People & Lifestyle
BBC World Service announces new daily podcast for Africa and launches a podcast competition in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa
The BBC World Service has announced a brand new daily news podcast for Africa, more episodes of The Comb podcast, and launched a new podcast competition open to residents in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
The new daily podcast follows the launch in 2020 of our weekly podcast for Africa, The Comb. It is back this month after a short break, with more episodes combing the continent for stories about the unseen forces that bind us together and tear us apart.
Alongside the two new podcasts, each weekday, Africa Today will continue to summarise all the top news stories from the BBC Africa radio programme, Focus on Africa.
The BBC World Service is also launching its first international podcast competition. In 2021, the competition will be open to residents in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. The winning entry will be turned into a new podcast, hopefully to be launched later in 2021. The competition, which launches 5 January and closes on 22 January, is open to aspiring audio hosts and producers who are not broadcast professionals and don’t already have a credit on a commercial podcast. We’re looking for a brilliant idea for a podcast, in English, which will appeal to listeners in Africa and throughout the world, and we’re especially interested in stories that will resonate with women.
Mary Hockaday, Controller, BBC World Service English said: “The podcast market is beginning to take off in Africa, and the BBC World Service is really keen to explore how podcasts can help us bring the BBC’s impartial journalism to new audiences in a style that’s more informal and conversational. Each day, Africa Daily will put a spotlight on a single news story that’s dominating headlines, and once a week, The Comb will continue to unearth fascinating stories from across the continent. And we’re thrilled to launch a podcast competition to discover new talent and unheard voices, and offer the chance to have your idea turned into a chart-topping podcast. If you’re based in Nigeria, Kenya or South Africa and you’ve got a brilliant idea for a podcast we absolutely want to hear from you!”
More about Africa Daily
Get your news fix, one story at a time. Each weekday, Africa Daily will take a deep dive into the news stories shaping Africa, one question at a time. In each episode, we’ll ask one single question about one story shaping the news that day in Africa, to provide context and depth to the headlines and reports across the continent. Host Alan Kasujja will be in conversation with great interviewees: whether they’re the people living the story, or the reporters following events on the ground, African voices are at the heart of each episode. Africa Daily is produced by the team behind Newsday – the BBC World Service’s flagship breakfast news show aired Monday to Friday on the BBC World Service radio. A version of the podcast will be aired each morning on Newsday between 0500 and 0600 GMT and is available to partner radio stations across Africa.
Africa Daily will launch on 18th January.
More about the new BBC World Service International Podcast Competition
In 2021 the BBC World Service’s new podcast competition is open to residents in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, and the aim is to open the podcast competition to different countries in subsequent editions of the competition. To apply, entrants will need to complete an online application form with a summary of their original podcast idea and upload a 2 minute piece of audio in which they describe what makes it distinctive.
Got an idea for a podcast?
Aspiring audio hosts and producers based in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are invited to submit their proposal for a podcast here:https://www.bbc.co.uk/send/u64076462
The competition opens 5th January and the closing date for submissions is 13 GMT, January 22nd 2021.
The competition will have a three stage judging process.
Judges will include:
Paula Rogo, Founder of Africa Podfest, Africa’s first podcast festival and Kali Media, an African women-focused podcast network (based in Kenya)
Kim Chakanetsa, Host of The Comb, the BBC World Service weekly podcast for audiences in Africa
Odudu Efe (FayFay), Founder of the Naija Podcast Hub (based in Nigeria)
Sharon Machira, BBC TV & Radio Presenter based in Nairobi, Kenya
Jedi Ramalapa, Editor-in-Chief, Sound Africa, in South Africa
Jon Manel, BBC World Service Podcast Commissioning Editor
Full information on the application process, criteria, judging process and terms and conditions are available here:www.bbcworldservice.com/podcastcompetition
More about The Comb
The Comb launched in 2020 as a new weekly podcast for young listeners in Africa which combs the continent for the stories that matter. Presented by Zimbabwean journalist Kim Chakanetsa it unearths surprising, fascinating and relevant stories, and doesn’t shy away from tackling tough subjects. Returning from its scheduled break on January 8th, episodes will include a look at ‘black tax’ – the expectation for many young professionals to share their salaries to support family, the taboo around speaking about abortions in Kenya, and the EndSARS movement in Nigeria. Other episodes will look at climate activism, organ donation, and young people from the diaspora who are ‘shipped’ back to their native countries. The Comb is made by the team behind the continent’s leading radio brand, BBC Focus on Africa – known for its unrivalled coverage of the continent.
Africa Today
The BBC also has the Africa Today podcast, bringing news and analysis on all the day’s top African stories from the BBC’s Focus on Africa team. Episodes released Monday to Friday.