CTRL+J Research Hub
An initiative designed to foster new insights and strengthen international collaboration among researchers from the Global South working at the intersection of journalism, technology, and public policy.
With a focus on the political economy of journalism, the program will invite a select group of researchers to examine how technological transformations, particularly the rise of AI, are reshaping public-interest journalism and people’s access to reliable information.
We welcome applications from individual researchers at different stages of their academic and professional careers who are interested in the relationship between journalism, technology, digital governance, and public policy. Applications are encouraged from students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty members, independent researchers, and professionals affiliated with research centers, universities, civil society organizations, or think tanks.
Individuals from the following CTRL+J regions are eligible to apply:
- Africa
- Asia-Pacific (Note: for this round we will be accepting applications specifically from researchers in Indonesia)
- Latin America
The deadline for application is September 30, 2026.
- 12 thematic workshops over 6 months covering the impact of AI on local information producers, solutions to preserve healthy information flows (such as compensation mechanisms for local producers and other policies to correct market imbalances), and innovative partnerships to reimagine the future of information. The workshops will be held synchronously online and recorded, so participants can access the sessions if they are unable to attend live due to time zone differences. The development of the research projects will take place asynchronously throughout the program. Note: all plenary sessions will be in English
- Support with the development and publication of selected researchers’ original research outputs, which will be published in a joint publication in 2027. Submissions can be written in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia.
- Networking opportunities with research peers.
- Each selected researcher will receive an honorarium of USD 1,000 upon successful completion of the program and the development of an original research project.
We encourage researchers working on topics related to the political economy of journalism, technological transformations, and media sustainability to apply to the Hub. Areas of interest include:
- Economic models and compensation mechanisms for journalistic content used by generative AI companies to train their LLMs;
- Media ownership structures and conflicts of interest that may shape news coverage;
- The role of automated advertising and its incentives;
- The presence of harmful or socially detrimental advertising;
- Patterns of exclusion along lines of race, religion, gender, class, geography, and language in newsroom cultures, agenda-setting, and audience relationships;
- Transformations imposed on journalism and newsrooms by new business models, as well as the new possibilities they create.
By addressing these dimensions, the program aims to investigate how the political-economic structures shaping journalism have transformed newsrooms and contributed to declining trust in public-interest journalism. More specifically, it seeks to examine how these dynamics hit the Global South’s ground, historically marked by media concentration and the resulting exclusion of large segments of the population from the public sphere.
- September 30, 2026: Application deadline
- October 2026: Review of applications, decision-making, and outreach to selected applicants
- November 2026 – April 2027: 12 workshops and development of research projects
- April 2027: Completion and submission of research projects
- H1 2027: Joint publication
Currently active programs
CTRL+J Microgrants
