Media Newsletter – 29 August

Find out why community journalism matters and why a seasoned investigative journalist hides his face behind a mask.

1. Journalism trends to watch: What does community journalism have to do with increasing audience engagement? The opportunity to attract new audiences and create impact, according to International Journalism’s trend report for journalism, technology and media. One of the key challenges faced by the news media is how to re-engage underserved audiences. In Africa, where one-third of all African stories in news outlets on the continent are sourced from foreign news services, community journalism is even more important as it puts stories that would remain unreported in the spotlight.

2. Who’s funding? Are you a media company or platform in a country where media freedom and independence are under threat? Media Development Investment Fund offers grants, loans, and equity financing to help media organisations tell stories without fear or favour. Eligibility: Applicants must show how their work contributes to credible, independent news and public debate. Deadline: Rolling. More info.

3. Training opportunity: Media professionals can give their careers a boost through the Chevening Africa Media Freedom Fellowship. Fellows will get airfare to and from the UK, full programme fees, and living expenses for the duration of the 8-week fellowship. The fellowship is titled “New Media for a New Africa: Freedom of Speech, Economic Prosperity and Good Governance” and will focus on media policy issues and ethics. It’s open to applicants from Ethiopia, Burundi, Cameroon, Gambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Deadline: 1 November 2022. More info.

4. In the spotlight: Anas Aremeyaw Anas is the man in the mask, and he is in the spotlight because of his courage. A Ghanaian investigative journalist who has made it his life’s work to expose human rights violations and corruption, he reports on topics that range from human trafficking and sports to illegal mining and the electricity sector. He has received over 53 national and international awards for his work, including the Lorenzo Natali Prize (2009) by the European Union Journalism Prize for Development, Democracy and Human Rights, the Most Influential Investigative Journalist award by the Press Foundation (2016), and the 2020 Anti-Corruption Star award by the Musicians Union of Ghana. He partnered with CNN’s Carlton McCoy to talk about the dangers he faces in his line of work — which he gets around by wearing a mask to remain faceless. Anas, who is also an attorney, is the chief correspondent for Al Jazeera's Africa Investigates documentary series. 

5. Stories that moved us: Growing up in Lukaya, Uganda, Jovia Kisaakye had to endure the pain of losing family members to Malaria and loss of income whenever their fresh milk was not sold and turned stale. It led to attending an agricultural school to find out how she could turn stale milk into useful products. One of her discoveries, which she made with Brasio Kawere and Patrick Sseremba, led to a beauty lotion made with stale milk. However, she still wanted to explore her childhood dream of fighting Malaria and convinced her partners to explore turning stale milk into a mosquito repellent. The rest is history and a company that’s currently valued at $500,000. Read more.

Do you want to write stories of innovation and success in Africa? 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.