Meet the recipients of the 2024 WiJS x JRF bursary programme
Clockwise from top left: Rebecca Smith; Chlöe Smith; Magdalena Grzymkowska-Chuchra; Nicola Love and Eve Livingston.
Women in Journalism Scotland (WiJS) and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have announced the recipients of the 2024 WiJS x JRF bursary programme.
Five women journalists have been chosen by a panel of judges to receive £1,500 to develop a project shining a light on economic and / or social inequalities around Scotland.
The funding will support the successful applicants over the remainder of 2024 as they work up their projects from an idea stage to a developed pitch ready to be taken to a publication, or launched independently, by the end of the year.
The successful journalists are: Rebecca Smith, Chlöe Smith, Nicola Love, Eve Livingston and Magdalena Grzymkowska-Chuchra.
Rebecca will be working on her second non-fiction book proposal focussing on the loss of forest culture and how important timber is to society, past, present and future.
Chlöe’s project will investigate migrant destitution, with a focus on the experience of undocumented migrants in Scotland.
Nicola is focussing on how seriously Scotland is taking women's reproductive health rights, with a wider look at how the cost of living crisis has affected family planning.
Eve aims to build on her previous reporting of Glasgow city council’s women’s strike and subsequent equal pay actions.
Magdalena’s investigation will focus on migrant women who have recently given birth in Scotland and the financial struggle, social isolation and intersectional discrimination they face
Part of the bursary programme involves working with an established woman journalist who will provide support for each applicant’s project.
Providing mentoring for the programme this year will be Cal Flyn, Judith Duffy, Pennie Taylor, Shona Gossip and Nicki McCourt.
This opportunity was aimed at early to mid-career freelance women journalists who believe they still have room to grow in their careers. Applicants must also have experienced economic inequality at some stage in their lives.
Anna Burnside, co chair of Women in Journalism Scotland, said: “We are so excited to support this amazing range of women as they pursue original, in depth journalism. I can’t wait to see what they all produce.”
Chris Birt, director at the JRF, said: “It’s fantastic to see this second year of the bursary taking off with another group of talented women journalists. It will be fascinating to see how they bring their skills and work with their mentors to deliver on such a fascinating mix of important issues. It is a crucial time to have high quality journalism from diverse voices and we are glad to support this project.”