Producing a State of the Newsroom for your country in Eastern, Western or Southern Africa

State of the Newsroom is an annual report published by the Wits Centre for Journalism. The Centre has produced this report for the past nine years in South Africa. One report was also produced in Malawi in 2020 in partnership with Continuing Journalism Education (CJE). Past issues of the publication can be read here.

Based on our valuable experience in producing the Malawi edition of State of the Newsroom, the Centre is looking for a country partner in Southern, Eastern or Western Africa to produce another State of the Newsroom report in English. The Centre is able to provide full or part-funding for the publication, and is looking for a partner who will be able to:

· Co-ordinate the production of the publication, which will be published online;

· Decide on the content for the publication, commission authors;

· Write appropriate additional content for the publication;

· Ensure that the content is produced, edited and proof-read for layout by the deadline;

· Launch the publication online through a webinar with invited guests.

The country publication will conform with the overall editorial approach and framework of the preceding State of the Newsroom publications.

The time commitment to this project is substantial: The final publication deadline is 1 February 2023, which means that all content should be ready for layout no later than 15 December 2022.

Besides funding, the Centre will:

· Provide overall editorial support and guidance;

· Help review draft and final copy that is produced;

· Layout the final proofed copy.

If you are interested in taking on the challenging job of producing a State of the Newsroom for your country, please could you write to Alan Finlay at Alan.Finlay@wits.ac.za.

Please outline the following:

· Your organisational profile that includes details of relevant experience and capacity;

· Your experience in the media environment in your country;

· Your capacity to produce the publication by deadline;

· What sort of content you would like to focus on;

· An over-view of the timeline for the production of the publication.

Deadline for expressions of interest: 31 May 2022.

While it is not a pre-requisite for participation, organisations that are able to provide co-funding will be prioritised.

Additional information:

The objectives of the State of the Newsroom report are:

· To foster an environment of debate around key issues impacting on the news media and the practice of journalism in the country, including community media and the various forms of informal journalism that occur both online and offline;

· To serve as a publication of record of key issues, conflicts, and trends in the evolving media landscape in the country;

· To encourage critical self-reflection amongst media practitioners with respect to the purpose of journalism in supporting and sustaining democracy;

· To address issues important to media diversity, pluralism and sustainability, such as media ownership and funding, media ethics, journalist safety and job security, transformation in the newsroom, and new innovations and trends in journalism;

· To publish articles which are useful and accessible to a wide target readership, including journalists, media owners and entrepreneurs, media activists and rights organisations, media researchers, academics and government policy-makers;

· To stimulate multi-stakeholder conversation on media development by creating a space where experts from different disciplines, including academics, journalists, policy-makers, independent regulators, researchers, and media freedoms advocates, can present their views and analyses in an accessible and evidence-based way.