Going solo
Eight weeks to launch your own thing. For journalists who already have the editorial idea — and need the business, the audience and the nerve.
- 8 weeks
- 60 min / week
- Virtual
- Recorded
Who belongs in this room
This is for you if
- You're a working journalist with a concrete editorial idea — a beat, a newsletter, a channel, a show.
- You want the business fundamentals nobody taught you in a newsroom.
- You need structure and deadlines to actually launch, not another course to watch.
- You want peers on the same road — off the record, honest about the hard parts.
It isn't for you if
- You're happily employed and just curious — wait for the right moment.
- You want passive lectures. This is a working room; you build every week.
- Your project isn't journalism. We're an academy for news people.
The eight weeks
-
1.0
The lay of the land
Creator journalism across Africa — who is making it work, on which platforms, and where you fit. You leave with a personal launch plan.
-
2.0
Audience
Growth on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp channels. Set a realistic subscriber target for launch day — and a route to it.
-
3.0
Editorial rhythm
Sharpen the concept, define the beat, and build a publishing calendar one person can sustain without burning out.
-
4.0
Midpoint clinic
Open Q&A. Bring your plan; leave with it stress-tested by the instructors and the cohort.
-
5.0
The business
Registering, tax basics, and budgeting for irregular income — the unglamorous plumbing of independence.
-
6.0
Trust & ethics
Write your personal ethics statement. Handling misinformation, corrections and audience trust without a masthead behind you.
-
7.0
Money
Memberships, sponsorship, syndication, tip jars and rate cards. Draft your first revenue roadmap.
-
8.0
Launch week
Everything into one plan. Final Q&A, launch checklist, and a cohort that holds you to it.
What you keep
Tools
- Your launch plan and a twelve-month growth strategy
- An editorial calendar template built for one-person newsrooms
- Audience and personal-finance worksheets
People
- Every session, recorded and yours to keep
- The cohort — the peers you launch alongside
Pricing is announced with the October intake. Payment plans and bursaries for working freelance journalists are part of the design — cost shouldn't be the reason you stay put.
Apply for the cohort