We encourage organizations from all media (broadcast, digital, etc.) and from all backgrounds to apply; diversity is at the core of our educational mission. Organizations should already have an existing video operation from which they derive revenue and which they see as an important part of the future of their business (i.e., they intend to grow this revenue stream over time).

The program is entirely online, but we need to group participants by time zones, so they can join the live, online sessions at convenient hours. Please sign up for our mailing list to get updates about this accelerator program and when it will be available in other regions.

In the training phase, participating teams will go through 10 weeks of online classes (commitment is two hours of live classes a week, paired with asynchronous readings and assignments) and personal coaching to design a prototype for a revenue-generating video project.  

They will then become eligible for a grant to refine and launch their video project. During the six-month grant period, organizations will work on their prototype at their own pace with support from coaches and present it at the end.

Participating organizations need to commit to both phases.

All instruction will be in English, and proficiency in English fluency is required. 

Thanks to the support of the Meta Journalism Project, the program is tuition-free.

The project you produce is entirely up to you and is platform-agnostic. However, it should be related to growing your organization’s video operations.

Following our tested curriculum taught by video industry experts and experienced faculty from around the world, alumni of the Video Business Accelerator will:

• Understand how to navigate the changing business models and revenue opportunities for video and visual content
• Be able to design and implement a sustainable business strategy for video in their organizations 
• Think about video in a user-centric, metrics-oriented, data-driven way
• Know how to address younger and more diverse audiences through visuals and video storytelling
• Understand how to create a culture of innovation and sustainability related to video in their organization
• Develop an early prototype of a video template, product, or service that could eventually be built, implemented, and scaled in their organization

Please email kyle.plantz@journalism.cuny.edu if you have any questions or comments. You can also sign up for our mailing list to receive updates about the program, including alerts when we open up new rounds of applications.

The program is offered by the Meta Journalism Project in collaboration with the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and the Local Media Association (LMA).