JMS was strongly represented by staff and students presenting papers at an international conference on everyday media culture in Africa

Two recent Rhodes University School of Journalism graduates won prestigious Journalism Excellence awards at a ceremony in Sandton on Monday 7 May. Fatima Simjee (BJourn class of 2009) won the inaugural 'LoveLife young upcoming Health Journalist of the year' award and Siphosethu Stuurman (BJourn class of 2010) won the Discovery Health 'Best radio health journalism' award.

It’s not often that a Media School 1000km away from the executive and legislative capitals, and financial and media centres of South Africa, can boast that its recent guests include the ruling party’s national spokesperson, the official opposition’s shadow minister of communication, the winner of the International Press Institute’s prestigious World Press Hero Award and one of the country’s leading media lawyers – just in the last month. And yet, Mr Jackson Mthembu, Ms Marian Shinn MP, Dr Raymond Louw and Dr. Dario Milo respectively, all played a magnificent role from mid-April to mid-May at JMS.

Running from 27 to 29 June, the conference examines 'Identity, changes and challenges of the profession in the 21st century' - with six JMS academics involved in co-authoring and presenting papers on the role of journalism education in meeting these challenges .

Running for the duration of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, 28th June to the 8th July 2012, the Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies research project into citizenship and media (funded by the Mellon Foundation) will host an exhibition, a series of lectures, panel discussions, and films in which citizenship and democracy are explored, opened up and debated by a range of experts in both media and activism.

JMS Photography lecturer Paul Greenway has been photographing the trailblazing Eastern Cape theatre company, UBOM, for years – capturing the evocative imagery of this vital contributor to community upliftment through the power of performance. Now, a decade of UBOM is celebrated in Greenway’s photographic exhibition “UBOM – Stage to Paper” at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival.

From its daily festival print newspaper, to its online site, radio podcasts and updates, and television programming, Cue generated an immense amount of wonderful material on the “11 Days of Amazing” that was the Grahamstown National Arts Festival 2012 – staffed by JMS staff and students.

Prof Herman Wasserman, Deputy Head of the School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University and Head of the Research Unit for Media in the Global South, is delighted that ongoing international collaborative research, which the unit actively participates in, has received a recent boost, with several grants being awarded.

LINUS GITAHI, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nation Media which owns thriving newspapers, radio and television stations across East Africa, was in South Africa recently to attend the inaugural meeting of the Board of Advisers of Rhodes University’s Sol Plaatje Institute (SPI) for Media Leadership, of which he is the chairperson. The meeting, held in Johannesburg, discussed a range of issues which impact the future of the SPI and African media businesses. Gitahi took time off to share some of his insights on the future of African media at a time of rapid change with FRANCIS MDLONGWA, Director of the SPI since 2004. The full interview follows below.

This year, DDW will be held in Dayton, Ohio from July 23-27, 2012; and will introduce participants to the concept of deliberative democracy, by providing a space for them to explore the organization of citizens’ political efforts in their home communities. And both Amner and Ponono are delighted at their invitation to attend.

Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Communications Studies at Leeds University in the UK, Dr Katrin Voltmer, is currently visiting JMS as guest of school’s Mellon Research Group, which focuses on media, citizenship and democracy – presenting various seminars to staff and postgraduate students on Media and Democratisation.

Verashni Pillay, Demelza Bush and Craig McKune have won the CNN Multichoice Africa Journalism Award for digital journalism; and received their award at a gala event in Lusaka, Zambia for the video "Leasing Scams: A Dummy's Guide.", which was created to explain the complex leasing scam investigation done by McKune.

With the holistic and multifaceted study of issues pertaining to media and citizenship as its raison d’etre, the JMS Mellon Humanities Focus Area has fast become a prolific generator of relevant discourse spanning the complete audio-visual spectrum, from international discussion and global dialogue, to dynamic exhibitions, public lectures, podcasts and a blossoming online presence.

Final year BJourn television student Aimee Caulfield was awarded the prestigious Carte Blanche Scholarship for her final year of study, after an exhaustive selection process that included in depth interviews by, and presentations to, Carte Blanche Executive Producer Georg Mazerakis.

Academic, author and editor of some of the key texts in the debates around childhood and digital media, London University’s Prof David Buckingham discusses whether technology creates a 'toxic childhood' leading to dispersed attention and cyberbullying; or whether the new 'thumb generation' is empowered as never before through digital and mobile marvels – and how these arguments relate to the construction of childhood?

July was an important month for the Mellon Focus Area at JMS, with four members of the project attending the International Association of Media and Communications Research (IAMCR) Conference and three of them presenting at the Conference. Another wonderful conference spinoff was meeting global media academic Dr Katrin Voltmer and convincing her to take a short detour from Durban to Grahamstown to visit JMS.

