In 2020, in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, two calls for projects were launched allowing a grant of 700 euros to be awarded to independent journalists to finance a report, whether for the written press or audiovisual media. or a website. To do this, an exceptional grant was granted to the Association of Professional Journalists (AJP).
The freelance fund will therefore be extended in 2021 in order to award around 300 additional scholarships. The first call will be reserved for journalists who have not yet benefited from this aid.
Last year, over seven months, nearly 300,000 euros were distributed among 275 independent journalists, 227 of whom had never used the Journalism Fund before. 248 works concerned the written press, 69 photos, 34 radio and 29 television.
“If journalistic activity is no longer as badly affected at the start of 2021 as it was in spring 2020, several sectors remain at a standstill, which reduces the work possibilities for some journalists who cover by for example the cultural field, amateur sport or gastronomy. Support therefore remains necessary “, underlines the Minister of Media, quoted in the press release.
The government of the FWB has also decided to preserve the funding of radio creation for 2021 by providing a dedicated budget of 398,000 euros. “Consideration will also be given to granting sufficient funding for radio creation in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and this in a sustainable manner”, specifies the cabinet.