Media Diversity Australia is calling for expressions of interest from mid-career Australian media professionals of Chinese heritage to undertake an eight-week program to help pave a pathway for them into mainstream newsrooms

• The program is designed to improve the reporting and coverage of Chinese communities in Australia and provide Chinese-Australian media professionals with the requisite knowledge and skills to navigate climbing the ranks of editorial leadership.
• The three (3) Secondments will take place in Australian major cities.
• Secondees will undertake a rigorous selection criteria process based on skill set, experience, personality, cultural fit, and geographical location.
• Once confirmed, each Secondee will be matched with a mainstream newsroom.
• The Secondments are scheduled to commence in September 2022.
• The Secondment recipients will be mentored and supported by an MDA Mentor.

THE EIGHT-WEEK PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE

• Networking (virtual) sessions between the Secondees and Media Diversity Australia
• Multiple check-ins with MDA Mentors throughout the eight-week placement
• “Getting To Know You”: Recipients will be profiled on MDA’s social media
• Google News Training sessions
• Opportunities to attend and speak at an MDA networking event and/or be featured in MDA’s monthly newsletter.

EXPECTED PROJECT OUTCOMES

• The publishing of stories about the Chinese-Australian community, produced by the Secondees and journalists from the host newsroom. These will include co-investigations related to China affairs and those affecting the Chinese-Australian community. 
• Enhanced relations between community media and mainstream media outlets
• Improvement in the host newsroom’s access to the Chinese-Australian community and strengthened information-sharing flows
• Increased diversity in the host newsroom’s commentary and interview subjects on stories relevant to the diverse Chinese-Australian communities.
• New pathways for community media journalists (and those in adjacent careers) to enter the mainstream media with improved knowledge and understanding of mainstream media and journalism.

HOW TO APPLY

• Applicants must have Australian citizenship
• Applicants will have Chinese cultural heritage and be proficient in Mandarin or Cantonese. This can include a wider shared Chinese heritage in diaspora countries including (but not limited to) Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, and so forth.
• Applicants will preferably have experience working in community media
• You must address all of the following to be considered for this program:
  In 500 words or less, please tell us a bit about you, your media industry experience, your leadership aspirations, and why you should be an MDA Secondee.
• Please also attach a CV and at least one written reference.
• Applications open on Friday, July 1, 2022, at 9 am AEDT and close on Friday, July 29, 2022, at 5 pm AEST. 
• Successful candidates will be announced in August 2022 after an interview process.

Applicants can apply by emailing MDA’s Director of Special Projects, Simone Jordan: simone@mediadiversityaustralia.org