The youth of today have forgotten the struggles of their forefathers. So says Prof Robert Mattes of UCT, who recently presented a range of his groundbreaking research findings to JMS as part of the ‘Media and Citizenship’ initiative of the Mellon Humanities Focus Area at JMS. The most interesting and frightening finding of all? - Only one third of South Africans support democracy as a form of government. PG Dip student Nontsikelelo Mpulo, wrote the following about the matter, in JMS' own publicly distributed biweekly newspaper, Grocott's Mail.

Edited by JMS Deputy Head Prof Herman Wasserman, and considered the definitive journal of African Journalism Studies, this latest edition - #33 - is brimming with pan-African media content. As Prof Wasserman says in his editor's note, "This edition examines journalism in all four corners of the continent ... (and) a wide range of issues is also covered, from tabloids in South Africa, to the extractive sector in Ghana and Nigeria, and from the elections in Kenya to the Arab Spring uprisings."

Health Journalism lecturer, project manager of the JMS Discovery Health Journalism Centre and regular newspaper contributor on health issues, Mia Malan has just added another feather in her cap, by winning the Sikuvile Newspaper Journalism Award in the 'Analysis, Commentary and Background' category for her M&G piece 'Abduction'.

From September 5-7, 2012, to kickstart the 2012 Highway Africa Global Journalism & Media Summit at JMS, an international consortium comprising the World Bank Institute, the African Media Initiative, and Rhodes University will inaugurate South Africa's first ever Data Journalism Bootcamp.It is inspired by central and local governments around the world having ‘opened' data, for free, including the Open Government Partnership. But while this has resulted in intense excitement from software developers, hackers, development practitioners, and government sponsors, much of the public has been left behind - with the level of informed public debate on data-related issues across ‘opened’ sectors remains variable at best.

With "Africa Rising" as this year’s overarching conference theme, the continent’s largest annual media conference takes place in Grahamstown from 8 -10 September; and this 16th edition of Highway Africa will feature an amazing array of activities from talks by distinguished speakers, training workshops, book launches and networking opportunities. This is also the first year that Highway Africa partners with partners with the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), while Highway Africa sponsors Telkom and MTN will present amazing material on broadband and Africa.

The Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) is a voluntary affiliation of media development organisations set up at world and at regional level to highlight the importance to human and economic development of free, independent, pluralistic and viable media. In this story, GFMD Director, Bettina Peters explains the relationship between the two organisations and the decision to partner up for the 2012 summit.

Highway Africa (HA) has added a twist to the 16th installment of the conference. For the first time in the history of the event, delegates have the chance to keep in touch with its day to day happenings through mobile phones – partnering with local newspaper Grocotts Mail; one of the oldest Newspapers in South Africa which also serves as an experiential student training ground for JMS.

In her book - "Fight for Democracy" - Daniels, a South African journalist for over 20 years, provides a critical insight into the ANC’s treatment of print media since the country’s transition to democracy. The BOOK launch took place at JMS as part of the Highway Africa Conference, and the story below first appeared in "Open Source" - the conference's own daily newspaper, staffed by personnel and students of JMS.

Thirty communication officers from every SANDF infantry battalion in South Africa, as well key personnel of Grahamstown's First City Regiment and 6th SA Infantry Battalion, visited JMS as part of their weeklong media workshop at the 6 SAI military base in Grahamstown – meeting with various JMS and SPI members of staff to discuss potential synergies, followed by a tour of the AMM building.

JMS is hosting a screening of short films on the issues that bother young people in Grahamstown. The programme called SPEAKING OUR MINDS consists of24 short films - each a collaboration between the 24 third-year TV students and the 24 school learners from Grahamstown township high schools to tackle issues that "tick off" the learner.

In a rare visit to the Eastern Cape, Primedia Broadcasting Group Editor-in-Chief and Head of Eyewitness News, Kate Katopodis, took time out from a frenetic schedule to address JMS staff and students on new models of integrated content provision being pioneered today, within which multimedia and multi-platform content creation play a key role.

The changing face of South African media took centre stage on Tuesday evening as Primedia Broadcasting’s Kate Katopodis descended on Rhodes University‘s Africa Media Matrix to deliver a presentation.

2012 marks the 4th consecutive win for JMS students in the Student Journalism category of the Pan-African Siemens Profile Awards – winning the category every year since its inception.

Created by the 2012 second year JMS2 students, the Unearthed broadcast series examines the place of research within the core pillar of Community Engagement at Rhodes University - in a series of broadcast pieces that can be accessed directly via this story.

A former Umkhonto we-Sizwe (MK) soldier, Barry Gilder launched his latest book in Grahamstown entitled From Rebellion to Governance: The Songs and Secrets of Barry Gilder.

Taking stock of the media since the onset of democracy, Prof Jane Duncan of the School of Journalism and Media Studies critiqued the established systems of news in South Africa, examining specifically, the coverage of Marikana -- one of the media’s most glaring failures.

