Media Newsletter – 27 September

Find out how Africa’s creative boom can inspire your storytelling and meet the gaming star who is putting Kenya on the global map.

1. Journalism trends to watch: Africa’s music, film, fashion, literature, visual and performance art and even architecture are on the global spotlight. Even better, young Africans believe the arts are an important part of society and admire creatives, as we found in the report Africa’s Soft Power: Can Africa’s creativity transform the continent? This is where storytelling comes in. According to the How African Media Covers Africa report, stories of arts, culture, heritage, etc, feature in under5% of news reported about Africa, by African outlets. The gap is an opportunity to tell unique stories about arts and culture.

2. Who’s funding: Innovation is key to telling compelling stories and enabling dynamic media platforms that can disrupt how stories are told, so JAMLAB is offering grants of up to R20, 000 to support the development of stories, research and profiles of innovators in the journalism and media arena in Africa. Deadline: 30 Sept. More info.

3. Training Opportunity: Business and political reporters from anywhere in Africa can apply for the Stigler Center’s Journalists in Residence programme, hosted by the University of Chicago. There’s a $12,000 stipend, training, access to seminars, and workshops. You’ll also write for the Stigler Center’s ProMarket publication. Deadline: 2 Oct. Read more.

4. In the spotlight: The most common story of Sierra Leone is of civil war. UK-based Sierra Leonean journalist, Sorious Samura, is shifting this narrative with Sing, Freetown. The documentary is the story of his journey with his best friend, playwright Charlie Haffner, as they create a national play that inspires pride in the country’s rich heritage. Samura has earned over 15 awards, including two Emmys, and a Peabody award for his work.

5. Stories that moved us: Sylvia Gathoni is an eSports athlete putting Kenya on the global eSports map. She started playing video games at 3 and went pro at 18. She has represented Kenya in gaming tournaments in Kenya, Botswana, Rwanda, South Africa, France and Guadeloupe. She’s also the first eSports athlete to be featured among Forbes’ Africa Top 30 under 30 edition. Read more.

Curated by Glory Mafor.

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.