Terms of Reference for a Research on Journalism Training Approach in the Ethiopian Media

Job Title: Research on Journalism Training Approach in the Ethiopian Media

Type of Contract: Individual Contractors

Required number of candidate-1

Language Required: English

Deadline for Application: December 02, 2021.

Expected Starting Date: As soon as possible

Organizational Profile: MERSA Media Institute is a nonprofit media policy think tank. We work to help create vibrant, responsible, and independent media institutions, professional unions, and education centers through research, capacity building, and institutional support in Ethiopia.

Purpose: Mersa Media Institute (MMI) in partnership with Deutsche Welle Akademie (DWA) is committed to building the capacity of the local media houses through training with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of journalism in Ethiopia. Through a critical understanding of the context in which journalism training has been delivered to journalists working across the local media houses in Ethiopia, Mersa Media Institute came up with a different training approach called the media house approach. This bottom-up training approach which significantly departed from the usual training model attempted to make media houses co-own and increase their contributions to journalism training. Since the turn of 2020, Mersa Media institute in collaboration with DWA employed the media house training approach and delivered several trainings to journalists working at various private and government-owned media houses in Ethiopia. The purpose of this consultancy is to critically analyze the existing journalism training approaches including MMI’s media house approach, and explore new ways of providing journalism training within the context of the Ethiopian media landscape.

Major duties and responsibilities

• The consultant should assess a training approach within the context of mainstream and digital media operations.

• The consultant should do desktop research and mini-survey to identify and analyze existing problems on journalism training approaches including MMI’s media house approach.

• The consultant should address the existing gaps and recommend new approaches to provide journalism training in Ethiopia.

• The consultant is expected to submit an outline of the research and include feedback from MMI.

• The consultant is expected to submit the draft of the study and incorporate feedback from reviewers as well as MMI.

• The consultant is expected to submit the final version of the study on December 31, 2021.

• The consultant should work in close communication with Mersa Media Institute throughout the process of the research.

Experience and required qualifications

• MA /P.h.D/ in Journalism and communications, Communications, Media Studies, and related fields.

• The consultant should have at least three years of training experience in the media sector.

• The consultant should have a high degree of analytical and problem-solving skills as well as extensive research skills in the media sector.

• A minimum of five years of research experience in one or all of the following areas:- audience studies, media content, media technology, media institutions, and systems.

• The consultant should have a good knowledge of training methodology in the area of journalism, communication, media productions, etc

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Amharic languages.

• All rounded knowledge about the media landscape in Ethiopia.

How to apply? Qualified applicants, please send your resume, price quotation, and previous work samples to mersamultimedia@gmail.com or tsionmolla@outlook.com

MERSA Media Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.