Government media officers became journalists for five days at the Government Media Course of the Sol Plaatje Media Leadership Institute (SPI) in October 2012. This year’s programme placed an emphasis on understanding the contexts of the journalism profession and the media industry as a means of bridging the gap between government and media.

Information on former president Nelson Mandela's admission to hospital is being made available quicker than previously, a Rhodes University academic said on Monday.

Nelson Mandela is a national treasure for South Africans. Our government recently issued new banknotes with Mandela’s face on it, a daily reminder of the social, cultural and political capital that the country’s first democratic president created.

After an outstanding 2012, JMS is closed for the end of year break until 7 Jan 2013

The excitement at JMS is palpable as another academic year begins!

The formal invitation extended to South Africa by China late in 2010 to join the BRIC formation of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) is a confirmation of the growing economic ties between China and South Africa.

Everyone will have a voice on TV' THE queen of radio is going to tackle big issues on the small screen again! SAfm presenter Siki Mgabadeli will present a 10-episode current affairs show called The Big Debate.

In November 2012, the South African public sphere was awash with tales of the upgrade to President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla residence.

Watchdog organisation Freedom House last month released its 2012 report Freedom on the Net and its report is more alarming for its dearth of data on African countries than for its actual rankings.

La Femme's Neo Bodumela took Ongama Mtimka of the Ubuntu Education Fund to lunch at Ocean Basket in Humewood NGAMA Mtimka's job as external relations manager at the Ubuntu Education Fund entails raising funds to finance programmes for less privileged children

Newspapers have always been part of my life, says Pretoria News editor Val Boje, whose parents are long-time subscribers to the newspaper she edits.

Pretoria - South Africa will host the 5th BRICS Summit in Durban next month - with the aim of harnessing the country’s membership to benefit the entire African continent.

Media outlets, part of the flow of capital between africa and china, helping to present a new picture

THERE is little doubt that South Africa, as host country of the Brics summit in Durban today and tomorrow, will grasp the opportunity to project itself as an emerging economy and take pride in its association with this prestigious club.

Two new PhD graduates from the School of Journalism and Media Studies received their degrees at the recent graduation ceremony.

A STUDENT from Rhodes University has been chosen as one of only two African representatives to attend a prestigious sports journalism seminar in Russia during the July vacation.

South African IT entrepreneur Matthew Buckland is at the forefront of what he sees as a revolution in media as new formats are upending the accepted models of large corporations.

As this country gets set to celebrate Freedom Day, the National Assembly passes the secrecy bill – a signal of how far the state has fallen short of its noble, early day intent of creating an open, ‘sunshine government’.

As South Africa commemorates another World Press Freedom Day, this day will no doubt focus minds on Parliament’s decision to pass the controversial Protection of State Information Bill, or the Secrecy Bill. It will now be forwarded to the President for signing.

Today (3 May 2013) the world is celebrating Press Freedom Day. In South Africa, the passing of the Protection of State Information Bill last week (25 April 2013) has cast a cloud over the hard-won freedoms of expression as enshrined in our Constitution.

This week the Executive Director of Corruption Watch, David Lewis, paid a visit to Grahamstown in an effort to reinforce the campaign against corruption.

THE Eastern Cape government has to lay criminal charges against officials implicated in corrupt activities if budget spending is to improve, the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) said yesterday.

Most of the 82 primary schoolchildren in the Western Cape and Gauteng have said that media freedom is one thing that should not be touched.

It’s a brand new era for Grocott’s Mail, the oldest newspaper in South Africa. Not only does this grand dame of community papers turn 143 this year, but it now boasts a new look and, as from last week, will be published once a week on a Friday.

FIVE renowned Eastern Cape radio personalities are set to join a new Gauteng-based talk station that promises to give 702 Talk Radio a run for its money.

Built in 1892 and located at 40 High Street, the landmark Grocott’s Mail building in the heart of Grahamstown has been purchased by a local investor for an undisclosed sum in a transaction concluded by Pam Golding Properties.

That's the question everyone should be asking about China's ties with Africa.

The Sol Plaatje successfully ran a Government Media course recently.Linda Snam ran an amazin course, but the participants were impossible

On the first Monday of February in 2004 someone called up Lieutenant Josh Rushing, who was press officer in Doha, Qatar for the American military and told him “I’ve just seen your movie”.

Chevawn Blum has hit the big time. This Rhodes University fourth year Communication Design student has won the 2014 Design Indaba poster competition, as well as a Samsung Galaxy SIII mini, and the opportunity to work on the 2014 Design Indaba advertising campaign.

An Eastern Cape community newspaper editor is off to the US to represent the province at the Doing Democracy Around the World workshop

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga is unlikely to meet her target to build more than 300 Eastern Cape schools by the end of the next financial year, according to a report released by Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM).

Rhodes Journalism and Media Studies researcher Vanessa Malila has been selected out of more than 300 applicants to attend the first African School on Internet Governance to be held in Durban from 10 to 12 July this year.

The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) is looking for three dedicated staff members to join their team.

