Media Projects

Overview

The Media Projects program supports the development, production, and distribution of radio programs, podcasts, and documentary films that engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. Projects must be grounded in humanities scholarship and demonstrate an approach that is thoughtful, balanced, and analytical; proposals must demonstrate the potential to attract a broad general audience.

The Division of Public Programs encourages media projects that promote a deeper understanding of American history and culture as well as those that examine international themes and subjects in the humanities.

Film and television projects may be stand-alone documentaries or a series of programs. Radio and podcast projects may be single programs, a series, or segments within an ongoing program. Projects may include supplementary components such as discussion programs or websites.
All projects should be intended for national or regional distribution. 

All Media Projects proposals must: 

• build on sound humanities scholarship 
• deepen public understanding of significant humanities questions 
• approach a subject analytically, presenting a variety of perspectives 
• involve humanities scholars in all phases of development and production 
• involve appropriate media professionals 
• employ appealing and accessible formats that will actively engage the general public in learning

Media Projects offers two levels of funding: Development and Production.

Development awards enable media producers to collaborate with scholars to develop humanities content and other program elements. Awards must result in a script or detailed treatment(s). You may also use a Development award to plan for outreach and public engagement.
Production awards must result in the production and distribution of radio, podcast, television, and documentary film projects.

NEH will occasionally make Chair’s Special Awards for projects of exceptional significance, audience reach, and complexity. A Chair’s Special Award should examine important humanities ideas in new ways and demonstrate the potential to reach especially large audiences. These goals can often be accomplished by combining a variety of program formats, forming creative collaborations among diverse institutions, and significantly expanding the scope and reach of the project. Chair’s Special Awards are rare; NEH typically awards no more than one per year.

NEH Areas of Interest:
NEH is especially interested in supporting projects that advance humanities-related work in the following areas. 

1. American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future American Tapestry: The initiative encourages humanities projects that elevate the role of civics in schools and public programs, advance knowledge of the country’s history and political institutions, and examine threats to its democratic principles. The initiative also encourages projects that explore the untold stories of historically underrepresented groups and build capacity at cultural and educational institutions to benefit underserved communities. Finally, the initiative welcomes projects that promote research into the historical roots and cultural effects of climate change and support the cultural and educational sectors in building climate resilience. 
2. United We Stand: NEH encourages humanities projects that further our understanding of the nation’s racial, ethnic, gender, and religious diversity; examine the sources of hate and intolerance in the United States; and explore progress towards greater inclusiveness. Other information

Award Amounts: 
Development: Up to $75,000 
Production: Up to $700,000 
Chair’s Special Awards: Up to $1,000,000 

Period of Performance: 
Development: six to twelve months 
Production: one to three years

Projects submitted to the August 2023 deadline must start between May 1, 2024, and November 1, 2024.

There will be a pre-recorded webinar posted on the program resource page by Monday, June 5, 2023.