Media Community Newsletter May 2024

Hello,

Apply for a narrative journalism grant, meet multiple award-winning journalist Zikhona Tshona and read bird news agency  stories that moved us.

1. Journalism trends: We recently launched the Global Media Index for Africa a assesses and rank online news stories of CNN, Deutsche Welle, Russia Today, Bloomberg, Xinhua, Le Monde, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, The Economist, New York Times, VOA News, AFP, Reuters, BBC, CGTN, Financial Times, RFI, and The Washington Post. Read it here to see who tops the report and which three American media powerhouses are the bottom of the rank. Even though the index is a health check for global media, it is a tool that African journalists can use to identify missing stories; for arts, culture, creativity, ordinary Africans who are impacting the content. Read until the end to find out how you can get paid to tell better stories about Africa. In the meantime, consider this: leveraging TikTok to tell stories.  It has worked for Nigerian journalist Charity Ekezie, who uses her platform to educate and inform people about Africa by using sarcasm. “TikTok is a bigger place to showcase ourselves…it is a wide platform, and the world becomes your stage,” as she told Fray College of Communications. She has 3.2 million followers and over 8 million likes.

2. Who’s funding: Women and nonbinary journalists who have a minimum of three years’ experience can apply for the Kari Howard Fund for Narrative Journalism. You must show proof of interest from an editor and have a track record of publishing in prominent media outlets. Additionally, projects must be reported and published in English, and be completed within six months of getting the grant. Grants are worth up to $5000.Deadline: 14 July. More info.

3. Training Opportunity:  Are you an investigative journalist interested in producing work that addresses a pressing social justice issue? The Bertha Foundation is accepting candidates for the Bertha Challenge. The fellowship offers a stipend of up to US$64,900, project funding of up to US$10,000, a connect fund of up to US$5,000 to encourage collaboration, training, mentorship and networking opportunities. Deadline: 12 July. More info.

4. In the spotlight: South African broadcast journalist Zikhona Tshona believes in the power of human interest stories, which she tells with passion, empathy and compassion. Her work uplifts the voices of the most marginalized and most vulnerable members of society; a skill that has won her praise from peers and TV news viewers. Her work has won multiple awards, from being named the 2023 Journalist of by National Press Club South Africa. She is a four-time Vodacom Journalist of the Year winner. “I love telling stories. Coming from a village that even to this day does not receive basic service delivery inspired me to focus on human interest stories,” as she told JamLab. She has worked as a reporter and producer for the likes of PowerFM, eNCA and Newzroom Afrika.

5. Stories that moved us: In Old Cairo, Egypt, the El-Baset family is keeping a 600-year-old tradition alive. Discover how Cameroonian fashion designer Augustine Mabiama turned Nakuin Couture into a leading fashion brand. Njeri Wangari went from being an IT specialist to poet extraordinaire — story. From England to Germany; from Spain to Italy to France, players of African descent played huge roles in aiding their clubs to silverware, here  is a list of ten African players who had a significant impact on clubs across Europe in the 2023/24 season.

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.