Applications sought for Arts Journalism workshop

For the 8th year, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival presents its unique arts journalism training programme: “Reviving the Drumbeat”. You'll do intensely practical, mentored work based on the exciting run-up to the country's premier jazz festival. You'll have covered the curriculum specified for the SAQA Unit Standard “Cover a Specialist Beat as a Journalist” (117541) and if you're a newsroom intern you'll have stories to add to your assessment portfolio. But to mark 2010, the course moves up another level, with two exciting new developments.

First, there is an integrated course for media trainers from across the continent. We invite experienced arts journalists who want to foster these skills in colleagues to experience the course, debate methodology, and develop teaching tools and programmes to fit their own contexts with us. Second, the course will have its own 2010 Twitter-verse, opening up a live dialogue about the festival experience to the world, and mentoring participants in cutting-edge digital journalism.

The R1500 course fee covers:

• Seven days of workshopping, plus a tip-packed workbook
  
• Practical guidance on story ideas and research and writing techniques
  
• Opportunities (some exclusive) to network with role-players and attend relevant events
  
• An attendance certificate

Gwen Ansell, Business Day jazz columnist, former executive director of the IAJ, author of Soweto Blues and Fall 2008 Louis Armstrong, Visiting Professor at the Columbia University Center for Jazz Studies in New York will supervise the writing programme, and international media trainer Fiona Lloyd, the Train-the-Trainers segment.

The course is open to:

• Broadcast, online or print journalists in mainstream or community media, and junior journalists currently part of intern or cadet programmes.
  
• People preparing arts publicity for government, culture, tourism or heritage organisations
  
• Final-year or graduate journalism/media or music students
  
• Working musicians

The course assumes familiarity with basic newsroom procedures.
Fees and Scholarships: Course fee is R1500 per person. Candidates from outside the Cape Town area, or their employers, are responsible for the costs of travel/accommodation. Only a very limited number of fee-waiver scholarships may be available this year, for cadets, students, freelancers and community media workers based in South Africa only

How to apply

(Closing date is 5pm, 5 March, 2010)

Everbody must send:

* Your CV, including at least two current, contactable references
* A personal motivation letter saying why you want to attend the course, how you hope to benefit, and what you think you can bring to the course.

If you are a student, cadet or intern add:

* A letter of support from your lecturer, manager or supervisor, agreeing to release you for the course

If you are in full-time employment add:

* One sample of your published journalism work, or reference to a web archive where we can access it electronically
* A letter from your employer agreeing to release you for the full period of the course and to cover the cost of course fees, and the cost of travel and accommodation if you are based outside Cape Town.
* Personal or employer billing information, so we can invoice you

If you need a scholarship add:

* A short essay (maximum 500 words) on the following topic: "Sport and music: competitors or colleagues?”

Train the Trainers applicants

People applying for the train-the-trainers programme must have at least two years journalism experience.Your motivation must tell us why you want to train other arts journalists, and how you plan to use the mentoring and facilitation skills you'll acquire. If you're applying for a scholarship, your 500-word essay topic is different: “What makes a good arts journalist?”

Do not include any other certificates, testimonials or documents.If your application does not contain all the documents requested, or if it arrives after the closing date, it cannot be considered.

Send your application, preferably by email, to course supervisor Gwen Ansell at sisgwen@iafrica.com. Put the words “CTIJF course application” in the subject line. If you need to use surface mail, send the package to: Gwen Ansell PO Box 719 Bruma 2026 Johannesburg.