Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Uganda : Training Financial & Economic Reporting

Start date: 25 Jun 2012 | End date: 29 Jun 2012
Location: Kampala, Uganda
Language: English
Application deadline: 31 May 2012

This course is designed to help journalists in Africa to strengthen their reporting on financial and economic topics by developing their understanding and skills. "Learning by doing" is a core part of the programme, which includes practical exercises and live reporting. The course also focuses on improving coverage of national and international financial issues through detailed briefings, presentations by guest speakers and, where appropriate, a reporting visit to a financial institution. In-depth discussions will explore ways of tackling subjects such as resource exploitation, economic governance and capital flight from developing countries.

Eligibility:

For this Thomson Reuters Foundation programme, applicants must be English-speaking professional journalists in Africa who are currently working as journalists or regular contributors to print, broadcast or online media organisations in English. They must be able to demonstrate a commitment to a career in journalism in their country, must have at least two years' professional experience and have a good level in spoken and written English.
Funding:

Thomson Reuters Foundation offers bursaries for journalists from the developing world/countries in political transition working for organisations with no resources for training. Bursaries would include economy class travel expenses, transfers and accommodation. This arrangement is subject to variation.
Submissions:

    A biography of up to 250 words outlining your career.
    A submission of 250-400 words on "an aspect of global finance which has a direct impact on your national economy and which you believe is under-reported or insufficiently understood."
    Two recent examples of your published work, preferably relevant to the course for which you are applying, with a brief summary in English (if necessary). TV/Radio journalists can send in their scripts and a brief summary.


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International Institute for ICT Journalism
www.penplusbytes.org

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Ghanaian Journalists partake in oil and gas workshop in Uganda

The International Institute for ICT Journalism (Penplusbytes) in collaboration with the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) is sponsoring seven Ghanaian journalists to strengthen their knowledge and skills to report on the extractive sector.
The 10 day workshop will run from May 14 to May 25 May in Kampala, Uganda.

The workshop, is a follow up of a similar one held earlier this year in Ghana, forms part of Penplusbytes and RWI Strengthening Media Oversight of the Extractive Sectors in Ghana and Uganda Project with the aim of promoting good governance and an effective oversight of the oil, gas and mining (extractive) resources and revenues.

A release issued in Accra on Friday said the workshop would be a combination of knowledge and skills building session and the journalists would be exposed to the intricacies of oil and gas contracts, international legislations, environmental and community interests in the extractive industry.

Experts would take the journalists through transparency and accountability and share experiences in communities where the industries are located.

The seven Ghanaian journalists who form the third class of journalists to go through the project are drawn from print, radio and TV and the Ghana News Agency, is represented by Mrs Lydia Asamoah, a Chief Reporter.

Their selection for the course was based on their experience in reporting on the extractive sector and having demonstrated interest and knowledge in the sector. They would join a similar group of journalists from Uganda for the workshop.

Mr Kwami Ahiabenu, II  Team Leader, Penplusbytes said: The workshop will focus on taking journalists through the tools of the trade, with sessions on generating and executing story ideas, evidence-based reporting, financial reporting, investigation and analysis of issues in the industry.

The "Strengthening Media Oversight of the Extractive Sectors Pilot Programme" which started in 2011 aims at promoting good governance and an effective oversight of the oil, gas and mining resources and revenues.

The ultimate objective is to have a knowledgeable and active media which is critical to having an informed and engaged public, civil society and parliament that could hold government to account. 

The course involves international field trips, writing bursaries, editors' liaison, workshops and individual writing projects on the extractive sector. 


Source: GNA


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International Institute for ICT Journalism
www.penplusbytes.org

Friday, May 11, 2012

Announcing $1 Million Fund for News Innovation

Africa's first major contest designed to promote the development of digital media products and innovations is now accepting applications.

African News Innovation Challenge (ANIC) will provide grants from $12,500 to $100,000 for the best projects aimed at strengthening and transforming African news media. The contest is modeled on the highly successful Knight News Challenge in the United States. Grantees will also receive technical advice, startup support and one-on-one mentoring from the world's top media experts.

