|            BY THOMSON FOUNDATION

African Stories: A guide for journalists on how to tell better stories about Africa

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Many journalists in Africa are trying to change the one-dimensional narrative that is too often portrayed of an entire continent by international news organisations and, in many instances, by African media itself. This course offers an opportunity to be part of the change; to tell the untold stories through the eyes and lives of ordinary people, and give them, your audience, agency in their own narrative.

Course Contents

About
Outcomes
Course Experts
Organisations
Imagine you’re reading a novel and you suddenly realise that something is missing. Chapters have been removed. Key characters are ignored and events happen with no explanation. What do you do? Well, it’s likely you’ll be left feeling so confused and dissatisfied you decide to read something else. So why then do so many news stories make this mistake? This course is designed to help you take a fresh approach to your own storytelling. You’ll learn how to source and write stories about where you live in Africa and be guided on how to develop a different style of storytelling away from the political, male-dominated news where nuance, accessible language and a human face is all too often missing. 
By the end of this course you will:

  • Be able to appreciate how approaches to storytelling can impact attitudes to and the perceptions of African audiences to African stories
  • Be able to identify an audience and understand how to create and adapt your storytelling to engage and inform
  • Be able to source and explore issues that matter to ordinary people beyond the breaking and daily news agenda
  • Be able to develop storytelling techniques which go beyond the staid narratives of African coverage
  • Be aware of how technology, including the smartphone, can be used to good effect by journalists
  • Be able to recognise the need to adapt your story for the multimedia/multi-platform landscape 
  • Be able to recognise misinformation and disinformation and verify contributed content

Catherine Mackie - 
Thomson Foundation

Catherine Mackie is the training and communications editor for Thomson Foundation and the course instructor. She’s a former BBC senior journalist with almost 30 years' experience in front of and behind the camera. She’s a recipient of a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Njoki Chege –
Trans World Radio Kenya

Njoki is the executive director at Trans World Radio Kenya and Sifa FM stations. She is the former director of the Innovation Centre at the Graduate School of Media and Communications at the Aga Khan University in Nairobi. Njoki has worked as a journalist, columnist and editor.

Moses (Ras) Mutabaruka –
The African Perspective Magazine

Ras is a pan-African storyteller, entrepreneur, and media maker who was born in Rwanda but grew up in refugee camps in Congo and later in the slums of Nairobi. He is the CEO of The African Perspective Magazine whose mission is to rebrand Africa; one story at a time.

Doreen Wainainah –
PesaCheck 

Doreen is the managing editor of PesaCheck, Africa's largest indigenous fact-checking organisation with full-time staff in 18 countries across the continent. Doreen’s extensive experience as a writer and editor includes stints as a fellow at Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and the Global Reporting Program at the University of British Columbia.

Anas Aremeyaw Anas –
Undercover investigative journalist

Anas Aremeyaw Anas was named ‘Africa’s most famous undercover investigative journalist’ by the BBC World Service. To protect his identity, he wears a beaded mask for interviews, including for this course. He also runs Tiger Eye Foundation which is dedicated to anti-corruption and human rights issues.

This course was created in partnership with Africa No Filter.

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 published. 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 to 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 organisations 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 and have filled in the end of course survey, you will receive a certificate. You will then be able to contact bird story agency to pitch them your story, using the elements you have learned in this course. The pitch is done via email and you will be given the email address at the end of the course. It's essential therefore that you complete the course thoroughly and you will also need to email them a copy of your certificate to prove you have done it. There is no guarantee your story will be commissioned but if the team at bird likes your idea, it will go through to the next stage in the editorial process. If your story is commissioned, delivered and published, you will get paid for your work.