A movement to transform journalism

Help MDNtv Keep Critical Stories Alive

Right now, talented young reporters are locked out of the industry.
In 6 months, they could be telling their communities’ most important stories.

Your support makes that happen.

Support Independent Journalism

The reality: South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis is among the highest in the world. Young people with passion and purpose are ready to become journalists. But without training, equipment, and mentorship, their voices remain silent. Communities lose truth. Democracy loses informed voices.

South Africa’s Journalism Crisis

28%

Youth unemployment, among the world’s highest.

LOCKED OUT

Young people with passion and skill denied entry to the media industry.

But here’s the bigger problem: The journalism system only recognizes journalists trained at expensive universities or hired by major outlets.

It doesn't recognize the journalists already reporting from the ground.

It doesn't listen to people who know their communities better than any outsider.

It doesn't amplify voices that should be heard.

So what happens?

Service delivery failures go unreported. Communities can’t hold power accountable.
Local corruption stays hidden. Injustice continues unchecked.
Community success stories never get shared. Young people think their neighborhood has no opportunities.
Misinformation spreads because no one trained fact-checks. False narratives become “truth.”
Talented youth with skills and passion end up doing other work, not because they don’t care, but because the system didn’t invest in them.
Communities lose the ability to tell their own stories. External narratives replace internal truth.

This isn’t a problem with young journalists. This is a problem with a journalism system that’s built from the top down instead of the ground up. And it’s costing us everything.

Without support, their voices remain unheard. We’re changing that. The MDNtv Youth Journalism Academy exists to transform this reality giving young people the skills, tools, and platform to become the journalists South Africa needs.
 Support the Right Kind of Journalism

Your Donation Fuels Real Progress

Every dollar you donate moves us closer to launching cohorts, training journalists, and changing lives. Here’s exactly what happens at each milestone:
Join the movement

Support the Academy

Choose a donation that feels right to you. Every single contribution matters. Each gift directly equips young journalists and transforms communities.

$10

Field Kit

Essential reporting tools for a young journalist’s first assignment.
Monthly Support

$25

Data Access

One month of mobile data so a trainee can upload stories, conduct research, and file reports from their community.
Monthly Support

$100

Training Week

One week of intensive journalism training: storytelling, ethics, interviewing.
Monthly Support

$250

Field Mission

Supervized reporting assignment into courts, rural areas, and real stories.
Monthly Support

$500

Mobile Kit

Complete starter kit: phone/tablet, microphone, cables for mobile journalism.
Monthly Support

$1,000

Full Month

one trainee: training, mentorship, transport, meals, production.
Monthly Support

$2,500

Masterclasses

Expert training on fact-checking, GBV reporting, and court coverage.
Monthly Support

Why this matters right now

The Stories Your Community Needs to Hear.

The System Problem

Right now, South African journalism has a structural problem. It’s not that there are no journalists. It’s that journalism comes from the top down, from outside looking in.

Here's What the Problem Looks Like

NEVER PUBLISHED

“Service delivery failures affecting 10,000 people in your community go unreported because they’re not “national news.”

NEVER PUBLISHED

“A story about corruption in your township is written by a journalist who flew in from Johannesburg for one day.”

NEVER PUBLISHED

“A young entrepreneur creating jobs in your area never gets profiled, her story isn’t “sensational” enough for major outlets.”

NEVER PUBLISHED

Misinformation spreads in your community like fire because there’s no one on the ground, trained to fact-check and report accurately.

NEVER PUBLISHED

Gender-based violence cases happen every day, but without trained court reporters, the pattern stays invisible.

Your community knows these stories. Feels them. Needs them told.

But the people who could tell them best, the people who LIVE in these communities, are locked out of journalism.
And the young journalists are locked out because no one invested in their journalism skills

That's the problem we're solving.

What Changes

TRUTH GETS TOLD
Trained journalists verify before reporting. Your community gets accurate information. Decision-making improves.
POWER GETS HELD ACCOUNTABLE

Corruption documented. Patterns exposed. Communities demand change.

VOICES GET HEARD

Community stories told by community. No outside interpretation. Your neighborhood becomes the expert on itself.

Support the mission

Why People are Standing with Us

MDNtv delivers the journalism our community desperately needs accurate, people-focused, and unafraid of difficult truths. I’m supporting them because I believe in their vision of a generation of young journalists carrying this mission forward.

Naledi K.
MDN tv reader
As someone studying journalism, MDNtv shows me what real reporting looks like. Supporting their Academy means investing in my peers, people like me who have passion but no pathway. This is the future I want to see.
Thabo M.
MDN tv reader

You're Not Just Donating. You're Building.

A Builder

Creating opportunities for young people to transform their futures.

A Truth Defender

Supporting journalists trained to fight misinformation.

A Democracy Investor

Strengthening the foundation of a functioning democracy.

A Change Maker

Making possible what thousands of young South Africans are waiting for.

Together, we can protect independent journalism in South Africa.

Know more about us
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