About this opportunity
Most newsrooms have stopped asking whether to use AI and started asking how to use it well. That shift is the whole point of the JournalismAI Strategy Lab, the programme the JournalismAI team at the London School of Economics and Political Science, supported by Google, built to replace scattered experiments with editorial judgement.
This edition is a first in itself. Earlier cohorts focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, and now the Lab is open to journalists and media professionals from newsrooms across the entire continent, from North Africa to Southern Africa. Twenty participants make up each cohort, so the room stays small enough for real peer learning.
You commit about five hours a week across five weeks: a two hour live presentation on Tuesdays, a two hour live workshop on Thursdays, and roughly sixty minutes of individual work before the next session, plus an introductory week and a closing session. The five modules run from AI in practice, through data, tools and workflow, generative AI for journalism, risks, ethics and editorial governance, and finally from ideation to implementation.
No coding or technical background is required, and there is no cost to participate. What you leave with is a concrete action plan or project proposal for your own newsroom, a grounded understanding of what AI can and cannot do, and a network of peers working through the same problems.
What you receive
- A grounded understanding of AI in journalism, what it can do and where its limits lie
- Hands on experience evaluating and working with AI tools in a structured environment
- A concrete action plan or project proposal to take back to your newsroom
- A network of peers from your region and beyond working through the same challenges
- Expert led masterclasses, live workshops and structured peer discussion across five modules
Who can apply
- Be a journalist or media professional working in a newsroom in Africa
- Be fluent in English
- Be employed by or formally affiliated with a news organisation
- Be able to commit about five hours a week across the five weeks
- Be available for live sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus the introductory week and closing session
Who should not apply
- Freelancers are not eligible, you must be employed by or formally affiliated with a news organisation
- Journalists who are not fluent in English are not eligible
- Journalists based outside Africa are not eligible
- No coding or technical background is required to apply
Documents to prepare
- A letter of organisational commitment from your employer, uploaded with the application
- Answers about your background, your newsroom and the work you hope to undertake during the programme
How to apply
- Read the Strategy Lab page on the JournalismAI site for the module plan and the time commitment.
- Prepare a letter of organisational commitment from your employer, using the letter template JournalismAI links on the same page.
- Submit the application form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckctDllZfMnaVq9bYuSp6Ew_IJ_M72B61urPE8akQGBXXFCQ/viewform before 29 November 2026 at 11:59 PM GMT.
Selection process
- Cohorts are capped at 20 participants.
- JournalismAI prioritises candidates who can take what they learn back to their organisation, whether as editors, senior journalists, product leads or founders of small independent outlets.
- Applications are welcome from all career stages, roles and newsroom sizes.
Sources and verification
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