When Mengyi Jenny Sun first stepped into the foyer of the African Media Matrix and saw the four television screens, she knew she wanted to work for Cue TV.

The National Arts Festival has come to an end, and that means no more Cue for you.

Several staff members from the School of Journalism and Media Studies presented papers at the annual conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) held in Dublin, Ireland from 25 to 29 June.

Dr John Kani brought his play, The Island, to the National Arts Festival this year.

Professor Earl Lewis, President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, visited the School of Journalism and Media Studies on 20 June, where he spent the morning with Mellon-funded area projects at Rhodes University.

Only two weeks remain before registration closes for the 17th Annual Highway Africa Conference -the world’s largest annual gathering of African Journalists.

Join South Africa’s top health journalists, medical specialists, policy makers and media studies academics at a three-day symposium (29-31 August) to explore how we can do better journalism (and more journalism) about the rapid increase in 'lifestyle' diseases in Africa.

Friday was Lucky Ndzoyiya’s last day at the School of Journalism and Media Studies.

Speakers for the Discovery Centre for Health Journalism's three-day symposium have been confirmed.

Postgraduate Diploma in Media Management 2012 alumnus Harry Davies has wasted no time putting the skills and knowledge he gained from the Sol Plaatje Institute’s year-long course to work. Harry is the business manager of the Harare News which launched in Zimbabwe on 1 July this year.

The Rhodes University Discovery Centre for Health Journalism is offering to host a post-doctoral student in 2014, as part of Rhodes University's funded post-doctoral programme.

Ten years ago Rich Beckman, then from the University of North Carolina, and Brian Garman from Rhodes University launched a multimedia project called, “10 years on” that explored the conditions of townships 10 years after apartheid came to an end.

Two Rhodes JMS alumni are finalists in the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2013 competition.

Christina Sukop, a fourth year New Media student in the School of JMS, and Lethabo Ntshudisane, a third year Bachelor of Social Science student majoring in Information Systems, Industrial Sociology and Economics, have been selected from over 5 million applicants worldwide to be two of 660 Google ambassadors.

On Friday 26 July staff members from the School of Journalism and Media Studies descended on the St Mary’s Development Care Centre with large iron pots of bean and vegetable soup to combat the morning’s winter chill, as part of the Rhodes University community engagement initiative to give 67 minutes of your time for Nelson Mandela day.

The Rhodes University Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) spent their 67 minutes for Nelson Mandela Day at GADRA, the Grahamstown Area Distress Relief Association, where they presented a workshop about the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).

Funke-Treasure Durodola is a Masters student in the Rhodes University School of Journalism, a multiple award winning broadcast journalist and one of Radio Nigeria’s foremost Network Newscasters. Funke-Treasure captured her childhood memories in her debut novel, Memories of Grandma.

Directed and produced by Maude Sandham, an Honours directing student in Rhodes University’s Drama Department, and co-produced by Hancu Louw, a fourth year journalism student at the Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies, Wat Die Hart is based on the Afrikaans expression “wat die hart van vol is, loop die mond van oor” (what is in the heart will come out of the mouth), and is a three part exploration of some of the strangest and most beautiful pieces of Afrikaans literature.

The Mail & Guardian announced their new editors on 22 July 2013 and Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies is well-represented by alumni Angela Quintal and Verashni Pillay.

Two students from Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies, fourth year radio student Georgina Selander and third year television student Bongeka Masango were selected to join two French students from the Centre de formation des journalists de Paris (CFJ) to produce multimedia stories during the South African Season in France 2013 for a month between June and July.

Globalisation is flowing from the rest to the West so the West will have to adapt. By Herman Wasserman

The latest edition tackles topics ranging from arts journalism to conflict reporting.

Who said fitness and fun can’t go together? Rhodes University Health Suite's Indoor Cycling Centre is hosting its annual 12-hour cyclathon on 23 August from 8am to 8pm. The Discovery Centre for Health Journalism has sponsored two bicycles and made 24 cycling slots available for free to students in the School of Journalism and Media Studies.

On Tuesday last week representatives from Rhodes University’s two student newspapers met with the School of Journalism and Media Studies to discuss setting up a partnership between the School and student media on campus, Activate, Oppidan Press and Rhodes Music Radio (RMR).

This Friday Gino Shelile, a former TV student in the Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies, will leave for New York to attend the UNAOC-EF Summer School in Tarrytown from 24 to 31 August.

Journalists in South Africa are sometimes criticised from a Leftwing, Marxist perspective, for being tools of capitalist owners, but another perspective was heard at Rhodes University this week by Professor Steven Friedman.

This Friday Rhodes University and SPI alumnus Lincoln van der Westhuizen will fly to China to start the next two years as a Master’s student in business journalism at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Upstart, a newspaper project which works with pupils from Grade 8 to Grade 11, received a boost in the form of a videomaking kit from Vuselela Media.

