The contest seeks journalistic projects which apply new technologies
Uutisraivaaja is a media innovation contest organized by the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation. The contest seeks timely and societally significant journalistic projects, which apply new technologies. Uutisraivaaja’s goal is to advance innovations in journalism.
The winners of the challenge will implement their project with the Uutisraivaaja Award, which is in maximum 50,000 euros per a project. Altogether the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation has allocated 200,000 euros for the Uutisraivaaja contest.
The journalistic project can be a news story, feature article or represent any other genre chosen by the applicant. The projects executed with funding from the Uutisraivaaja contest have to be freely accessible online without the reader needing to pay for them, i.e. the projects cannot be published behind a paywall. The project owners can also sell and publish their projects in any media (e.g. newspaper, radio, television etc.).
In the Uutisraivaaja contest, new technologies refer to any new technology, which supports the goals of the journalistic project in the Uutisraivaaja application. A new technology could, for instance, be an application of AI, virtual or augmented reality in journalism, or the use of drone imagery or innovative visualizations and infographics in journalism. It is an advantage to the project, if the technology used in it can be used also in other journalistic projects.
The Uutisraivaaja contest is open for everyone. Uutisraivaaja welcomes applications from teams that have at least two members, groups, associations, organizations and companies. Uutisraivaaja wants to encourage both more and less experienced participants to apply.
You can participate in the Uutisraivaaja Media Innovation Challenge by submitting your proposal for a journalistic project in an online application form. The deadline for the applications is April 29, 2025 at noon Finnish time. The decisions will be publicized in June 2025. The funded projects have to be finalized and published by the end of May 2026.
More info on Uutisraivaaja webinars
More information about the Uutisraivaaja contest will be provided in two Teams webinars:
Thursday, February 27 at 4-6 pm Finnish time
Thursday, March 20, at 4-6 pm Finnish time
In the webinars the coordinator of the Uutisraivaaja competition, assistant professor Tanja Aitamurto, will discuss the background and goals of the competition and answer questions related to the competition.
Please note that the webinars will be recorded, and the recording will be available on the Uutisraivaaja website until Thursday, April 29, at 4 pm.
By participating in the webinar, you consent to the event being recorded and the recording being presented on the Uutisraivaaja website.
Please register for the event in advance:
Register for the webinar on February 27
Register for the webinar on March 20
We will send the event link to your email.
For more information please contact
Ulla Koski, President of the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation, +358040 73 11 507, [email protected] or
Tanja Aitamurto, Assistant Professor, Chair of the pre-review board & Member of the Jury, [email protected]