Theme: Journalism Education Today: Embracing Change, Affirming the Basics, and Shaping the Future
Date: 3rd September 2025
Venue: UniMAC, Accra
Panelist: Peter Martey Agbeko – Managing Editor-The Catholic Standard
Breaking Down the Theme
1. Embracing Change
Digital Transformation:
• Rise of AI, social media, citizen journalism, podcasts, and data journalism
• Journalism curricula must evolve to include digital storytelling, media analytics, fact-checking, and verification skills
Audience Behaviour:
• Shift from traditional newspapers/radio to online/mobile-first platforms
• Students must learn audience engagement and trust-building in fragmented media spaces
Global & Local Pressures:
• Challenges of fake news, political polarisation, and commercial pressures
• Training must include resilience against misinformation, propaganda, and algorithmic bias
2. Affirming the Basics
Core Values: Truth, accuracy, fairness, balance, public interest, and accountability remain unchanged
Ethics & Integrity: With misinformation rampant, ethics must be reinforced at both classroom and newsroom levels
Critical Thinking & Writing: Technology changes, but clear, ethical, and impactful storytelling remains timeless
Public Service Role: Journalism remains a pillar of democracy – the watchdog function must not be diluted by commercial or political interests
3. Shaping the Future
Curriculum Reform: Journalism schools must blend theory with practice and bring in working professionals as adjunct lecturers
Partnerships: Universities should partner with media houses for real-world training through internships, newsroom simulations, and exchange programmes
Innovation Labs: Encourage experimentation with multimedia storytelling, data-driven journalism, and investigative journalism incubators
Diversity & Inclusivity: Journalism education must include gender sensitivity, coverage of marginalised groups, and local languages
Sustainability: Future journalists must learn entrepreneurial journalism – monetisation models, freelancing, and newsroom management
Key Challenges in Africa
• Resource constraints: Underfunded journalism schools and training centres
• Brain drain: Young talented journalists leaving for PR/advertising or overseas opportunities
• Political interference: Threats to press freedom requiring curricula to include media law and safety
• Theory-practice gap: Many graduates lack practical newsroom skills; training must be hands-on
• Credibility crisis: Declining public trust in media due to partisanship and poor standards
Opportunities
• Technology as enabler: Online platforms allow African voices to be heard globally
• Collaborations: Cross-border investigative journalism projects
• Youth engagement: Rising appetite among young people to use digital tools for storytelling
• Values-driven media: Faith-based and community outlets like The Catholic Standard demonstrate the importance of values-driven journalism
Practical Recommendations
1. Curriculum renewal every 3–5 years to keep pace with industry changes
2. Compulsory internships & mentorships – closer academia–industry collaboration
3. Centres of Excellence in investigative journalism, fact-checking, and media ethics
4. Capacity building for lecturers – continuous training in digital tools and trends
5. Entrepreneurial journalism modules – sustainability through innovation
6. International exchanges – Africa needs to connect with global journalism networks
7. Mental health & safety training for journalists in conflict zones or covering traumatic issues
Personal Experience & Talking Points
• Career lessons: Long experience in journalism and communications demonstrates how the basics (truth, ethics, balance) never lose their value
• Faith-based media example: The Catholic Standard as a model for balancing professional duty with moral responsibility
• Mentorship importance: The critical role of experienced professionals mentoring the next generation
• Press freedom advocacy: Highlighting the need to protect press freedom and professionalism in Ghana and Africa
Closing Reflections
“Journalism education must prepare students not just for today’s newsroom, but for tomorrow’s information ecosystem.”
Key Messages:
• Balance is essential: embrace digital tools without abandoning ethical roots
• Collective action needed: academia, industry, government, and civil society must collaborate
• Technology shapes how journalism is practised, but values will always shape why it is practised
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