The Public Services Accountability Monitor (PSAM) said they will hold Makana Municipality to account over a five-year delay in completing a housing project in KwaNdancama.

Documentary photographer Cedric Nunn has joined the School of Journalism and Media Studies as a Mellon Senior Scholar for the second semester of 2013.

Jeanne Abbott, managing editor of The Missourian and professor at the School of Journalism at the University of Columbia-Missouri, will be joining the Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies this week to talk about the integration of Grocott’s Mail with the School.

This week David Holwerk, director of communications at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation in Ohio, USA, was visiting the School of Journalism and Media Studies to talk about how journalists write about citizens.

Ten second year students have received awards for excellence in broadcast radio journalism.

An eclectic group of managers from Mozambican media houses were unanimous in their praise for a new business management course the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership (SPI) launched in Maputo recently.

The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan saw 65 countries boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

It was a dark and stormy night. The intrepid writer had drunk his wine, eaten his fill, and was making his way towards the door.

Journalism and media studies lecturers from Rhodes University will exchange visits with Mozambican academics over the next 12 months as part of a project intended to enhance the journalism teaching at the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo.

The JMS 4 Long Form Journalism Writing and Editing module was a term-long, adventurous, soul-searching, coffee-and-muffin-lecture filled course which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Eight students from the JMS4 and PG Diploma classes are reading and writing creative non-fiction this term with Writing & Editing lecturer Gillian Rennie.

A former Rhodes University journalism and history student is the winner of the corporate social investment/sustainability category at the 2013 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards for the northern region.

After two years in China, countless adventures, and with a Master's degree in global business journalism under his belt, Daniel Charvat has made a quick pit stop at Rhodes University to share his knowledge with students and lecturers.

From Intersexions, Die Antwoord and Equal Education, to diet regulation and letters in the Daily Sun – Rhodes emerging scholars thrived at the annual South African Communication Association (Sacomm) conference in Port Elizabeth from 25 to 27 September this year.

On Wednesday 16 October the fourth year television students from the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University are hosting their 8th annual documentary film festival in the Rhodes Drama Theatre.

“My pop alter ego is Umlilo, a sort of delinquent, space age, booty popping, flame throwing kwaai diva."

Seven students from the JMS4 and Postgrad Diploma classes are reading and writing creative non-fiction this term with Writing Editing lecturer Gillian Rennie.

On Thursday 10 October the School of Journalism and Media Studies celebrated Purple Thursday with cake and a flash mob at the Kaif at Rhodes University.

Eight students from the JMS4 and PG Diploma classes are reading and writing creative non-fiction this term with Writing & Editing lecturer Gillian Rennie.

The 36th commemoration of Black Wednesday by the Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM), the School of Journalism and Media Studies, Grocott’s Mail and the Daily Dispatch took place at Rhodes University in the Arts Minor lecture theatre on Friday 18 October.

On Tuesday 22 October Dr Joe Thloloe, the director of the Press Council, visited the School of Journalism and Media Studies during the 8:30 seminar time to talk about the Press Council and the Press Code.

Yusuf Omar graduated from the School of Journalism and Media Studies in 2010 with a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism and Media Studies. Since then he has taken the media world by storm, one story at a time.

The JMS2 broadcast students in collaboration with Rhodes Music Radio present a series of shows to be aired on RMR throughout SWOT week.

The Research Focus Area in Media and Citizenship in the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University has bursaries starting in 2014 for two MA students, one PhD student and one postdoctoral fellow.

On Tuesday morning Yves Vanderhaegen presented a research seminar at the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University.

The latest edition of Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies for 2013 has been released.

Karyn Maughan, specialist reporter for eNCA and Rhodes JMS alumnus, has been covering the “Modimolle monster” court case since the beginning.

The second year broadcast journalism students received certificates on Monday 25 November for their excellent work in this semester's Radio project, "Paper Trail".

Professor Anthea Garman is spending the next six weeks in Australia at the University of Wollongong as a visiting lecturer.

On 20 January 2014 we marked the dawning of a new era for Grocott’s Mail as the editorial team successfully nestled into the Africa Media Matrix (AMM), the building housing Journalism and Media Studies on Rhodes campus thus completing the process which started in 2003 when Rhodes University bought the newspaper and transformed it into the David Rabkin Project for Experiential Journalism.

A warm welcome to our new Masters students at the School of Journalism and Media Studies! We would like to introduce you to the special eight students who will be stepping into the research programme.

Former head of the Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies and Daily Dispatch editor, Gavin Stewart, died at this home early Monday night.

237 first year students signed up to do Journalism and Media Studies this year, here’s how some of them feel about this choice:

The Sol Plaatje Institute for media leadership introduces the new Primedia and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) scholars for 2014:

JMS graduate James Oatway has won second place in this year’s News Photographer of the Year Award at the prestigious Pictures of the Year International (POYi).

Prof. Anthony Collins opened the research seminars in March with his presentation on violence in South Africa.

