Frequently Asked Questions

Anyone can become a member of EJN by making an account on our website. Membership is free. To join the network, click on the “Log in” button in the top right of the website, near the search bar. When you reach the next page, look to the bottom where it says, "Don't have an account? Sign up."

The primary benefit of EJN membership for journalists and media professionals is access to our funding and training opportunities. Unless you are a member of EJN, you are not eligible to apply. Additionally, EJN members are the first to hear about new opportunities, events and programs. Please note: Information you submit at the time of registering is not visible to other members. If you are awarded a grant by EJN, you may be asked to submit a public bio, which can be viewed by others.

EJN receives funding from many different foundations, private sector organizations, governments and non-governmental organizations around the world. We gratefully acknowledge our donors for their generous support of our mission to improve the quality and quantity of environmental journalism around the world. 

EJN is a part of Internews, and as Internews’ flagship environmental project, we work to improve the quantity and quality of environmental and climate reporting around the world. Internews is an international media support nonprofit that believes everyone deserves trustworthy news and information to make informed decisions about their lives and hold power to account. Internews operates in more than 100 countries to confront propaganda and corruption, protect a free and open internet, educate citizens on media and data literacy, and strengthen health and environmental systems. You can read more on the Internews website. 

All of our open job postings are listed on Internews’ career page. We are not able to consider resumes sent over email.  

We are happy to consider interview requests for school, university or research projects. However, depending on the timing and subject matter, we cannot guarantee that we can accommodate all requests. Please send your query through the contact form with a detailed description of your project, the type of expertise you are seeking and the deadline to complete the interview and we will reply within two business days.  

We welcome all proposals for partnerships or collaborations with other organizations. Please send your query through the contact form with a detailed description of your proposal, including whether your organization has funds available. We will reply within two business days. 

EJN would love to suggest speakers from our network for your event. Please send your query through the contact form with a detailed description of your event, the type of expertise you are seeking and the logistical details, including whether it is in-person or virtual. We will reply within two business days. 

Due to the volume of applications we receive, EJN does not accept unsolicited requests for funding or story pitches. The only way to submit a request for funding or a story pitch to us is if it meets the criteria of any of our currently listed opportunities. Any pitches or proposals submitted through email will not be accepted. 

EJN operates global, regional and local projects depending on our project needs and funding availability. Some projects are only focused on certain countries or regions, and some on specific topics. EJN cannot make exceptions to our opportunities’ geographic or thematic eligibility criteria, so please make sure to check the geographic eligibility for the specific opportunity you are interested in before you apply.   

Each opportunity has its own criteria depending on project needs and scope, and these are typically outlined in the call for applications. However, we do have some that are generally followed across story and organizational grant programs:

• Relevance: Does the proposal meet the criteria and objectives laid out in the application?
• Capacity: Have you demonstrated that you have sufficient experience to carry out the project as proposed?  
• Angle: How is your pitch or proposal new or innovative? Does your proposal bring new insights to the topic or offer a fresh angle?
• Impact: Does the proposal have a compelling narrative or investigative element that will inform and engage, draw attention, trigger debate and urge action? 
• Innovation: The use of creative approaches to project design or multimedia will be considered a plus.
• Cost: Is the proposal financially viable and sufficiently ambitious (and not too ambitious)? Have all costs been considered and accounted for? 
• Timeliness: Can the proposal be completed within the timeframe allocated? Have all potential delays been explained and solutions proposed? 
• Geography: Geographical distribution will be considered for the selection of grantees to ensure a diverse cohort. 

While each opportunity has its own criteria depending on project needs and scope, we do have some that are generally followed across workshop and fellowship programs:

• Relevance: Does the applicant demonstrate interest and experience relevant to the criteria and objectives laid out in the application?
• Impact: Does the applicant demonstrate that the training experience or fellowship would significantly and positively impact their knowledge and future work? 
• Preparation: Has the applicant sufficiently researched and prepared for the opportunity?
• Geography: Geographical distribution will be considered for the selection of grantees to ensure a diverse cohort. 

A letter of support is a signed document from an editor or other supervisor at a media outlet. Letters of support must contain an explicit commitment to publish, stating that the media outlet will publish any stories produced as a result of the grant, workshop or fellowship opportunity and/or that they are giving the applicant leave to complete the project or attend the program. We require letters of support from both freelancers and staffers at media outlets in order to confirm that editors are aware their reporters are seeking grant support and to ensure the outputs of our support are published widely. 

Journalists are free to submit more than one letter of support, though only one is required. However, multiple letters may increase the strength of the application, as it demonstrates the journalist’s work will be widely published. 

