Media Newsletter – February 2026
Dear reader The African media landscape is shifting beneath our feet, and it's thrilling to see how we're reclaiming the narrative. From bypassing big tech to securing global funding, this is your toolkit to stay bold, stay funded, and keep telling the stories that matter. 
1. Journalism trends: As traditional social media algorithms shift away from news content, African newsrooms are increasingly bypassing "Big Tech" platforms to meet audiences where they are most active: WhatsApp. While global usage sits at 19%, Nigeria (53%), Kenya (46%), and South Africa (41%) lead the digital revolution. Additionally, WhatsApp news channels have a 98% open rate. Moving beyond simple broadcast lists, newsrooms like Premium Times (Nigeria), Daily Maverick (South Africa), and The Continent (Pan-African) are using WhatsApp Channels and automated bots to distribute niche newsletters and combat disinformation. This trend is vital for African journalists because it solves the high data cost barrier and builds high trust. It also enhances media freedom as WhatsApp news channels are harder for state censors to disrupt compared to traditional websites. 
2. Who's funding: The Pulitzer Center offers Climate & Labor Journalism Grants that are worth $5,000 – $15,000 to support reporting on how the climate crisis reshapes labour systems and economic structures. Deadline: 6 March. Henry Nxumalo Foundation offers grants worth $1,500 for investigative reports exposing wrongdoing or abuses of power in Southern Africa. Deadline: Rolling. Apply for AFAC's Creative and Critical Writings grant that support critical arts writing, youth literature, graphic novels, and digital platforms. Grants are worth up to $20k for individuals and teams, and up to $35k for collectives and institutions. Deadline: 2 April. 
3. Training opportunities: AAOSI Fellowship Program supports investigative journalists in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Chad, Ethiopia, Fellowship, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, and South Sudan with for training in open-source investigation. The opportunity comes with a monthly stipend, mentorship, and technical training. Deadline: 6 March. DW Akademie offers 10 full scholarships for their International Media Studies program aimed at journalists-in-training, media representatives from radio, TV, online and print and communications experts. Deadline: 15 March. Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards are open for submissions. The awards recognize excellence in climate storytelling including solutions, justice, politics, health as well as conflict and climate change, and displacement and migration. Stories must be published in 2025. Deadline: 31 March. Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship is a four-week program for full-time journalists aged 22–35 from developing countries to cover the UN. Freelance journalists will be considered. Deadline: 3 April 2026. 
4. In the spotlight: Kanssouguibe Douti's reporting is a masterclass in brave journalism. In this award-winning piece for Togolese platform Laabali, he ventured into the Kpendjal prefecture—a region in northern Togo currently grappling with both extreme poverty and security threats—to expose the persistent, hidden practice of forced marriages. The story didn't just highlight the legal violations; it humanised the young girls trapped in these unions, giving a voice to those often silenced by deep-rooted patriarchal customs. By winning the Human Rights Reporting Award at WAMECA 2025, he has become a leading voice for gender justice in the Francophone West African media landscape. 
5. Stories that moved us: These stories from Bird Story Agency reflect Africa's progress, opportunity, and innovation. Tackling maternal deaths in Kenya: Africa accounts for about 70% of global maternal deaths, with a regional maternal mortality ratio of roughly 454 deaths per 100,000 live births. A group of Kenyan students built an AI-enabled early pregnancy warning risks prototype system to help save mothers. Making motorcycling safer and inclusive: Ivorian biker Bamba Édith Christine is part of a growing community of enthusiasts who have banded together to ensure the voice of motorcyclists is heard over the growing cacophony of road users in Abidjan. Busting clichés: IShowSpeed and African content creators like Wode Maya, Charity Ekezie and Niyi Fagbemi go beyond "safaris and suffering" by showing its culture, heritage, cuisine, and diversity. New ground for Sudanese filmmakers: Ibrahim "Snoopy" Ahmed is one of four Sudanese filmmakers who came together to make Khartoum, which became the first Sudanese film to premiere at both Sundance and Berlinale, where it won the Berlinale Peace Prize. Want to get paid for telling better stories about Africa? Take the African Stories course — a free, three-hour guide designed to help journalists rethink how Africa is covered. Complete it and you'll be eligible to pitch stories to Bird. Media outlets can access Bird content for free — contact tom@africainsight.co.ke Follow @BirdStoryAgency on social media for more stories that represent Africa better. Media outlets that want to use bird content, for free, can contact tom@africainsight.co.ke |