Journalism education and practice in South Africa and the discourse of the African Renaissance

Motsaathebe, Gilbert

doi:10.1080/02500167.2011.605372

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…It has been argued that an African theory of journalism must be developed (Nyamnjoh 2005) and that journalism training and curricula in Africa need to become more African and Africanised (Motsaathebe 2011) in such a way that journalism training can reflect the theory of journalism based on African values and moral philosophy, and African culture (Kasoma 1994;Sesanti 2009). In this regard, the concepts of ubuntu and communitarianism (Blankenberg 1999;Christians 2004;Nyamnjoh 2005;Wasserman and De Beer 2006) have often been cited as philosophies that could underpin journalism theory and praxis.…”

Section: Ylva Rodny-gumedementioning

confidence: 99%

The local in the global: Challenges of teaching global journalism

Rodny‐Gumede¹

2013

Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies

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Section: Ylva Rodny-gumedementioning

confidence: 99%

The local in the global: Challenges of teaching global journalism

Rodny‐Gumede¹

2013

Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies

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“…4 The question, be it academic and/or rhetorical or not, is whether the same emphasis and interest in, for instance, ethics (including professional conduct) subsist in the industry and whether it has permeated training syllabi adequately enough to improve the quality of journalism. From a recent South African study commissioned by the National Press Club (of South Africa) (2011) and a study by Motsaathebe (2011) it is clear that both practising journalists and journalism students are in critical need of a better understanding of the intrinsic and thus the phenomenological nature of their profession (of journalism), of its relationship(s) with society, of how the new media landscape has intrinsically changed that with which they are busy with, namely mass communication, and of its (new) professional ethics. The research referred to above bears a resemblance to Keeble's (2005) 5 argument that the debate about journalism and its ethics should break with old dualities (such as, e.g.…”

Section: The New Media Landscape and The 'Crisis' Of Journalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking about journalists’ thinking (Two)1

Fourie

2011

Journal of African Media Studies

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The first purpose of the article is to briefly highlight the global and South African relationship between society and journalism training/education. The second purpose is to take cognizance of how the changed and new media landscape has caused a so-called 'crisis of journalism' (meaning journalism's loss of legitimacy and authenticity) and how this may affect journalism training. Part of this 'crisis', if not the essence thereof, is the almost customary and long-standing criticism against the very nature of journalism and the journalistic profession. This criticism is briefly summarized before a case is made for focusing on the intellectual development of student journalists through meta-theoretical approaches to and in journalism training and education. Such a meta-theoretical approach could place the emphasis on what makes up four of the most prominent key constructs in mass communication, namely 'representation', 'dialogue', 'rhetoric' and 'meaning'. These constructs, how they relate to journalism and how they can lead to a better understanding of journalism as a human (mass) communication phenomenon, to a better understanding of the fundamental criticism against journalism and eventually how to deal with this criticism are briefly introduced. To illustrate the relationships between society, new media landscape, journalism and journalism training, brief case studies of the situation in South Africa are given. In terms of methodology, it should be emphasized that the article is not an empirical analysis of journalism training, but rather, a contemplative piece. As such it constitutes an opinion that in itself is debatable and hopefully will lead to further debate. The article is a continuation of the very old, and in the literature well known, if not fierce debate between skills versus theoretical (academic) training.

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“…Wasserman and de Beer ( 2009) have pointed out the yawning gap between theory and practice, and between rhetoric and action, as far as the movement away from the Anglo-American view of journalism is concerned. In a research article 'Journalism education and practice in South Africa and the discourse of the African Renaissance', Motsaathebe (2011) aptly encapsulates the tensions between globalizing and localizing tendencies on the one hand, and conformity to the dictates of industry on the other, evident in ongoing efforts at reforming journalism education curricula in the South African academy. De Beer et al ( 2017) make the tacit acknowledgement that South African journalism education is in a state of flux, evolving away from its Euro-American origins towards acquiring an African orientation.…”

Section: Contexts Of Media and Journalism Education In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

The decolonial turn: reference lists in PhD theses as markers of theoretical shift/stasis in media and journalism studies at selected South African universities

Mugari¹

2021

London Review of Education

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The supervision and production of a PhD thesis often presents a potentially interesting tension between PhDs as conforming to disciplinary epistemologies and PhDs as breaking epistemological boundaries. No academic discipline has been left untouched by decolonial thinking in the South African university space since the eruption of radicalized student protest movements in 2015. The Rhodes Must Fall student protest movement, which quickly morphed into Fees Must Fall, precipitated a new urgency to decolonize the university curriculum in post-apartheid South Africa. A new interdisciplinary conversation in the humanities and social sciences began to emerge which challenged established orthodoxies in favour of de-Westernizing, decolonizing and re-mooring epistemological and pedagogic practices away from Eurocentrism. Whether and how that theoretical ferment filtered into postgraduate students’ theses, however, remains to be established. This article deploys a decolonial theoretical framework to explore the tension between epistemic conformity and boundary transgressing in journalism studies by analysing reference lists of PhD theses submitted at three South African Universities three years after the protest movement Rhodes Must Fall. With specific focus on media and journalism studies as a discipline, this article argues that the PhD process represents a site for potential epistemic disobedience and disciplinary border-jumping, and for challenging the canonical insularity of Western theory in journalism studies. The findings appear to disconfirm the thesis that decolonial rhetoric has had a material influence so far on the media studies curriculum, as reflected in reference lists of cited works in their dissertations.

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Journalism education and practice in South Africa and the discourse of the African Renaissance

Abstract: At the turn of the century there was sheer optimism that 'Africa's time' to address all its problems had come, and as a result the 21 st century was widely hailed as the 'African century' (

Cited by 15 publications

References 12 publications

The local in the global: Challenges of teaching global journalism

The local in the global: Challenges of teaching global journalism

Thinking about journalists’ thinking (Two)1

The decolonial turn: reference lists in PhD theses as markers of theoretical shift/stasis in media and journalism studies at selected South African universities

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