Pr. Berger
Good journalism does work. It is a source of hope for those who want to promote development and democratisation through supporting journalists worldwide. Those who aim for sustainability in media development have to be aware of and consider the dominant factors of influence, which shed light on the degree to which professionalisation projects can be successful.
At the just ended Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum 2009 in Bonn, Germany, distinguished and South African born Journalism Professor, Guy Berger, highlighted some of the influencing factors, which are beneficial for the sustainability of media projects, especially in the African continent. The man behind the prestigious Highway Africa Project, organised and set at Rhodes University in South Africa posed some questions on how these factors can be influenced positively.
These included; Does journalism training make sense? And if yes, when and why? What is expected of journalists today and are these expectations justified? Which qualification and degree of knowledge do journalists need to report professionally, objectively and visibly better than the new players in the news market? How are journalists education and/or training adapting to the emerging challenges brought on by new media and the changing media landscape? The development of the media in developing and transforming countries is often shaped by unclear dynamics. How is journalistic training taking place in these complicated media landscapes?
Pr. Berger, head of the school of journalism and media studies at Rhodes University in Grahamstown answered some of the aforementioned worries in this video interview with Voices of Africa Media Foundation's Walter Wilson Nana, during the Global Media Forum 2009 in Bonn, Germany. Let's follow the media activist and academic, who has a profound interest in media policy and new media in the African continent in particular.
