Across Africa, from bustling metropolitan universities to smaller regional campuses, journalism classrooms are grappling with a pressing question: what does excellence look like in a rapidly changing media landscape?
A recent study published in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator sets out to answer that question, offering one of the most comprehensive overviews to date of journalism education practices across the continent.
Titled Journalism Education in Africa: A Review of Excellence in Practice in 10 Countries, the article by Alan Finlay, Anthea Garman and Pheladi Sethusa examines how institutions in ten African countries define and pursue excellence in training the next generation of journalists. Published in the Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, the paper arrives at a critical moment for the profession, as newsrooms confront digital disruption, economic strain and rising threats to press freedom.
Rather than ranking institutions or imposing a universal benchmark, the authors adopt a more nuanced approach. Excellence, they argue, cannot be separated from context. What counts as exemplary journalism training in a well-resourced urban university may differ significantly from what is possible — or necessary — in a country where media infrastructure is fragile and funding scarce.
The study maps patterns across regions in East, West, Southern and Central Africa, highlighting shared ambitions as well as stark inequalities. A central finding is that most journalism programmes now attempt to balance theory and practice. Courses typically combine foundational subjects such as media law, ethics and communication theory with practical newsroom training, multimedia storytelling and digital reporting skills.
Yet, the depth of this integration varies widely. In better-resourced institutions, students benefit from multimedia labs, campus radio stations and structured internships with established media houses. In other settings, limited equipment, overstretched faculty and weak industry ties constrain hands-on experience. The result, the authors suggest, is a patchwork landscape in which innovation coexists with systemic limitation.
Industry engagement emerges as a defining marker of excellence. Where journalism schools maintain strong relationships with media organisations, curricula tend to be more responsive to newsroom realities. Practitioners are invited into classrooms, students are placed in internships, and feedback loops help programmes adapt to technological shifts. In institutions lacking such partnerships, graduates may leave with solid theoretical grounding but insufficient exposure to the pace and pressures of contemporary journalism.
The review also underscores the prominence of ethics and public interest values in African journalism education. In countries where media freedom is contested and journalists face harassment or political interference, ethics training is not treated as an abstract add-on. Instead, it is positioned as central to professional identity. Students are taught not only how to report, but why responsible reporting matters in societies marked by inequality, conflict and democratic fragility.
Importantly, the authors resist portraying African journalism education as perpetually lagging behind global North standards. Instead, they highlight areas of innovation, including community-centred reporting models, development journalism traditions and context-sensitive pedagogy. In some cases, programmes are experimenting with digital-first curricula that respond directly to the continent’s youthful, mobile-driven media consumption patterns.
Still, the paper does not shy away from pointing out structural challenges. Funding constraints, uneven regulatory environments and disparities in faculty development limit the ability of some institutions to fully realise their ambitions. Moreover, because the study draws largely on secondary sources and programme documentation, it cannot capture the lived experiences of students and lecturers in depth — a gap that future research might address through interviews and fieldwork.
As debates intensify globally about misinformation, declining trust in media and the sustainability of journalism, the review’s findings carry weight beyond the continent. They suggest that excellence is less about mimicking elite Western models and more about building resilient, contextually grounded programmes that serve public needs.
In the end, the study offers both reassurance and a call to action. The reassurance lies in the evident commitment of educators across diverse contexts to uphold standards of ethics, relevance and practical competence. The call to action lies in the need for sustained investment, stronger industry collaboration and deeper research into how journalism education can support democratic life.
For policymakers, university leaders and media practitioners alike, the message is clear: the future of African journalism will be shaped not only in newsrooms, but in classrooms striving — often against considerable odds — to define and deliver excellence.
Image by Samon Yu via Pexels.
This article was originally published by Ajen newsletter.