MODULE 2: Identifying Impactful Stories About African Women
Go through the case study.
LESSON 202: A Case Study on Choosing the Right Story
This will give you:
A solid understanding of how accurate gender storytelling can create positive impact.
Insight into effective methods for representing gender in African media.
Practical tools to ensure your story's success by avoiding errors and bias.
Once complete, move on to Lesson 203.
IN THIS LESSON
🔎 Decode Success: Analyze a powerful gender-focused story and uncover the strategies behind its resonance and impact.
🌱 Solutions in Action: Witness how solutions-oriented storytelling shifts the focus from problems to progress, highlighting women's transformative leadership.
🎥 Visual Storytelling: Learn how impactful visuals and compelling narratives work together to amplify a story and make it unforgettable.
✨ Break Free from Stereotypes: Craft stories that challenge clichés and present nuanced, authentic perspectives of African women.
💡 Secrets to Success: Identify the key elements—from structure to tone—that elevate a story from good to truly transformative.
CASE STUDY: Choosing the Right Story
Imagine a big shop that sells news stories to all the TV stations, newspapers, and websites around the world. That's essentially what a story agency does.
Who they are: Companies like bird Story Agency, Reuters, Associated Press (AP), and Agence France-Presse (AFP). They are expert news distributors.
What they do: They gather stories (like your videos, photos, and articles) from many different journalists.
Their big job: They then distribute for free (like bird) or "sell" these stories to thousands of news organisations globally, including TV stations, digital platforms, and news outlets.
Why it matters to you: When your story goes through an agency, it can reach a much, much wider audience—millions of people across Africa and the world—than you could ever reach by yourself. It also means your content meets the high technical and editorial standards that big news companies expect.
Pitching your story to an international media agency is definitely different from pitching to a local or domestic media outlet. Think of it this way:
While both want a great story, they're looking for different things because their audience is different:
Audience & Scope:
Domestic Outlet: They're interested in stories that primarily affect and resonate with people in your specific city, region, or country.
International Agency: They're looking for stories that have a universal appeal and can be understood and relevant to people all over the world. Your story should have broader significance or connect to global themes.
Content Focus:
Domestic Outlet: Might focus on local events, community issues, or national politics.
International Agency: Seeks narratives that challenge existing stereotypes on a wider scale, particularly those highlighting achievements or issues in Africa that resonate globally. They're often looking for "narrative-changing" stories.
Technical & Editorial Standards:
Domestic Outlet: Will have its own quality standards, which might be specific to their local broadcast or print requirements.
International Agency: Has very rigorous and consistent technical and editorial standards. This is because their content is distributed to many different TV stations and digital platforms worldwide. They need high production standards, clear visuals, crisp audio, and professional editing.
Clarity & Context:
Domestic Outlet: Assumes the audience already understands local context or slang.
International Agency: Requires your story to be understandable to someone with no prior knowledge of your specific region. You need to provide context clearly and avoid overly localized perspectives unless explained for a global audience.
Visual Emphasis:
International Agency: Visuals are extremely important. High-quality photos and videos are key because visuals can convey a story across language barriers.
In short, when pitching to an international agency, you need to think globally about your story's appeal, its ability to challenge broader narratives, and ensure it meets top-tier professional standards for worldwide distribution.
1. Start by watching this video.
2. Now examine the video shot-list and story.
🔴 A video shot-list is a required, detailed list of every visual element included in your story's final edit. It serves as a visual blueprint, guiding not only your own filming and editing process but also providing essential information to media outlets that may distribute your content. This ensures clarity and efficiency for all parties involved.
VIDEO SHOTLIST
STORY TITLE: SOUTH AFRICA - WINE MAKER
HEADLINE: This South African winemaker is savouring the sweet taste of success
LOCATION: STELLENBOSCH, SOUTH AFRICA
DATE: RECENT
SOURCE: bird story agency
SOUND: NATURAL WITH ENGLISH SPEECH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
DURATION: 7:45
PRODUCTION CREDITS: TAURAI MADUNA AND OKWI OKOH
STELLENBOSCH, SOUTH AFRICA (RECENT) (bird story agency - ACCESS ALL)
GRAPES GROWING ON A VINE IN DELHEIM WINE ESTATE
VARIOUS OF NONGCEBO LANGA, WINEMAKER, INSPECTING THE VINES
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WINEMAKER, NONGCEBO LANGA, SAYING WHILE INSPECTING A BUNCH OF GRAPES: “It’s called Botrytis cinerea. It’s a fungus that we look for when we make noble late harvest. And it requires quite strict conditions. It has to be cool, and humid enough for it to actually grow in the environment. I think the past week, we had ideal conditions for it. So I think that’s why it’s popping up quite nicely. Hopefully, this heat does not burn it off. So live, fungus live!’’
