Investigative
Reporting
Fellowship

The Reporters’ Collective (TRC) is delighted to announce the inaugural ‘TRC Investigative Reporting Fellowship’. It is an opportunity to produce top-grade investigative work in English that will be published by The Collective and made available for co-publication by regional newsrooms.

The Reporters’ Collective (TRC) is delighted to announce Suchak Patel as the winner of the inaugural TRC Investigative Reporting Fellowship. Suchak, a TRC Fellow for the next three months, will be working with the TRC team to produce top-grade investigative work in English. His work will be published by The Collective and made available for co-publication by regional newsrooms.

Fellowship.

Winner announced
TRC Investigative Reporting Fellowship
Winner announced
TRC Investigative Reporting Fellowship
winner announced
TRC Investigative Reporting Fellowship
winner announced
TRC Investigative Reporting Fellowship

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Journalism’s key job is to tell the truth and seek out facts that hold those in power accountable to citizens. In India, the space for this kind of journalism has shrunk because speaking truth to power is bad business. The Collective wants to reclaim that space by building a nonprofit newsroom that invests in reportage, and reports without fear or favour.
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We are a collective of like-minded journalists recognised for our deep, original and time-intensive reporting, which often requires scouring thousands of public records and spending months digging for information. Our work has won recognition in India and internationally. Since 2019, we've published 79 investigations on a wide range of issues. We have investigated corruption in governments and conglomerates, the political malfeasance meddling in our economy, technology’s damaging impact on democracy, pandemic deaths and beyond. To learn about our work, click here.

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welcome to TRC

SUCHAK PATEL

Suchak works as an independent journalist and is a transportation engineer by training. He is currently part of the 2024 cohort of the Just Transition Research Fellowship at IIT Kanpur. He has previously worked as a researcher at NDTV. He was the recipient of the Centre for Financial Accountability Smitu Kothari Fellowship in 2022. His work has been featured on platforms such as Down to Earth, NDTV, Newslaundry, and Carbon Copy. Suchak is interested in investigating infrastructure policies and government schemes, primarily on health, education and climate.

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In the coming days, Suchak will work on a project that falls within our themes of Political Economy, and Governance and Accountability.

In this inaugural round, we received 70 eligible applications. Some of them stood out much more than others. While we can’t host all of the shortlisted stories, we have decided to accept one more investigative pitch that intersects caste, politics and our theme of Public Health and Policies. Our Special Grantee Alok Rajput will be taking on this investigative project.

ALOK RAJPUT

Alok is a freelance journalist based in Delhi. He studied sociology at the Center for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University. A trained sociologist, Alok completed his graduation in pharmacy. He often contributes for media portals such as Live Law, The Quint, The Wire. He is interested to report on issues related to government health policies, community health and caste politics of north Indian Hindi-speaking plains.

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The Fellowship

Announced last month, our inaugural fellowship was open to candidate(s) with at least two years of reporting experience to tackle an ambitious investigative project they propose. This fellowship is funded by citizens who champion our work.

Selecting just one out of the 70 applications was rather tough. We assessed each application on different parameters, including originality and exclusivity, our mandate, availability of evidence, and feasibility of the story pitched. 

We had invited proposals by journalists from across the country to share their story ideas aligning with the following themes:

Fellowship.

India’s Political Economy
Environment and Climate Change
Technology and Digital Security
Governance and Accountability
Public Health and Policies

And
MOre

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The Fellowship

Our inaugural fellowship will be awarded to candidate(s) with at least two years of reporting experience to tackle the ambitious investigative project they propose. This fellowship is funded by citizens who champion our work. Applications will be accepted from January 8 to January 31, 2024.

The selected fellow(s) will be announced in February. The fellow(s) will be supported by TRC’s editorial and legal team at every step to pursue their idea until they are published.

If needed, they should also be willing to travel for the story. We invite proposals by journalists from across the country to share their story ideas aligning with the following themes:

Fellowship.

India’s Political Economy
Environment and Climate Change
Technology and Digital Security
Governance and Accountability
Public Health and Policies

And
MOre

* Applicants can also pitch story ideas that don’t strictly fall within these themes. We’re open to different and compelling stories.

The Grant

The chosen candidate will receive a grant of Rs. 80,000 for the story (inclusive of any taxes). This is excluding travel costs incurred for reporting. Upon receiving approval, 20% of the grant will be disbursed immediately, followed by 40% upon submission of the draft, and the remaining amount upon publication of the story. Reporting-related travel or other expenses will be reimbursed along with the final payment on submission of bills.

Who Should Apply
  • Independent journalists with at least two years of professional experience as a reporter.
  • Journalists with an ambitious investigative story proposal that needs time and resources to execute.
  • The story that is being proposed should have progressed past the initial stages of reporting and should be backed up with documents to convince our editors to greenlight the project. 
Timeline

The fellowship period is from 1 March, 2024 - 31 May, 2024.

The applicants have to submit a tentative work plan in the document link given below, outlining the key milestones and deadlines for their investigative project.

Remember to refer to our pitching guideline.

Ethical Guidelines

Accuracy and Truthfulness: Verify facts rigorously. Ensure that all information presented is accurate and truthful.

Fairness and Impartiality: Present diverse perspectives and avoid personal or ideological biases.

Independence: Disclose any potential conflicts of interest.

Privacy: Respect individuals' privacy rights.

Informed Consent: Seek informed consent from individuals whom you will be approaching during the investigation.

Confidentiality: Safeguard the confidentiality of sources and sensitive information. Clearly communicate to sources the extent to which their identities will be protected and uphold the commitment to protecting whistleblowers.

Legal Compliance: Ensure that the investigation complies with all applicable laws and regulations. Seek legal advice when necessary, while not allowing legal threats to stymy the pursuit of truth.

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So, if you are waiting to tell the next big story, apply here:

Submissions are closed.

Please fill out the form to apply for the fellowship

Questions, and other inquiries may be sent to fellowship@reporters-collective.in

Thank you!
Submission received.
Your submission was successfully received. Kindly keep an eye out for mails from TRC, we'll be reaching out in case your submission is selected.
Oops! Something went wrong. Check the email ID and try again.

To receive updates on future rounds of the TRC Investigative Reporting Fellowship, enter your email here.

Questions, and other inquiries may be sent to fellowship@reporters-collective.in

Thank you!
Submission received.
Your submission was successfully received. Kindly keep an eye out for mails from TRC, we'll be reaching out in case your submission is selected.
Oops! Something went wrong. Check the email ID and try again.