Sharpen Your Climate Business Reporting: EJN Virtual Media Workshop 2026 for Indonesian Journalists (Certificate plus Story Grant Eligibility)

Journalists: if you cover business, energy, or the environment in Indonesia and want to tell smarter, tougher stories about how companies are responding to climate change, this five-day EJN virtual workshop is built for you. The Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is running a focused training that runs across late January 2026 and promises practical briefings from subject experts, story pathways you can actually use, and — crucially — eligibility to apply for a story grant after you complete the sessions.

This is not a passive webinar series. Over five evenings (Jakarta time) you’ll get short, targeted lessons on the energy transition, renewables technology, ESG rules and practice, carbon markets, and climate finance — all with an eye toward how businesses are behaving and how you can hold them to account. Attend every session, and you’ll walk away with a certificate plus the right to submit for follow-up reporting support.

Below I break down who should apply, what you’ll learn, how to make your application impossible to ignore, and exactly what to do next so you don’t miss the December 15, 2025 deadline.

At a Glance

Why This Workshop Matters — A Practical Introduction

Climate reporting in Indonesia cannot be split from business reporting. Corporations are central players in energy, mining, transportation and finance — and that makes them central to any story about emissions and adaptation. But translating technical policy and corporate jargon into meaningful journalism isn’t automatic. You need sources who explain the mechanics, the numbers, and the incentives; you need story leads that go beyond press releases; you need to tell your audience how decisions made in boardrooms and ministerial offices affect communities and the environment.

EJN’s workshop is designed to supply those missing parts: concise briefings from experts, practical explanations of market mechanisms like carbon trading, and concrete examples of greenwashing to help you spot and report it. If your newsroom has been under-resourced for climate work, this training is a fast way to upgrade skills and gain access to potential story funding.

For freelancers, the certificate and story grant eligibility are real currency. A certificate shows editors you invested time to deepen your knowledge; the story grant can fund travel, research, or data access for a package that would otherwise be impossible.

What This Opportunity Offers

This workshop covers five focused themes across five days, each session 2 hours long in the early evening Jakarta time. Expect concise lectures, case studies, and small-group conversations that help you convert technical information into editorial angles. The organizers will share a more detailed agenda with selected participants, but the broad themes are:

• Energy transition and industrial sectors, including how companies present themselves on emissions and common greenwashing tactics.
• Technology transformation and business opportunities in renewables, from grid integration to distributed solar.
• ESG implementation: what regulations mean in practice and how private sector actors interpret those rules.
• Carbon markets: mechanics, claims that can be misleading, and the potential for green and blue carbon projects.
• Climate finance: how the money flows internationally and domestically, and which funding routes journalists should watch.

Benefits extend beyond the live sessions. Participants who attend all days will receive an EJN certificate and will be eligible to apply for a story grant after the workshop. That story grant is the practical follow-through: the training helps you shape a stronger pitch, and the grant gives you the resources to pursue it.

Who Should Apply

This workshop is explicitly open to journalists in Indonesia working across all mediums: online, print, radio, and television. Both staff reporters and freelancers are welcome, as are community and local media journalists. EJN specifically encourages applications from women, early-career reporters, journalists based in rural areas, and Indigenous journalists — groups often underrepresented in national climate coverage.

Real-world examples of good applicants:

• A local radio reporter in Sulawesi who wants to investigate how a new industrial plant is claiming to be “net zero” while community air quality worsens.
• An early-career online reporter in Jakarta pitching series on how banks are financing fossil fuel projects despite public ESG statements.
• A freelance investigative journalist from Kalimantan planning a data-driven piece on the claims and reality of blue carbon projects in coastal communities.

If you can commit to the five session dates and you have at least one clear story idea or beat you want to develop, this workshop will be useful. If you cover corporate behavior, energy, transport, finance, or environmental impacts in Indonesia, this training will sharpen the questions you ask and the evidence you collect.

Insider Tips for a Winning Application

You’re competing for one of 30 slots. Here’s how to make your application stand out in ways that matter to selection panels.

1. Lead with a clear editorial problem, not vague ambition. Say what story you want to pursue and why it matters. For example: “Investigate promises of reduced emissions by Plant X and their impact on local livelihoods,” rather than “I want to learn more about renewable energy.”

2. Show how this training helps your newsroom or community. If you’re a community reporter, explain the local gap: are people receiving misleading corporate information? Are local livelihoods threatened by poorly regulated projects? Concrete community impact will get attention.

3. Demonstrate availability and commitment. The workshop is short but requires participation across specific dates and times. State clearly you can attend all sessions and explain how you’ll manage coverage duties while in the workshop.

4. Choose 2–3 high-quality clips. Editors will prefer a few strong, relevant samples over ten loosely related pieces. Prefer recent work that showcases reporting skill, sourcing, or data use.

5. Be specific about what you’ll do after the workshop. The selection committee wants participants who will translate training into stories. Mention potential outlets, communities to interview, or data sources you plan to use.

6. Practice transparency about generative AI. If you used AI tools to prepare your application or clips, disclose how. EJN expects honesty and may disqualify misrepresentation — so treat this like a professional ethics declaration.

7. Prepare a short pitch for a story grant idea. Even if you’re not guaranteed funding, a one-paragraph concept that’s feasible, timely, and tied to the workshop themes increases your chances of being selected and later funded.

Spend time on these items and your application will read like someone who treats reporting seriously. Don’t treat the form as an afterthought.