VIEW OF VINEYARD AT THE DELHEIM WINE ESTATE: “I did my MSc, my Master’s, where I focused on smoke taint. So with smoke taint, it's actually becoming much more relevant in the wine industry all over the world where we’re seeing a lot of wildfires around winemaking regions. So my research focused on trying to help out once the incidence of this has occurred, because it's gonna happen. Now it's a matter of actually trying to save the wine once that has happened. So that was my study.”
VARIOUS OF LANGA’S DINERS CLUB AWARD, IMAGES OF HER RECEIVING IT
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WINEMAKER, NONGCEBO LANGA, SAYING: “And now with our Gewürztraminer, the 2022 that we made, oh, I mean it’s a nice combination of fruits, you've got a nice balance between the acid and the sugar on the palate. It was quite a very nice wine to make, and yeah, that’s pretty much it.”
VARIOUS OF BARREL OF WHITE WINE WITH CORK ADAPTED FOR MONITORING THE FERMENTATION PROCESS
VIEW OF BARRELS OF WHITE WINE FERMENTATION CELLAR
TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY MONITOR
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WINEMAKER, NONGCEBO LANGA, SAYING: “As you can see, we got a few fermenting barrels. On a random day, I will come in and just try and taste. What’s happening in the barrels, if they are going through the fermentation if the wine is stressed or anything, and then we got our sample...as you can see this is raw wine, it won’t be as clear as you will find it in a shop, it still has to go through a lot of processes and there is high CO2 content where it keeps the particles in suspension and that is why it is cloudy but over time all of that will settle out and then, the wine will be filtered and clear for consumption. It’s quite nice and fruity. This is a Chardonnay that we are making here...very nice acid, the fruit is carrying on into the palate. I’m beginning to get hints of pineapple. It’s quite nice.”
VARIOUS OF LANGA WITH DELHEIM WINES CELLAR MASTER, ROELOF LOTRIET
VARIOUS OF BARRELS OF WINE
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CELLAR MASTER, DELHEIM WINES, ROELOF LOTRIET, SAYING: “I sat down with all the interns and I’m like, look, an internship is literally what you want out of it, is what you get out of it. So if you want something, I'll try to help you get that something. And I was like, so what do you (Langa) want? And she's like, ‘I want to be sitting in your seat.’”
VARIOUS OF LANGA MIXING GRAPES
VARIOUS OF WINE BOTTLES BEING LABELLED AND PACKED
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WINEMAKER, NONGCEBO LANGA, SAYING: “Everywhere you go in the world, you're going to learn the same thing about winemaking and then how you express that science, because you learn the science of it, the basics of it, but how you express that, that's up to you. It's up to the individual and how you work with the environment, whether it's the soil, the vines, the people. Then it's also part of the art, the expression of the wine. So yeah, it is an art.
VARIOUS OF WINE JUDGE AND SOMMELIER, SHANE MUMBA, INSPECTING BOTTLES IN WINE SHOP
VIEW OF A SOUTH AFRICAN WINE GUIDE ON TABLE IN WINE SHOP
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WINE JUDGE & SOMMELIER, SHANE MUMBA, SAYING: “It doesn't necessarily open up a door at the time as a young winemaker, but it gives that boost of confidence. It is also a big inspiration for the young winemakers that want to become a winemaker and especially somebody from a colour. That is even a massive boost for our industry as South Africa.”
VIEW OF SIGNAGE READING (English): “Tasting + Wine Sales”
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WINEMAKER, NONGCEBO LANGA, SAYING: “I always say I pair my wine with my mood, the company that I have. So if I've got friends, if I've got family, there will be a wine that calls out to me like hmmm, I can enjoy this right in this atmosphere. So obviously if I pick up a nice, let's say, from Delheim, a nice Rosé that I know I'm going to be chilled, you know, by the pool or, you know, outside with the braai, then I'm going to be enjoying that. But if I pick up a Grand Reserve, I know I'm going to be having a serious dinner with serious conversations around this wine.”
VARIOUS OF LANGA DRINKING WINE WITH A COLLEAGUE
VIDEO STORY:
As Nongcebo Langa walked between the barrels of a beverage enjoyed worldwide, a bubbling sound could be heard from the gas emitted during fermentation - part of the journey of every great wine. It's a sound Langa said now makes her feel at home - and stirs her imagination.
