Media Community Newsletter July 2024

Hello,

Find out how newsrooms are using WhatsApp to reach more audiences, apply for a grant writing course for journalists, and find out how one man used his disability to promote digital inclusion.

1. Journalism trends: Can WhatsApp help newsrooms reach more audiences? According to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s  Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2024 report, publishers are turning to WhatsApp’s new functionality of broadcast channels to connect with audiences; and it is already showing positive gains for early adopters, with broadcast channels leading to more referrals than Facebook and X. This is because “WhatsApp has the advantage of being widely used by mainstream audiences,” the report adds. With over two billion users worldwide, broadcast channels for early adapters like the New York Times already have 12 million followers. In Kenya, Nation Africa, which joined in September 2023, is growing and already has 597,000 followers. Bloomberg Africa and Nairamatrics have 35,000 and 21,000 respectively. 

2. Who’s funding: The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers calls for 2025 - 2026 fellows. The fellowship is open to independent scholars, journalists, creative writers, translators, and visual artists. Fellows will get a stipend of $85,000, and work at the center for the duration of the fellowship. Deadline: 27 September. More info.   

3. Training Opportunity: Do you want to learn how to apply for journalism grants, develop projects, write a budget, and create a monitoring plan? Register for the Grant Writing for Journalists course by the Poynter Institute and Centre for Sustainable Media. The course covers everything from strategy development to grant applications. It’s free, digital and you can learn at your own pace. Deadline: rolling. More info.

4. In the spotlight: Nigerian Journalist Zubaida Baba Ibrahim’s feature story,Money clubs help displaced Nigerians create their own safety nets, tells the story of a traditional financial system supporting women in Internally displaced camps. The story, written for the New Humanitarian, has earned her a nomination in the 2024 One World Media Awards in the Women Solution Reporting Award category. Her work uses Solutions Journalism to present local stories for global audiences including stories of rural communities like It’s my calling, an article she wrote for  Gavi the vaccine alliance, about health workers educating communities on the value of vaccines and their benefits. Ibrahim is a graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Abuja and a creative writer whose work has been featured in Daily Trust, Premium Times, and The Guardian. 

5. Stories that moved us: Find out how e-mobility company, Wahu Mobility is working to change how vehicles impact the climate, and increasing growing job opportunities for the youth; how Papi Sibomana’s disability become a catalyst for innovation and digital inclusion; and why Johannesburg-based artist, Bambo Sibiya, celebrates everyday women through his art. These are some of the stories published by bird story agency, Africa’s first and only news agency for content that tells better stories about the continent.

It pays to tell better stories about Africa, so we partnered with the Thomson Foundation on a digital course called African Stories: A guide for journalists on how to tell better stories about Africa. It’s free and takes three hours to complete. Then you can pitch to bird story agency and get paid to publish stories that better represent Africa.