Of particular interest are proposals that improve data-based investigative journalism, audience engagement, mobile news distribution, data visualization, new revenue models and workflow systems.

The African Media Initiative (AMI), Africa's largest association of media owners and operators, announced the contest last November as part of a pan-African initiative to spur digital experimentation and technology-driven projects and startups.

"African media have a tremendous opportunity to leapfrog the business disruption faced by media in Europe and the U.S.," says AMI chief executive Amadou Mahtar Ba. "The growing reach of mobile networks and improving Internet access is beginning to reshape the media landscape in Africa. We believe this competition will help African news organizations stay ahead of the curve."

Contest partners include Omidyar NetworkGoogle, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the U.S. State Department, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

"Omidyar Network is delighted to be supporting the African News Innovation Challenge," said Stephen King, partner at Omidyar Network.  "Across the continent we are seeing innovative ways in which technology is providing people with greater access to information. This challenge is a great opportunity for journalists, entrepreneurs and technologists to join forces and help enable the African media to hold their leaders to account."

Digital strategist Justin Arenstein, a Knight International Journalism Fellow working with AMI, is leading the initiative. The International Center for Journalists in Washington, D.C., administers the Knight Fellowships.

HOW TO APPLY:

Entries must be submitted to the ANIC website by midnight (Central African Time) on July 10, 2012.

WHO CAN APPLY:

Proposals may be submitted by news pioneers from anywhere in the world, but entries must have an African media partner who will help develop and test the innovation. Projects that are designed for Africa will stand a better chance of receiving support.


PROJECTS OF GREATEST INTEREST:

ANIC is seeking new ways to create, discuss and share news and make quality journalism sustainable. This could include new revenue or production models, new ways to gather, produce or distribute news. Ideas that can be scaled up across the continent or replicated elsewhere are of particular interest. Preference will be given to ideas that solve bottlenecks facing Africa's media.

THE JUDGING PROCESS

Winning projects will be selected by an ANIC panel of judges, following public voting and a review by an international jury.

About ICFJ
The International Center for Journalists is a non-profit organization that advances quality journalism worldwide. Its programs combine the best professional standards with the latest digital innovations. ICFJ believes that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition.

About AMI
The African Media Initiative is the continent's largest umbrella association of African media owners, senior executives and other industry stakeholders. AMI's mandate is to serve as a catalyst for strengthening African media by building the tools, knowledge resources and technical capacity for African media to play an effective public interest role in their societies. This mandate includes assisting with the development of professional standards, financial sustainability, technological adaptability and civic engagement.

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top Web property in all major global markets. Google's mission in Africa is to make the Internet an integral part of every day life in Africa, by increasing its relevance and usefulness, eliminating access barriers for potential users, and developing products that are meaningful for countries in the region. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.google.com/africa, see our Africa Blog, http://google-africa.blogspot.com/ or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/googleafrica

About Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic and social change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed more than $500 million to for-profit companies and non-profit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple investment areas, including financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, property rights, consumer Internet, mobile and government transparency. To learn more, visit www.omidyar.com.






http://africannewschallenge.org/

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International Institute for ICT Journalism
www.penplusbytes.org

Sunday, May 06, 2012

Featured website : New tools for new news


Journalists need new tools to work online.  Currently public beta website, it serves as an online database of such tools . 

Tools are organised in the following categories :

  1. Audio
  2. Blogging
  3. Data Scraping
  4. Data visualization
  5. Databases
  6. Design
  7. Feed Readers
  8. FTP
  9. Legal Guides
  10. Live Streaming Video
  11. Maps
  12. Networks and Assocations
  13. Other
  14. Photography
  15. Polls
  16. Programming
  17. Public Databases
  18. Slide shows
  19. Social Bookmarking
  20. Social Networks
  21. Stress Relief
  22. Text Editors
  23. Tutorials
  24. Twitter
  25. URL Shorteners
  26. Video
  27. Wikis
  28. Workflow

 Anyone can browse this site and subscribe to our RSS feeds. Registering allows you to add new tools, add links to existing tools and bookmark tools, which will be saved on your contributor page.

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International Institute for ICT Journalism
www.penplusbytes.org