Langa didn't grow up expecting to make wine. It took a careers fair and a chance encounter with a winemaker there to open her eyes to what is now her career as a South African winemaker and one of the few black women in the industry.
Nongcebo grew up in Pietermaritzburg’s Imbali township where family gatherings were stocked with beer and spirits. This is no longer the case; because of her knowledge of wines, she has become the unofficial ‘family sommelier’ and wine is now a popular choice at family functions.
KwaZulu-Natal Province, where Langa comes from, is known for its sugarcane production and dairy and cattle farming, and the thought of studying wines never crossed her mind till she visited the careers fair and heard a winemaker there talk about their work.
After the fair, the idea of making wine seemed like an exciting challenge, so she decided to give it a go by enrolling at Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape Province to study Viticulture and Oenology.
She went further in her education and pursued a Master's program, focusing on the influence of wildfire smoke on vineyards.
“I did my MSc, my Master’s, where I focused on smoke taint. So with smoke taint, it's actually becoming much more relevant in the wine industry all over the world where we’re seeing a lot of wildfires around winemaking regions. So my research focused on trying to help out once the incidence of this has occurred, because it's gonna happen. Now it's a matter of actually trying to save the wine once that has happened. So that was my study,” Langa explained.
After completing her studies in 2018, Langa interned at the renowned Delheim Wines in Stellenbosch - and never left. She rose through the ranks and was appointed winemaker in May 2022.
That same year, she produced the 2022 Delheim Gewürztraminer - a white wine classified as off-dry - which won her the 2023 Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year Award.
“And now with our Gewürztraminer, the 2022 that we made, oh, I mean it’s a nice combination of fruits, you've got a nice balance between the acid and the sugar on the palate. It was quite a very nice wine to make, and yeah, that’s pretty much it," Langa said.
Her award came with prize money and a trip to any wine region in the world. She is planning on going to Bordeaux in France in September.
“It's one of those regions that are iconic in the world. The wines that come from there are very well known. And, you know, the quality that comes from there is also well-known in the world.”
Langa plans to travel when it's harvest season to learn as much as she can - both inside the winery and out.
“Everywhere you go in the world, you're going to learn the same thing about winemaking and then how you express that science, because you learn the science of it, the basics of it, but how you express that, that's up to you," she said,
Langa is certainly in the right environment to grow as a winemaker; according to Statista, South Africa ranks eighth in wine production out of the top 10 traditional wine-producing countries globally.
As a wine master, Langa’s work involves monitoring thousands of litres of wine at various stages of production in the cellars. It also involves regularly tasting wine. In the white wine barrel fermentation cellar that houses the Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, she uses the ‘wine thief’ to get a wine sample from the barrel, so as to assess how the wine is fermenting.
“As you can see, this is raw wine, it won’t be as clear as you will find it in a shop, so it still has to go through a lot of processes and there is high CO2 (carbon dioxide) that keeps the particles in suspension and that is why it is cloudy. But it will settle down over time.”
Langa works closely with Delheim cellarmaster, Roelof Lotriet, who advised management to hire her when she was an intern. Lotriet was impressed with her work ethic and her curiosity. He recalled how she responded when he asked her what she wanted out of the internship experience.
“I sat down with all the interns and I’m like, look, an internship is literally what you want out of it, is what you get out of it. So if you want something, I'll try to help you get that something. And I was like, so what do you (Langa) want? And she's like, ‘I want to be sitting in your seat.'” Lotriet said.
Shame Mumba was one of the five panel of judges at the 43rd annual Diners Club Winemaker of the Year awards. A certified sommelier and board member of the South African Sommelier Association board member, Mumba described Langa’s wine as having shown a lot more purity.
Mumba added that winning such an award for a young winemaker was a huge confidence booster.
“It’s also a big inspiration for the young winemakers that want to become a winemaker and especially somebody of colour. That is even a massive boost for our industry as South Africa.”
So what makes a good wine? Langa is quick to point out that it’s a very personal choice. It’s about how one connects with the wine.
“I always say, I pair my wine with my mood and the company that I have. If I pick up a Rosé I know I’m going to be chilled by the pool or outside with the braai.”
She added that for a serious dinner, she would go for something like her cellar's Grand Reserve.
Useful links:
https://dinersclub.co.za/news-events/winemaker-of-the-year/
https://www.statista.com/topics/11626/wine-industry-in-south-africa/#topicOverview
https://academieduvinlibrary.com/blogs/blog/black-women-winemakers-breaking-barriers-in-south-africa