From January 2014 we have had the pleasure of hosting visiting professor, Araba Sey, a research assistant professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA. Prof Sey was invited to our School by Prof Lorenzo Dalvit, MTN Chair for Media and Mobile Communications.

Jolyon Nuttall presented a module on “Leading Strategic Planning and Managing the Budget” on 28 March 2014 at the Sol Plaatje Institute (SPI) during the short course Essentials for Broadcast Management.

The entire JMS team wishes to congratulate our graduates of 2014 on their achievements. Here are list of graduates who have achieved exceptionally well.

During the 2014 graduation ceremonies, Kyla Hazell received numerous awards for her work in the law faculty and the politics department whilst being the editor for The Oppidan Press...

With the official launch on 19 May 2014 of the cookbook, Yum-mo! around the corner, Carina Truyts prepares to show South Africans on a budget an easier and cheaper way of cooking.

Prof Herman Wasserman has just returned from a visit to Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

The School of Journalism & Media Studies presents "Miners Shot Down"

On 23 May 2014 the MDDA-Sanlam Local Media Awards 2013 gala evening was held in Boksburg.

Thabo Mbeki’s mother could live in the plushest granny flat in the country. But she doesn’t. She lives in a rural Transkei village near Dutywa. She lives there because she wants to. And because, as long as there’s work to be done there, she feels she has to.

The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef), a member of The African Editors Forum (TAEF), is shocked at the treatment of Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt

Wondering where to get the latest Festival news? Look no further!

On 6 July 2014 the Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) Arts Journalism Awards were held in Grahamstown in association with the National Arts Festival. This year six of the winners were Rhodes JMS graduates in the different categories; features, reviews, news and photography.

Rhodes Journalism Review needs funds to keep their printing edition alive. The editor, Anthea Garman, sent out an urgent call to Rhodes alumni to help with printing costs two months ago.

Post-festival everything has gone back to the normal in Grahamstown but, it’s hard to overlook the smaller new design Cue newspapers still in the reception area and the ‘CueTube’ videos playing over the AMM foyer televisions.

Alumnus, Nick Mulgrew recently won the silver special merit award in the BASA Arts Journalism awards awarded during this year’s National Arts Festival* for his feature “Vida loves you”.

From 18 to 25 July Rhodes University Community Engagement Offices (RUCE) hosted Trading Live Week in which students, staff and community members had the chance to exchange ideas and skills for 67-minutes or more.

This year's pizza lunch will be held on 27 August.

Terra Incognita. It means “unknown land”. Beyond the boundaries. Here be dragons. It is also the title and theme of the 2014 Short Story Day Africa competition.

The latest edition of RJR is out...

Lorenzo Dalvit introduced the colloquium on mobile communication, media and services at the Highway African conference.

Chris Roper, editor-in-chief of the Mail and Guardian recently visited the School of Journalism and Media Studies to speak to staff and students about digital migration.

Social media and online media have been presenting many obstacles for journalism over the years. Janet Kolodzy tells us that ‘old’ way of media needs to work with online media rather than against it.

During the Highway Africa Conference gala evening, JMS technology manager Joe Alfers, received an award to thank him for his dedication to the conference.

The Education and Entertainment Colloquium starts on Thursday 9 October and here's what to expect.

‘Chai, Culture and Conversation’ as noted in the conference programme proved to be a perfect combination of words to paint a picture of the experiences the JMS group encountered at this year’s IAMCR conference in Hyderabad.

When the new editor of the Business Day visited the Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies in September, he surprisingly talked less about doing business journalism and quite a lot about the precarious state of the freedom to know and use information in South Africa.

A reflective piece on how the Post Graduate Diploma for Media Management changed Takondwa Jumbe's career and life after receiving the OSISA scholarship to study at the SPI.

Famous South African sports journalist, Graeme Joffe tells us about his return to the Eastern Cape during a visit to his alma mater, Rhodes University.

The J4 TV students have produced multimedia projects this term and we have it here for you!

The 5FM team welcomes Justine Cullinan to take on leadership of the award-winning station, as Station Manager. The official press release from 5fm.

With more than seven million people in South Africa logging into Facebook every day, it’s difficult to ignore social media as a useful tool in the digital age. The importance of social media was emphasised during the one-day Social Media Boot camp which took place on 12 November at the AMM.

At the heart of the Africa Media Matrix I found Joe Alfers sitting quietly in his office; the same office that will become an empty shell for the next few months.

The Africa Media Matrix has a brand new Technology Manager as Michael Irwin takes over the reigns.

All fired up and raring to go! the Media and Citizenship research project has acquired new members, has an association with another degree and has more funders.

Eighteen years of waiting to visit South Africa came to a close for acclaimed author Barbara Kingsolver who was finally able this month to visit the country she’d been watching for many years.

Photoshopped images for political commentary are becoming increasingly popular throughout social media and a study from Ghana shows that that Photoshop images used satirically, are unique but also fall under an old practice alongside newspaper cartoons.