Application Timeline — Work Backwards from December 15

• December 15, 2025: Application deadline. Submit at least 48 hours early to avoid last-minute technical issues.
• Mid-late December: Use this time to polish clips and confirm references. If you need a short bio or letters of support, get them ready now.
• Early December: Draft your application answers and get feedback from a mentor or colleague. Practice your story grant pitch.
• November: Identify your strongest published clips and request permission to include paywalled content or broadcast segments if needed.
• Immediate: Mark the five workshop dates in your calendar (Jan 22, 23, 24, 30, 31, 2026) and check you can attend evenings from 4–6 PM Jakarta time.

Selection notifications will arrive in the second week of January 2026, so be prepared to accept quickly. Travel is not required — the sessions are online — but you’ll need reliable internet, possibly a quiet room for discussions, and the ability to participate in small-group conversations.

Required Materials — What to Prepare Before You Apply

EJN’s announcement does not list a detailed application form in the snippet, so treat this as how to be ready:

• A brief personal statement (1–2 paragraphs) explaining your reporting focus and what you want to learn.
• 2–3 clips of published work (links or attachments). Choose those that best show reporting chops and relevance to business, energy, or the environment.
• A short pitch (100–200 words) for a story you would pursue after the workshop. Make it concrete: who you’ll interview, what data you’d need, and the likely audience.
• CV or short bio highlighting journalism experience and beats.
• Confirmation you can attend all five sessions (dates and times provided).
• A transparency note about any use of generative AI in producing your application materials or clips.
• Contact information and media organization (if any).

Prepare these items in advance and have clean, web-accessible links to your clips. If your work is in local languages, include a one-paragraph English or Indonesian summary so reviewers unfamiliar with the language can assess the piece.

What Makes an Application Stand Out

Selection will favor applicants who articulate a clear public-interest angle, demonstrate the capacity to convert training into publishable work, and represent media outlets or communities that typically lack resources for climate-business reporting. Three things the panel will likely reward:

1. Feasibility. A short, well-scoped pitch with named sources, potential data, and a realistic budget for a small grant shows you can deliver.

2. Impact. Papers or programs that reach vulnerable communities or fill a coverage gap — such as reporting on corporate commitments vs results — are compelling. Explain who benefits from your reporting.

3. Diversity of perspective. EJN wants to expand the pool of voices covering business and climate. If you represent a regional newsroom, minority community, or rural area, emphasize the unique access and perspective you bring.

Also, think like an editor: show you can meet deadlines, protect sources, and produce content that editors will publish.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Submitting vague pitches. “I want to cover renewables” is too broad. Offer a specific narrative and why it is urgent now.

2. Ignoring attendance commitment. If you can’t make those dates, don’t apply. Selection panels don’t want to shuffle people mid-course.

3. Overloading with clips. Sending ten irrelevant pieces dilutes your strength. Pick your two best, most related pieces.

4. Skimming the AI disclosure. EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants who misrepresent their use of AI. Be clear and honest.

5. Missing the deadline due to technical error. Upload early and confirm file access. Assume the unexpected.

6. Underestimating how to scale your story. If your pitch requires a three-person crew and six months of work, scale it down so it’s achievable with a small grant.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need to be a staff journalist to apply? A: No. Freelancers are welcome. If you’re freelance, describe how you’ll place the story and how funding would enable you to do reporting you otherwise couldn’t.

Q: What language will the workshop use? A: The announcement does not state the language. If language is a concern, include a brief note in your application asking whether language support is available or check the official page for updates.

Q: Do I need to have a story ready to apply? A: You don’t need a finished story, but a clear pitch for a post-workshop story is highly recommended. That pitch shows intent and feasibility.

Q: Will participants get a stipend? A: The workshop itself offers a certificate and eligibility to apply for a story grant; it does not promise stipends for attendance. The story grant is the post-workshop funding opportunity.

Q: How will participants be selected? A: Selection criteria typically combine relevance, potential impact, diversity of representation, and commitment to attend. Demonstrate those clearly in your application.

Q: I used AI to help edit my clips. Do I need to say so? A: Yes. Be transparent about any generative AI tools used in creating application materials. EJN may disqualify applicants who are found to have used AI improperly.

Q: If I can’t attend live, is a recorded option available? A: The workshop emphasizes active participation. If you can’t commit to live attendance, discuss this in your application or contact organizers — but selection panels favor applicants who can join live.

Next Steps — How to Apply

Ready to go? Don’t wait until the last minute. Here’s your checklist:

1. Draft a one-paragraph story pitch tied to the workshop themes.
2. Select and link your top two reporting clips and write a 1–2 line context for each.
3. Prepare a short bio/CV and confirm your availability for all five session dates and times.
4. Write a brief transparency statement about any generative AI used.
5. Submit your application before December 15, 2025 and keep an eye on your email for selections in the second week of January 2026.

How to Apply

Ready to apply? Visit the official application page and follow instructions there. Apply here: https://earthjournalism.us.auth0.com/u/login?state=hKFo2SBUazAzWmhUWmY5eDd3dVhGeGM1UVhINE9DdzAtNjI3Y6Fur3VuaXZlcnNhbC1sb2dpbqN0aWTZIGd5NjVHQXNPYlRsYXhYY3Z2NmNNSnNjVnZWamhORmNmo2NpZNkgM1FXQUR2SUVLdktHMkt6UzFOazRaUWJUb3N4ME5YcW0

If you have questions about eligibility or materials, check the workshop page linked above or reach out to EJN through their contact details on that page. And one last piece of advice: the best climate-business stories are built on curiosity plus concrete evidence. Show the selection committee you have both — and you’ll be in a strong position to benefit from the training and any follow-up reporting funds.