months
Deadline: January 15th, 2025
Eligible countries: EU member states
U.S. Embassy Tirana PAS Annual Program - NEW
Who: U.S. Mission to Albania
How much: Up to USD 100,000
What is it for: Promote professionalism and integrity in media reporting
How long: 6-24 months
Deadline: May 21st, 2025
Eligible countries: Albania
Boosting Fact-Checking Activities in Europe
Who: European Media and Information Fund
How much: Up to EUR 55,000
What is it for: Combat mis- and disinformation
How long: Up to 6 months
Deadline: February 28th, 2025
Eligible countries: EU, EFTA and UK
NED grants for media projects
Who: NED
How much: Around USD 50,000
What is it for: Promote democracy and strengthen institutions
How long: Around 12 months
Deadline: January 7th, 2025
Eligible countries: Global
U.S. Embassy Sofia PDS Annual Program - NEW
Who: U.S. Mission to Bulgaria
How much: Up to USD 25,000
What is it for: Strengthen media, promote media and digital literacy
How long: Up to 12 months
Deadline: December 27th, 2024
Eligible countries: Bulgaria
MVA Forward
Who: MVA
How much: Up to USD 25,000
What is it for: Media support
How long: Up to 12 months
Deadline: June 4th, 2025 - Rolling applications
Eligible countries: Global (low- and middle-income countries preferred)
NATO Co-sponsorship grants
Who: NATO
How much: Up to EUR 25,000
What is it for: Counter information threats, support independent media
Deadline: January 8th, 2025
Eligible countries: NATO member and partner countries
Central Europe Program – Rule of Law Activity
Funder: Dexis
How much: USD 5,000 - 25,000
What is it for: Social media content around Rule of Law issues
How long: 12 months
Deadline: December 31st, 2024 - Rolling applications
Eligible countries: Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary
Professional Development Grants for Environmental Journalism
Who: Journalismfund Europe
How much: Up to EUR 20,000
What is it for: Capacity building of environmental investigative journalists
How long: Up to 12 months
Deadline: February 13th, 2025
Eligible countries: European countries
European Cross-Border Grants Programme
Who: Journalismfund Europe
How much: Unclear, but likely up to EUR 14,000
What is it for: Cross-border investigative content
Deadline: January 23rd, 2025
Eligible countries: At least 80% of the requested budget should go to local journalists/media from EU countries
Society Against Corruption in Montenegro
Who: BIRN and Civic Alliance
How much: Up to EUR 12,430
What is it for: Strengthen media's ability to report corruption in education
Deadline: November 30th, 2024
Eligible countries: Montenegro
European Local Cross-Border Grants Programme
Who: Journalismfund Europe
How much: Unclear, but likely up to EUR 10,000
What is it for: Local cross-border investigative content
Deadline: January 23rd, 2025
Eligible countries: EU countries
Microgrants for Small Newsrooms
Who: Journalismfund Europe
How much: Up to EUR 5,000
What is it for: Capacity building for small news outlets
Deadline: December 17th, 2024
Eligible countries: Creative Europe participating countries (EU member states and non-EU countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme)
Pluralistic Media for Democracy
Who: Journalismfund Europe and IMS
How much: Unclear (call amount: EUR 700,000)
What is it for: Support media in "news deserts"
Deadline: February 13th, 2025
Eligible countries: EU 27 countries, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
Until the next issue, thanks for reading and take care.
Peter Erdelyi and the rest of the Center for Sustainable Media team