Journalism Educators Debate IPDC’s Recent Publications

A recent UNESCO-initiated panel discussion at the annual conference of the South African Communications Association (SACOMM) in Johannesburg, South Africa on 28 September, put the spotlight on two new handbooks for journalism educators published by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). 

The publications, “Teaching Journalism Online” and “Reporting on Artificial Intelligence” were launched in July 2023 in partnership with the World Journalism Education Council, and drew considerable attention from educators and journalism professionals alike. 

The discussion panel was moderated by Prof. Viola Milton from University of South Africa (UNISA), who peer reviewed one of the books and also took part in a panel at their launch in Lyon, France on 10 July. Joining her in the debate were Sisanda Nkoala (CPUT), Pheladi Sethusa (Wits University), Herman Wasserman (University of Stellenbosch) and Magnificent Mndebele (UNISA). 

Prof Milton acknowledged the significant value of the “Teaching Journalism Online” publication, noting that it prompted a shift in how journalism educators think about pedagogy. 

The session’s participants ranged from novice journalism teachers to those from residential universities, who were less used to remote pedagogy. Many of them found the technical chapters to be particularly useful. However, they also highlighted the need for a conversation about adapting these techniques to their specific African context.

Professor Milton emphasized the importance of challenging assumptions about learning spaces, contexts and materials that may not be readily available in African conditions. She also stressed the need to pay more attention to how students experience remote learning. 

One point raised was that during the pandemic, those already privileged in terms of technology and resources fared better with remote learning than those who were technologically or situationally disadvantaged. Gender roles in traditional households further disadvantaged female learners, who benefit less from remote learning due to oppressive home contexts.

Turing to the “Reporting on AI” book, Professor Milton highlighted that it was well received by working journalists and prompted a debate among educators about how to incorporate this new knowledge into an already crowded curriculum. Some participants argued that with a few adjustments to existing syllabi, the resource could be integrated into current programmes.

Concerns were also raised about how journalism covered issues related to data mining and how this practice exacerbated existing inequalities. The use of AI in the classroom by both staff and students was discussed, leading to a call for a dedicated workshop around these issues at next year’s SACOMM conference. 

UNESCO has a longstanding history of co-operating with researchers and journalism educators to produce global handbooks to enhance local pedagogies. These handbooks have covered topics such as migration, terrorism, and violence against women and girls, and are available on UNESCO’s resource hub on journalism education.