If you are not able to acquire a letter of support before the application deadline, you may reach out to us via the contact form once you receive it. However, each judging process is different, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to accept late letters for every opportunity.  

EJN convenes panels of judges from all over the world who have expertise in the relevant topic(s) and/or region(s). Each application is independently reviewed and given a score. The highest scoring applicants are interviewed by a member of the judging panel, and the results of the interviews are used to determine the final grant recipients. In some cases, we will select workshop attendees without interviews.  

Due to the volume of applications we receive, we are unable to provide feedback on individual applications. Finalists who are shortlisted for an interview process are able to request feedback from their interviewer if desired.  

Each judging process is different, but we generally aim to notify all applicants of the results within a month of the deadline. All applicants will receive an email regarding the status of their application. Please note some processes may take longer than others, particularly if there is a high volume of applications.  

After applicants are notified that their application was successful, they will proceed through our onboarding process with a member of EJN staff. This process includes registering in our system to receive payments and developing a story plan in collaboration with an assigned mentor. Our support is two-pronged: We provide both funding and editorial guidance to our grantees, and so each grant recipient is assigned a journalist mentor. The mentor will advise the grantee throughout the length of the process and share editorial feedback. Once published, the grantee and mentor will work with the EJN team to republish their work on the EJN website.  

For most projects, grantees and their media outlets retain full copyright ownership over the materials produced as a result of EJN’s support. However, EJN, Internews and its funders and partners are given usage rights in order to republish and promote the work on our own channels. We do edit stories for length and clarity when we republish them on EJN’s website. For some select projects that operate under a Creative Commons license, grantees will be made fully aware of the requirements.  

Please use these instructions to make an account. 

1. Click the 'Log in' button at the top of our website, next to the search bar. 
2. At the bottom of the next screen, click 'Sign up.'
3. Fill out your information in the fields provided. 
4. Once you submit, you will receive an email asking you to verify your email address. Click the link in the email, which will take you back to our website. 
5. Now, click the 'Log in' button again and enter your email and password.
6. You are now able to apply for our grant opportunities via the Opportunities page.

If you are still having trouble, consider these solutions: 

• If when you attempt to submit your information, the page reloads and deletes your information, please ensure you are not using an automatic translation extension or device on the webpage. If you are, disable it and try again.
• If you are attempting to sign up and receive an error that states, “We’re sorry, something went wrong when attempting to sign up,” this means there is already an account associated with your email address. Go to “Log in” and choose “Don’t remember your password?” to reset your password and gain access to your account. 
• If you have successfully signed up but have not received your verification email, please ensure you have typed your email address into our website correctly and checked your spam folder. 
• If you have received the verification email but the link to verify returns an error, too much time may have passed and the link may no longer be valid. You may need to return to the EJN website and resubmit your information.  

If you are still experiencing challenges after attempting these solutions and following the instructions, you may reach out using the contact form below. You can expect a response within two business days. 

Consider the following solutions if you are having challenges applying. If your issue is not represented here or elsewhere in our FAQ, please reach out using the contact form at least two business days before the application deadline to ensure we can help you. 

• If you are not logged into the EJN website, you will not be able to apply for an opportunity. Use the 'Log in' button in the top right of our website to either log into your existing account or make a new one. Upon logging in or making the account, return to the opportunity page, ensure you are logged in and then press “Apply now” to begin the application. 
• If you complete your application but upon clicking Submit, receive an error, it’s possible you have not fulfilled the requirements to submit. Check the following items to be sure you have completed the application correctly:
  • Have you adhered to the minimum and maximum word counts for each section? 
  • Have you filled out all required fields (marked with a *)? 
  • Have you correctly inserted URLs into the work samples or media outlet website section? Our website requires full URLs, meaning it must look like http://earthjournalism.net and not only “earthjournalism.net”.  

Note: If you are trying to apply after the deadline has passed, it will not allow you to access it as the opportunity has closed. Make sure to carefully note the deadline and time zone when applying. 

If you have started an application and saved it as a draft, you may return to it at another time. Ensure you are logged in to the website and proceed to the opportunity page. If you select “Apply now”, it will open your draft application for you to edit and submit. You will also receive an email from the website stating that you have successfully saved your application as a draft. Clicking the link in this email will take you to your draft application if you are already logged in – if the link is not working, please ensure you are logged into your account and try again.  

Note: If you are trying to access your application after the deadline has passed, it will not allow you to view it as the opportunity has closed. Make sure to carefully note the deadline and time zone when applying. 

After completing your application and clicking the Submit button, you will receive an automatically generated email from our website informing you that your application has been submitted. If you do not see the email in your inbox, please check your spam or junk folders. If you still have not received it, you may contact us using the form to inquire about the status of your application.

