What do you get when you place 15 journalists in a room? Chaos and loads of questions? Especially so when these journalists are young, endearing and ready to take on whatever challenge this ever-changing industry may throw at them.
What do you get when you place 15 journalists in a room? Chaos and loads of questions? Especially so when these journalists are young, endearing and ready to take on whatever challenge this ever-changing industry may throw at them.
Last week, the Rhodes University Journalism Department played host to the Future Journalists Programme (FJP), which aims to bridge the gap between what is learnt at university, and applying this to the working world of journalism.
This initiative was started in 2007 as part of the Highway Africa Conference and is currently in its fourth year.
The Highway Africa Conference is known for being a platform for African media practitioners to debate issues concerning journalism and new media, and the FJP gives students the opportunity to learn about and be more critical about topics surrounding the industry.
This year’s theme is aimed at focussing on new media and the technological innovations surrounding it. Aptly entitled, “African Voices in the Global Media Space”, the FJP allows a select handful of students from various institutions around the country to learn about the different genres and facets of journalism, print and new media.
The participants engage in various activities such as interviews and writing throughout the week. The points covered are not included in general curricula and are intended to be helpful for up-and-coming journalists as they provide them with knowledge and opportunities they can use when stepping into this profession.
Sungeni Chitambo said that she found the programme to be highly beneficial and that being in a space where one can learn so much about the changing world of journalism is really interesting.
New media is one of the biggest innovations to hit journalism today, so learning about it clearly proves crucial for the future of all journalists.
