About the Project

Byline is a social initiative that aims to create a more diverse and inclusive media ecosystem by creating opportunities for skill and experience acquisition for students from underserved backgrounds. It is through the news media that many of us stay abreast of what’s happening in our country and the wider world, and it also constitutes a space where a lot of discourse and opinion-making happens on a local, regional, and national level. Therefore, the lack of diversity and inclusion in this sector means that the wider public is deprived of important information and perspectives that can only come from individuals with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.

Among the many obstacles to building a news media that is more representative of the population is the lack of adequate education, experience, and exposure for students from underserved backgrounds - these interventions in the formative years of young adults can help build a solid foundation for future success in the news industry. Byline aims to address this deficiency by making these opportunities available to those for whom they might have otherwise been out of reach. By creating novel curricula for training in journalistic writing, organizing workshops to help students hone their journalistic skills, and creating a platform in the form of a newsletter for students to publish their writing, Byline hopes to make a difference by shaping the future composition of the news media.