
Hello, can you hear me? The zoom screen springs to life and the responses quickly follow.
Yes, we can. Good morning . The greetings come from Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and other countries across the continent.
Behind the voices are a new generation of African journalists looking to discuss a new way of storytelling and a chance to change the narrative. It's a theme which is central to the Thomson Foundation course African Stories: A guide for journalists on how to tell better stories about Africa.
The course was made in conjunction with the Africa No Filter (ANF) who support the bird story agency and it is bird who are hosting the editorial meeting.
I loved the course. It made me look at telling the African story in a different light
Irene, Journalist, Zimbabwe
Engaging Gen Z A recent survey by ANF revealed that a third of news stories across the continent are sourced from foreign news services whilst 50 per cent of editors surveyed admitted there were stereotypes in articles they sometimes run. Those statistics invariably translate into two-dimensional, often cliched storytelling where an entire continent of 54 countries is reduced to three harmful tropes in the news: war, corruption and poverty. Front pages become dominated by political stories featuring middle-aged men and a variety of stories, voices, nuance, context, constructive solutions and above all fun, are all too often missing.
So the course aims to bring about a fundamental shift in journalism; in the way stories are being told and presented. Participants are offered instruction and guidance in how they can be part of that change by better serving the mobile-first younger generation who are hungry for new ways of storytelling and women, who make up half of the population. It's something that a few start-up, media-savvy online news portals are already offering and they're succeeding in engaging a new audience.
Ras Mutabaruka is the founder of TAP Media Ltd and one of the experts on the course. He says that change will come through telling stories on the ground and not through the national and international narratives which don't really connect with people at a local level. Ras who was born in Rwanda but grew up in refugee camps in Congo and later in the slums of Nairobi has dedicated his work to changing the way the world sees and thinks about Africa. Alongside Ras are other leading African journalists who are experts in their field: Dr Njoki Chege who's the Director of the Innovation Centre at the Graduate School of Media and Communications at the Aga Khan University in Nairobi; Doreen Wainainah, the Managing Editor of PesaCheck, Africas largest indigenous fact-checking organisation; and investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas who was named Foreign journalist of the Year', by the National Association of Black Journalists in the USA in 2021.
Still talking about it now Back at birds editorial meeting on zoom, there's a chance to hear from people who have taken the Thomson Foundation storytelling course. The meeting maybe virtual but the enthusiasm is real enough.
I loved the course. It made me look at telling the African story in a different light , says Irene in Zimbabwe.
I liked everything about this course. Connecting with a global audience stood out for me, adds Dorcas in Nigeria. I'm still talking about it now. There are no more grey areas for me.
People who finish the course are awarded a certificate and can then pitch a story to bird who will pay for it if it's commissioned. It's an added incentive to be part of a movement for change and if these journalists are anything to go by, a new voice for Africa will soon be shouting loud enough for the rest of the world to hear.
African Stories: A guide for journalists on how to tell better stories about Africa
Top illustration: Michelle Thompson
Catherine Mackie Editorial Associate
About: Catherine is responsible for designing training programmes for Thomson Foundation and has been a senior journalist for more than 30 years.
Explore our projects across the globe
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
12/08/2026
Traditional live sports production has focused on creating the best possible pro...
12/08/2026
FOR-A will showcase a range of broadcast and production products at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B53, Amsterdam RAI, September 11-14), including software-based switching, A...
12/08/2026
The Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and EBU will host live demonstrations of NMOS BCP-008 Minimum Status Reporting at IBC2026 (September 11-14) on th...
12/08/2026
Dalet has announced Dalet Solution Suites, a portfolio of cloud-native solutions...
12/08/2026
Net Insight has announced that DMC Production Norway has selected its Open Live ...
12/08/2026
Zixi has appointed Alyson Stewart as Senior Director of Sales. Stewart will be responsible for direct sales and partnerships, with a focus on broadcasters, medi...
12/08/2026
LiveU's LU900Q intelligent production unit was deployed as part of the host broadcast operation for the Games in Glasgow (July 23-August 2, 2026). Host broa...
12/08/2026
Disney , ESPN, and Formula E have announced a multi-year deal bringing all Formula E races to Disney and ESPN in the U.S. and to Disney in most international...
12/08/2026
PSSI has launched X-LIVE, a managed service offering dedicated engineering resources and Appear encoding infrastructure for live event signal processing and tra...
12/08/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League Summer Season reached 18.3 million unique live viewers across three stops on ABC and ESPN, a 78.5% increase compared to the...
