The Walkley Foundation has launched a new incubation and innovation fund, enlisting local heavyweight tech talent including Blackbird Ventures managing director Niki Scevak and start-up veteran Annie Parker to help kickstart innovative media projects.
The program, which launched in 2014, offers grants of between $5,000 and $35,000 to ideas that can revigorate the Australian media landscape.
CEO Jacqui Park said journalism, more than many industries, understands the transformation being wrought by technology.
She said this would create new opportunities for media and technology to intersect to create the new media ecosystem for the 21st century.
“The Walkley media incubator and innovation fund takes the principles and values of journalism into the entrepreneurial and tech space with a program of bootcamps, expert talks and access to mentors and seed funding to network and support the next generation of media builders to create the tools and ventures that will keep our communities informed and connected, and sustain our democracy,” she said.
Previous funded projects include a news bot for analysing data sets and drafting basic stories, an online training and support portal for community radio, and a secure way for people in crisis zones to communicate with journalists.
This year’s program offers mentoring from people with tech experience as well as the opportunity to run a crowd-funding campaign promoted and matched by the Walkleys. Mentors and judges include Mr Scevak, who runs the Startmate accelerator, as well as Eureka Report co-founder James Kirby, inkl co-founder Gautam Mishra and Canva data scientist Tiny Pang.
“Niki brings deep experience with early stage ideas and high-growth start-ups to the judging process. As someone who reviews thousands of start-up pitches every year, he is one of the best informed Australians as to what to look for, and what’s possible for ambitious projects and start-ups,” Walkley Foundation CEO Jacqui Park said.
Ms Park said this year the Walkley’s would be taking an incubator model, launching a three-module accelerator program for around 50 longlisted projects. BlueChilli’s Alan Jones will run these in Sydney and livestream them to applicants across the country, with around 15 to 20 projects then taking part in a two-day intensive workshop with a ‘serial media entrepreneur from the United States.’
“The grants program has always received a really diverse group of applicants, but few have had much experience or training in start-ups and how to get ideas launched and thriving. Alan and BlueChilli are perfectly equipped to fill that grant, as are our official program mentors,” Ms Park said.
“We’d especially love to see ideas that empower journalism to fulfil its critical role in democracy of speaking truth to power, and supporting an engaged, connected and informed public.”
Applications can be made on the Walkley Foundation website, and close April 6.
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