Eric McKeown is here for a week to tell RUTV students about his experiences and the freelance television world.

On 27 February, the Makana Apps Factory hosted a Social Media Bootcamp for students and journalists in the AMM. Steve Kromberg, taught the ins and outs of social media and how to use it effectively.

It is time for us to introduce our new Masters students for this year!

Rhodes JMS produced freedom fighters who played significant roles during the struggle against Apartheid.

The School of JMS would like to congratulate all of our graduates of 2015. We had a wonderful time and we are really proud of you! Some of our students did exceptionally well and we’d like to send a special congratulations to all the students who graduated with distinction.

OppiTV's discussion on Transformation at Rhodes University.

For the third consecutive year, Grocott’s Mail has reaped the rewards of their hard work at the MDDA-Sanlam Local Media Awards.

The Rhodes University Council wishes to update the University community on recent developments regarding the issue of the name of the University and broader institutional transformation.

The South African Reserve Bank Centre for Economics Journalism needs a new director to lead them, could it be you?

After 27 years Shepi Mati returns to his alma mater Rhodes JMS to share his expertise with the third-year radio students. Read all about his journey.

SPI is holding their annual pizza lunch information session again and YOU'RE INVITED!

We are doing a survey about MOOCs, help us with your opinion!

Imagine extending your 67 minutes for Madiba to a whole week of events and getting the local community to partake in trading skills.

A letter to Grocott's Mail gives Olive a weekly column

Jodi Bieber has made waves in the South African photojournalism industry since her photograph of Bibi Aisha was published on the front cover of Time magazine in 2009. She recently paid a visit to the School.

This week design lecturer Brian Garman invited Chinese calligraphy experts to bring some Chinese inspiration to the classroom.

Dear Old Rhodians and Friend, Please find below the joint statement sent out to Students and Staff.

In light of recent activities across universities in South Africa, we have decided to extend our deadline for Post Graduate applications.

There are a number of bursaries available for Post Graduates as well one for JMS 4 students. Take a look and don't miss your chance to apply.

Applications are now open for the third intake for Johannesburg, Lagos and Nigeria.

The Africa Media Matrix will be adopting a new policy from today to help us be a more environmentally friendly.

SARBCEJ director gives us his view on the budget speech 2016.

Ryan started with us in January as the Director of SARBCEJ, bringing his diverse skillset in economics.

We would like to congratulate everyone graduating from Rhodes JMS and give special mention to a few outstanding graduates.

The Writing students spent some time at the Lebone Centre to celebrate National Library week.

The Sol Plaatje Institute (SPI) for Media Leadership has launched a crowd-funding appeal to raise scholarships for African postgraduate students who study media management and leadership at the Institute based in South Africa.

A message from Prof Strelitz and Prof Garman about the protest actions against rape.

Stephen Penney, sports journalist and photographer for Grocott’s Mail, has successfully run the Sports Beat group with students since 2014. This year, the Sports Beat attracted 30 students to sign up for the initiative with 15 of them being active sports journalists each week.

The June examinations start on 6 June 2016. Wishing all students the best of luck!

Toby Shapshak's podcast on citizen journalism

Rhodes JMS alumnus, Matthew Buckland is an award winning media entrepreneur in South Africa. We get the scoop on his business, career and views on his alma mater in a Q&A session.

During this year’s National Arts Festival between 30 June and 10 July 2016, Michael Salzwedel and Steve Kromberg from Social Weaver came to Grahamstown to give festival-goers a 360? view of the arts.

Mark Freeman, a documentary filmmaker from San Diego State University, was in residence at Rhodes JMS for six weeks. Freeman, a professor at the School of Theatre, Television and Film was encouraged by a South African friend to travel to South Africa.

Sherwin Bryce-Pease was recently announced as one of the recipients of the 2016 Emerging Old Rhodian Awards. Bryce-Pease graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism at the School in 2000. The award was presented at the luncheon that was hosted at Rhodes on 27 August 2016.

Old Rhodian and JMS alumna, Tanya Accone has received a Distinguished Old Rhodian Award this year at the Old Rhodian Awards luncheon, held on 27 August at Rhodes.

Rhodes JMS alumnus, Yusuf Omar, is this month’s IJNET (International Journalism Network) Journalist of the Month. Known for his #SELFIEJOURNALISM innovations in the South African media, he has made a significant mark in the industry.

The Bloomberg Media Initiative course applications are now open.

Bridget Hilton-Barber, Rhodes JMS alumna and author, returned to Rhodes University to launch her memoir about her days as student activist against apartheid, Student Comrade Prisoner Spy. The book launch took place at the National English Literary Museum on 12 October in conversation with Anthea Garman, Deputy Head of School at JMS.

Rhodes JMS alumnus, James Oatway won big at this year’s Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards and the CNN Multichoice African Journalist awards

Mia Malan’s feature article “Diepsloot: Where men think it’s their right to rape” won awards at both the 2016 Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards and the CNN Multichoice African Journalist awards.