12/08/2026
BBright will showcase an expanded IP-Gateway at IBC2026, adding support for all RIST profiles to its existing support for MPEG Transport Stream over IP with SMP...
12/08/2026
BBright will demonstrate EBU OGraf animated graphics support in its software-bas...
12/08/2026
Interra Systems will demonstrate its ORION, BATON, BATON Captions, and VEGA solutions at SET Expo 2026 (August 17-20, Distrito Anhembi, S o Paulo) at partner Li...
12/08/2026
DPA Microphones has appointed Raul Contreras as West Coast Regional Sales Manager. In the role, Contreras will oversee sales and customer relationships througho...
12/08/2026
Live spectacles ranging from the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup to the Oscars and...
12/08/2026
Writer-Director Andrius Bla evi ius and crew attend the premiere of How to Divorce During the War at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park City, UT. (P...
12/08/2026
Enhanced DAW & plug-in control for the UC1, UF8 and UF1
The software that powers SSL's range of control surfaces has just received a major update that d...
12/08/2026
In-line preamp features one-knob EQ
In addition to their range of in-line preamps, Triton Audio recently managed to squeeze a compressor into an enclosure t...
12/08/2026
Captures system audio with or without a DAW
Depending on your setup, capturing system audio in a DAW can be a tedious process, so much so that Arvital Audio...
12/08/2026
2026 NATIONAL NAIDOC AWARDS TO BROADCAST ON NITV LIVE AND DIRECT FROM MPARNTWE
12 August, 2026
Media releases
First Nations excellence will be celebrated l...
12/08/2026
More than six million sports fans stay with SBS for Tour de France and Tour de F...
12/08/2026
Nielsen is cementing Digital Ad Intel as the new go-to currency for digital ad intelligence in Brazil-now with streaming monitoring in the mix.
S o Paulo, Augu...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
As Matrox Video celebrates 50 years of trusted innovation, the company will showcase its portfolio of interoperable IP technologies and software-defined innovat...
12/08/2026
SMPTE, the home of media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced a program of expert-led sessions, professional workshops and networking eve...
12/08/2026
Berklee Announces Full Details for Inaugural Block Party, a Music Festival Next ...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Matthews Studio Equipment introduces T-Go Mounting Solutions extreme camera rigging systems, engineered for the most demanding environments in motion picture pr...
12/08/2026
Anton/Bauer, a Videndum brand and the industry leader in mobile power solutions for broadcast and cinematic production, announces that the EDEN Mobile Power Sta...
12/08/2026
TAG Video Systems, the global leader in software-based IP monitoring and multiviewer solutions, today announced a memory usage optimization that lowers the tota...
12/08/2026
Unified Streaming announces Trusted Media, a new solution that enables broadcasters, streaming platforms, and premium content owners to attach verifiable authen...
12/08/2026
Combining intelligent automation, composable business services and user-centric experiences
The media industry is entering a new phase where AI intelligence is...
12/08/2026
DPA Microphones welcomes Raul Contreras as its new West Coast Regional Sales Manager. In this role, Contreras will oversee sales and customer relationships thro...
12/08/2026
Marshall Electronics' first all-weather, all-IP 4K POV camera, the CV574-WP, makes its European debut at IBC 2026 (Stand 10.C11). Built for the elements, th...
12/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scientists at Scripps Research have discovered that two seemingly unrelated cellular enzymes become locked together during times of stress, simulta...
12/08/2026
NEW BOOKSHOP OPENING IN LONDON THAT OFFERS NEW IDENTITIES, NOT BOOKS, WITH FREE ...
12/08/2026
Brand-new trailer unveiled as Sky announces SNL UK ticket ballot will open on 14...
12/08/2026
Wednesday 12 August 2026
Sky Sports agrees deal to show Laver Cup from London's O2
Sky Sports has agreed a deal with Trident8 to show all three days of th...
12/08/2026
Wednesday 12 August 2026
Pre-order the new Google Pixel 11 range from today and...
12/08/2026
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang is ranked No. 1 on Glassdoor's Best CEOs list for 2026.
In the just-released ranking, recognition is earned directly fr...
11/08/2026
Weekly immersive broadcasts will feature 8K 3D video, a 180-degree field of view...
11/08/2026
By Briana Brady, Social Media Manager, Production Hub
Sports content is having ...
11/08/2026
She addresses why media organizations need more than asset storage, how sports t...