Magmatic School of Environmental Journalism

Applications are now closed for the first edition of the Magmatic School of Environmental Journalism, to be held online from October 2024 to February 2025. The deadline to apply was August 30.

Six to nine early-career journalists based in southern Europe will be selected to participate in this hands-on five-month program. The program aims to enhance their skills in environmental reporting and narrative writing while expanding their portfolios.

Requirements:

• Previous experience in journalism

• Based in one of the following countries: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey

• Interest in environmental topics, particularly climate change

• Commitment to leveling up writing skills

• Good level of spoken and written English

Applications Are Now Closed

Participants in the program will have the opportunity to:

• Receive mentoring and feedback from experienced independent journalists and support in seeking partnerships with other media

• Obtain a small travel grant for their reporting

Magma Magazine

• Become part of our professional network

Journalists will be introduced to the fundamentals of environmental and narrative journalism, including science journalism, turning sources into compelling characters, international reporting, collaborative journalism and freelancing basics. They will also gain insights into the major challenges the Mediterranean is facing due to climate change and learn about Magma's journalistic approach.

Participants will be divided into three small groups based on their interests, with each group assigned to a mentor. The groups will receive mentoring and editorial guidance while covering pressing environmental issues and solutions in the Mediterranean region, with a particular focus on climate change. By the end of the program, each team will have contributed to a digital issue of Magma Magazine (see an example here). Their work will be published on Magma's website, with strong encouragement for co-publications in other media.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to info@magma-mag.net.

Preliminary timeline

Host Editors and Mentors

Marta Vidal

Marta Vidal is an independent journalist focusing on social and environmental justice across the Mediterranean. Her work has been published in The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, the BBC, Foreign Policy, Mongabay, among other publications.

Portfolio

Jonathan Moens

Jonathan Moens is an independent journalist based in Rome. He reports on science, global health, climate change, migration, amongst other topics. His work has been published in National Geographic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Undark, and more. In 2022, he won the American Society of Journalists and Authors Awards for the science category, and in 2023, he contributed to a series that won the National Association of Black Journalists award.

Portfolio
Linkedin
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Agostino Petroni

Agostino Petroni is an independent journalist based in Puglia He has written for publications such as National Geographic, the BBC, The Atlantic and The Guardian. For his work on a deadly disease that is killing southern Italian olive groves, he won the 2022 Collier Journalism Award, which recognizes works on forest or conservation history.

Portfolio
Linkedin
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