Africa No Filter/Thomson Foundation Journalism Course
Deadline: Ongoing
Applications are invited for the Africa No Filter/Thomson Foundation Journalism Course 2022. Narrative change organization Africa No Filter has partnered with the Thomson Foundation for a groundbreaking digital course called African Stories: A guide for journalists on how to tell better stories about Africa.
The course aims to disrupt stereotypical news and storytelling about Africa by helping journalists develop a fresh reporting style beyond framing Africa through conflict, disease, poverty, corruption, and poor leadership.
The course is designed to boost participants with in-demand skills like mobile journalism, and visual and multiplatform storytelling. It offers techniques for finding missing voices in African stories, tips, and tools for sourcing, verifying information, and structuring stories beyond stereotypes – valuable resources for journalists who want to monetize global conversations about shifting narratives, ethical storytelling, and diversity of voices and ideas in African news.
Course Overview
Have you dreamed of seeing your stories paid for and read by a wide audience? This course is offering you that exciting opportunity. Thanks to a unique collaboration with the bird story agency, you’ll get the chance to pitch your story, get paid and publish. bird produces and distributes multimedia stories, designed for a young, mobile-first audience, to Africa’s leading digital news platforms. Their aim is to shift the narrative about and in Africa away from harmful stereotypes.
By taking this course you’ll be part of a pivotal change taking place in African journalism which looks to offer a new style of storytelling, different from the political, male-dominated news where nuance, accessible language, and a human face is all too often missing. Many journalists across Africa are trying to change the one-dimensional narrative that is too often portrayed of an entire continent by international news organizations and, in many instances, by African media itself. This course will guide you on how you can be part of the change; telling the untold stories through the eyes and lives of ordinary people, and giving them, your audience, agency in their own narrative.
Once you’ve completed the course you will receive a certificate and then be offered the amazing opportunity of getting your story paid for and published.
Course Outline
- Section 1 – Gives an overview of the course and an introduction to the course trainer and media experts
- Section 2 – Examines the media landscape in Africa and the current narrative
- Section 3 – Explores the importance of engaging your audience
- Section 4 – Guides you on finding the missing voice in stories
- Section 5 – Gives guidance on sourcing stories
- Section 6 – Guides you through storytelling techniques
- Section 7 – Offers ideas on structuring your story
- Section 8 – Explores visual storytelling with tips on using your smartphone
- Section 9 – Examines multimedia and multi-platform storytelling
- Section 10 – Guides you on how to verify stories and information
Benefits
- You will learn how to challenge the stereotypical image of Africa and Africans
- You will learn the importance of understanding your audience
- You will understand the need to include new voices
- You will learn how to source and verify stories and information
- You will learn the key ingredients of storytelling and story structure
- You will learn new ways of telling stories for digital audiences
Eligibility
- Open to all journalists;
- The applicant should be interested in telling the African story.
Application
The course is self-paced. You can complete it course in three hours in multiple sections.
For more information, visit Journalism Course.