Media Newsletter – 24 January 2023

Find out why 2023 is the year of inspirational news and apply for two career-defining opportunities in Germany and England.

1. Journalism trends: What’s news avoidance and what does it signal for journalists and newsrooms? The systematic avoidance of certain categories of news by readers is a global phenomenon that the media should pay close attention to, according to the  Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2023by the Reuters Institute and Oxford University. The report found that 72% of publishers are worried about increasing news avoidance. Publishers said they’ll counter news avoidance by increasing explainer content (94%), Q&A formats (87%), and inspirational stories (66%). Any global trends that encourage less gloomy stories is an opportunity to tell alternative stories about Africa.

2. Who’s funding: The International Journalists‘ Programme (IJP) is offering bursaries to six early-career journalists from Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya. They’ll spend two months in Germany as a way to gain valuable insights into the political, economic, cultural and social fabric of the country. Deadline: 15 Feb.  More info.

3. Training opportunity: This one is for mid-career journalists and editors who want to further their understanding of journalism, the news industry and their place in it. The Journalist Fellowship Programme at the Reuters Institute is open for applications. Successful candidates will undertake personal research and attend seminars, networking events and peer to peer discussions. They’ll also work on a project that directly impacts their career, newsroom and wider media industry. Fellows will be based at the University of Oxford. Deadline: 6 Feb.  More info.

4. Spotlight: Madagascar is the first country in the world to experience famine caused by climate change, according to the United Nations. JournalistGaëlle Borgia won the 2022 One World Media news award for a feature called Eating shoes – surviving Madagascar’s famine. The heartbreaking feature shows the lived experience of a community that’s no longer able to feed themselves and their desperate attempts at keeping hunger away. Borgia, whose work appears in France 24, BBC, and TV5Monde, won a Pulitzer Prize in 2020 for an investigative pieceinto Russian interference in Madagascar’s 2018 presidential elections.

5. Stories that moved us: Meet the mom-and-daughter team who have found a way to keep many of their neighbours’ children away from crime and drugs: dance. Tired of seeing teenagers and young adults in Claremont, Johannesburg waste away to drug addiction, Michelle and Nicolene Swarts found a solution that’s keeping them off the streets by tapping into their creativity. Read more about the Xcel into Prominence Foundation here. Over in Jos, Nigeria, artist Onoja Jacob is promoting peace in his insecure home state through an annual exhibition called Landscapes and More. It brings people from within and outside of Plateau State together to discuss peace as they experience the stories behind his paintings. Read about his mission here.

Follow @BirdNewsAgency for more stories that represent Africa better, away from stereotypes of poverty, disease, poor leadership, corruption and conflict. Media outlets that want to use bird content, for free, can contact tom@africainsight.co.ke