We cannot make changes to applications that have already been submitted. If you have an urgent need, you may reach out using the contact form but please note your revision or addition may not be accepted. 

Please submit a request through the contact form with your name, the email currently associated with your EJN account and the new email you’d like to use moving forward. Someone will reply as soon as possible. 

You can change your profile information by logging into your EJN account and clicking on the “My account” button in the top right corner of the page. You can then choose 'View profile' to edit your information.

EJN's online courses are available on a platform called The Internews Studio. After clicking on the Enroll button on the EJN website, you will be taken to The Studio's log in page. In order to log in using your EJN account, scroll down until you see 'Member of the Earth Journalism Network? EJN login here.' Click on that link, and you will be prompted to log in with your EJN credentials. Once logged in, you are able to take any of the courses in EJN's catalog.

EJN rarely accepts late applications due to the sheer number we receive for our grant opportunities. If you reach out well in advance of the deadline with technical issues or questions, we will respond to you as soon as we can to find a solution, but unfortunately we are not able to provide tech support for last-minute issues. If you are completing the application close to the deadline and experience challenges, we cannot guarantee we will be available to assist as our email inbox is not constantly monitored during business hours in every time zone. Please ensure you begin your application as early as possible and reach out at least two business days before the deadline with any issues.  

Generative AI (genAI) is a type of artificial intelligence that uses neural networks, deep learning models, complex algorithms, and large and varied training datasets to produce synthetic content based on user input. The content that genAI creates includes written text, images, video, audio, computer code and more. GenAI, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Stable Diffusion and others synthesizes new data instances by learning patterns from existing data, while non-generative AI focuses on classifying or predicting based on existing data without synthesizing new content.

When used responsibly, genAI may assist environmental reporting.

Generative AI can aid environmental journalists by swiftly accessing extensive datasets, summarizing content, creating novel insights and proposing relevant story angles. This can enable journalists to focus on in-depth reporting and analysis. Moreover, genAI can serve as an early preliminary step in fact-checking and ensuring the accuracy of information, enhancing the efficiency of the reporting process.

However, the limitations and potential biases of AI must be acknowledged. AI-generated content should be rigorously verified to ensure accuracy and guard against mis- and disinformation. GenAI models are often trained on the work of journalists without compensation or credit, leading to potential copyright violations and financial losses for news organizations. AI-generated content has been used in the dissemination of fake news and manipulated media, encumbering newsrooms as they authenticate information with often limited resources.

GenAI tools may also compete with traditional news outlets for readership and revenue.

Key principles include accuracy, transparency, ethical compliance, and mitigating algorithmic biases. AI can complement but should not replace human judgement in editorial decisions. See our more detailed explanation here.

EJN endorses the Associated Press’ editorial standards surrounding AI, which uphold clear attribution of facts, figures and quotes, and the disclosure of the use of genAI in reporting and content creation. We encourage journalists who choose to make use of these tools to exercise extreme caution with confidential data and authenticate text through tools like these and visual content through reverse image searches.

Applicants are required to be transparent about the use of genAI tools, if any, in the development of their proposals. EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, including, but not limited to, plagiarism and submitting AI-generated content as their own. 

GenAI synthesizes new data, while non-gen AI classifies or predicts based on existing data. There are many specialized uses for non-generative AI, such as machine learning processes, which are commonly utilized by researchers and journalists. Journalists who use machine learning approaches in their reporting often include an explanation of their methodology. Given that a human is always “in the loop” when non-generative AI tools are employed, there is less likelihood of confusion about authorship. Take the example of automated transcription, which is offered by a variety of platforms: Such a tool is not synthesizing new content (although many of these tools do offer summary, insights, and other separate, generative features) and is therefore not creating new data that has an unknown provenance or requires vetting beyond the normal verification standards required of all ethical journalists.

EJN encourages partners to err on the side of more transparency and disclosure than less.

Where can I learn more about responsible AI use?

For more on what EJN considers to be responsible use of genAI in environmental journalism, further details can be found here. Consider these three steps when using genAI:

1. Ensure the AI-generated content is accurate and free from false information. This includes fact-checking and verifying sources to maintain journalistic integrity.
2. Clearly disclose when generative AI has been used to create content. This transparency helps build trust with the audience.
3. Evaluate the potential ethical impacts of your use of genAI, such as biases and sensationalism, and take steps to mitigate these to uphold credibility.

As new developments in the use and application of genAI take place almost daily, please be advised that our work—and our partners’ knowledge—in this area is also evolving.