Riding the Waves: Journalism Education in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

Since 1994, South African journalism education has undergone waves of introspection about curricula and methods of teaching as educators respond to the challenging realities of the post-apartheid environment. The most recent challenge to journalism educators is the student protests which started at the end of 2015, questioning the high costs of education and demanding “decolonization” of curricula. The traditional alignment with media companies has also been upended as the drastic contraction of newsrooms removes the promise of jobs upon graduation and the swiftly shifting digital terrain rearranges the financial basis of all journalism. These factors introduce a dynamism and uncertainty into South African journalism that educators are compelled to respond to with imagination and principle.