We Create, Support and Deliver Stories that Matter

Noteworthy is a platform to help fund the type of in-depth journalism that the public wants to see. Our model is simple:
  • You tell us what you want to see investigated.
  • We use those ideas to create proposals and figure out how best to tell these stories.
  • We come back and look for community support in funding these projects
If you would like to keep up to date with our articles and investigations, sign up to our Insider Newsletter here.

Investigative journalism can be time-consuming and expensive, and some stories can only be told properly with investment of time and money.

In an era where all media face unprecedented funding challenges, this type of reporting can be difficult to deliver.

We have created a new platform for supporting important journalism, one where reporters and members of the public can team up to deliver the stories that matter.

We want you to tell us about issues, local or national, that you would like to see investigated.

It could be why a controversial development near you got planning permission, how your local hospital performs compared to others, if your county's roads are unusually dangerous, or some dubious decision a government department has made.

Noteworthy is a platform from The Journal, Ireland's leading online news source.

It was set up through the support of Google's Digital News Innovation Fund. It is now funded by Journal Media and the crowdfunded contributions from our supporters to our general fund and towards specific proposals. You can find out a little bit more about that here.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

STORY SUBMISSIONS


How do I submit a story idea?

If there is something you would like to see our team of journalists investigate, submit your story idea in a few quick steps using our online submission form.

My story is sensitive and I want to contact you directly?

We take your privacy seriously and understand that you may not be comfortable submitting every idea through our website.
  • You can contact us directly at [email protected]. If you want to send documents to us anonymously, our postal address is Noteworthy, Journal Media, 4th Floor, Latin Hall, Golden Lane, Dublin 2.
  • If there is a large amount of material, you can send us a USB key. Make sure to at least password protect but preferably encrypt it and send us the login details separately.
  • You can send us information electronically at [email protected]. For this, you may want to set up a one-off email account with a pseudonym, then use an internet cafe or public wi-fi network to send the email.
  • For secure anonymous messaging, you can contact us on Threema at ID: 5H3X4M5T
  • For further information on how to protect yourself when sending information to journalists, you might want to read this guide.

My story is time sensitive

Some stories need to be done quickly. In cases where it would take too long to work up a proposal and seek public funding, we will work with The Journal to tell those stories quickly. In some cases, we might also partner with newsrooms - especially regional ones - to publish.

My story is not suitable for a proposal

Not every story will be suitable for a publicly-funded proposal.

On occasion, it would give too much away to release partial details of the idea and it would be better kept private until publication. At other times, there could be significant legal risks involved with creating a proposal before the research has been completed.

In cases like this, Noteworthy will work to tell those stories in partnership with The Journal or other media organisations.

If you would like to support stories like this, you can  contribute to our general fund here . This will allow us to resource projects that we feel are important but where we are not yet in position to release detailed information publicly.

Why didn't you do the story I suggested?

We receive many suggestions each month and it is simply not possible to do them all.

In some cases, we have not been provided with enough detail or the idea is too general. In other cases, the ideas do not stand up to further investigation.

It is also important to keep in mind that Ireland has some of the strictest defamation laws in the world. You may have seen stories written in other countries that you would like to see done in Ireland. Sometimes, this is not possible due to our legal system and the exceptional costs involved.

There are also certain types of stories that are extremely difficult to do, much as we would like to do them. Detailed statistical information on for example crime in your local neighbourhood may not be available and An Garda Síochána are only subject to Freedom of Information law in a very limited way. The same goes for organisations like the Data Protection Commissioner and NAMA. The Office of the President is entirely exempt from such information access laws.

PROPOSALS AND CONTRIBUTIONS



What is a proposal?

Proposals are investigative projects based on the ideas and suggestions we receive from the general public. You can find some here.

In order to fund the work detailed in our proposals, we look for community support through crowdfunding.

How is the cost of a proposal calculated?

Each project is individually costed based on how much work we anticipate will be involved.

Unlike straightforward reporting assignments, investigations can be more complex to plan precisely in advance of doing them.
  • The main cost in most of our proposals is the research and journalistic work.
  • There can be ancillary costs such as graphics, photography, software tools, production costs, fees and expenses for applications, materials, and official records, along with legal costs.
We aim to be as transparent as possible in how we cost our proposals and if you have further questions you can contact us at [email protected].

What happens if a project does not get funded?

We hope that every proposal will get funded but understand this may not always happen.

In some cases where we feel the story must be told, we will bridge the funding gap using our own resources. We cannot do this in every case however and for most stories, it will be up to the community to make sure they get done [see next question for further detail].

I contributed to a project that does not seem likely to get fully funded?

After a certain period of time, Noteworthy will make a decision on whether to bridge the gap for an under-funded project or to cancel it altogether. If this happens, we always contract those who have already made a contribution to the proposal and offer them the following options:
  • If you had contributed to a project that got cancelled, we will ask if you would prefer to transfer your money to a different project or to be refunded.
  • We also offer you the option to let your contribution move to our  general fund . This allows us to support stories where there are sensitivities around creating a publicly-funded proposal.
  • On some occasions, we may find that we can produce an article on the issue in question but with a reduced scope to match the reduced funding available. Again, we always consult with contributors to that proposal before going ahead with such a change.

I funded a project that did not yield the kind of revelations I was expecting?

For a variety of reasons, stories – even when fully funded – do not work out.
  • Sometimes, we might have 95 percent of the information we need but that extra piece of the jigsaw we need to satisfy Ireland's strict defamation laws remains out of reach.
  • On other occasions, we will have spent considerable time investigating an idea but some of the underlying assumptions it is based on later prove to be incorrect.
  • We might even investigate issues only to find that what appears somewhat sinister or dubious turns out to be innocent or legitimate.
In cases like that, we will keep funders updated on our progress and share with you any useful documentation or findings we have uncovered during our investigations.

How do I support Noteworthy's work?

To support us, you can fund our individual projects through our proposals page. We are open to all contributions, both big and small.

If you believe in the idea of Noteworthy and would like to support this type of community-driven investigative reporting in a more formal way, contact us at [email protected].

WORKING WITH NOTEWORTHY



I'm a freelance journalist – can I suggest an idea?

We are open to partnering with freelance journalists on interesting projects that cannot be funded through your normal working patterns. These would be cases where a story might require a longer amount of time, or the use of resources that you do not have at your disposal. This would not be suitable for routine day-to-day stories.

You can submit your idea directly through our website or contact us and we will see if we can create a workable proposal.

We would then open it up for funding, and if we reach our target – we can work with you and your organisation, or directly commission you to do the story.

We are a media organisation – can we work together on a project?

Sometimes, there are stories that media organisations – particularly regional titles – might like to do, but simply cannot spare the time or resources. We understand this and believe Noteworthy could be a way for your organisation to tell stories that have not been possible up until now.

In cases like that, we are open to suggestions for working on joint projects. We would agree a joint publication or broadcast strategy with the story going public at the same time for your organisation and for Noteworthy and its affiliates. You can contact us at [email protected]

We are an international media organisation and would like to use the Noteworthy model?

Noteworthy was created to build a new model for connecting communities and newsrooms to tell the type of stories that can fall between the cracks.

We want to see this idea spread worldwide as an alternative way by which important investigative journalism projects can get funded.

Please contact us at [email protected] for further details.