So you have made the cut and you’re in the JMS class of 2017, but now what? We know this can be an exciting but sometimes scary time for students so here are 10 tips to guide you through your first year at JMS

The Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies is looking for a Digital Media Teaching Assistant to start on Monday 24 April 2017.

This year the JMS team will be celebrating 103 JMS graduates during this weekend, ranging from BA, BJourn, PGDipJMS, PGDipMM, PGDipEJ, MA to PhD.

Jin Jeon, RUTV4 alumna, produced and co-directed the documentary ‘Becoming Who I Was’ which won the Grand Prix for Best Feature Film at the Berlin International Film Festival this year

Cue newspaper, which has informed and infuriated festival patrons for 30 years, has folded – not into an origami bird exactly but its pages are being folded up into an altered media form due to land soon on a screen near you.

We look back at all the wonderful editions they've produced from O-week until now.

The invitation to the book launch of one of our photojourn lecturers, Jenny Gordon's exhibition and book launch.

Polished and gleaming steel poles blend together, grounded on the floor but reaching out into space, into infinity…

“A sacred place is first of all a defined place, a space distinguished from other spaces. A sacred place focuses attention on the forms, objects, and actions in it and reveals them as bearers of religious meaning” (that’s what Google says and, I think they might be right).

Dada Masilo, acclaimed South African dancer and choreographer, returns to the National Arts Festival after seven years with her re-imagining of the classical ballet, Giselle. Stripped of what Masilo calls its classical “prettiness”, Dada Masilo’s Giselle debuts to Grahamstown audiences as a display of deceit, betrayal, anger and heartbreak that culminates in a cathartic eruption.

In recent years, the struggle for land reform has shattered the façade of Tata’s paper-mache rainbow. It has ripped off the band-aid that 1994 plastered over centuries of dispossession, exploitation and disenfranchisement that has rendered South Africa one of the most unequal societies on the planet.

Naomi van Niekerk’s ethereal production The Alchemy of Words can best be described as a symphony of pure creativity. The performance traverses a spontaneous, surreal landscape through a plethora of mediums, immersing the audience in a powerful tribute to seminal French poet Arthur Rimbaud.

From Donald Trump’s accusations to the Gupta saga in South Africa, “fake news” has become apparent today, creating distrust between the media and its consumers. A panel of media experts including Adriaan Basson, Mark Oppenheimer, Kayla Roux, Verashni Pillay and Thandi Smith sat down to debate this contentious topic on Tuesday 4 July at the Monument’s Ntsikana Room as part of the Think!fest Programme.

Cue Media has made a wholly digital migration this year, due to funding constraints so severe it pushed the print edition into the grave. We spoke to Cue arts editor Miles Keylock (MK) and website editor Kayla Roux (KR), about the successes and struggles Cue went through in its new shift to totally digital:

The Rhodes University Highway Africa Conference hosted by the School of Journalism and Media Studies in partnership with Corporate South Africa kicked off today (Monday, 28 August) and will end on Friday, 1 September 2017 in Grahamstown.

On Friday 1 September, Prof Harry Dugmore joined Vernon Adams for the Late Night Talk Topic on CapeTalk FM

As part of the first year Journalism and Media Studies course, students have to create blogs in their tutorial groups. We've collected the links here.

Daylin Paul, a JMS alumnus, has won the prestigious Ernest Cole Photographic Award, awarded by the University of Cape Town.

JMS alumna, Tanya Accone, was this year’s guest lecturer at the RU Biotechnology Innovation Centre’s 8th Annual PD Rose Biotechnology Lecture. The lecture has been hosted for the past eight years to encourage innovation in the biotechnology and other science fields.

Rhodes JMS offers various study opportunities for Postgraduate studies. Find out more here!

Advocate Wim Trengrove came to the Rhodes JMS department earlier this month to speak about hate speech. Here's a snippet of his speech.

JMS alumnus, Evert Lombaert, has been working with GQ South Africa magazine for the past 11 years. During this time, he has interviewed many interesting celebrities but nothing compared to meeting his idol Mark Hamill from the Star Wars movie series.

A new research programme in Media and Social Belonging is being launched in the School of Journalism and Media Studies from 2018, funded by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation. Here's how to apply!

Media intellectual and activist, Govin Reddy, who passed away recently, was the first director of the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership (SPIML).

Former Rhodes journalism student Lyndsey Duff aims to address your mapping needs by dividing the world up into 3 metre by 3 metre boxes – each box having three unique words in 14 languages with isiXhosa, isiZulu and Afrikaans to follow shortly.

Around 250 delegates from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, South America, North America and the Antarctica will gather in Cape Town in May this year for a rare summit that examines the future sustainability of media organizations and of independent, quality and credible journalism worldwide in the fluid and uncertain twenty-first century and beyond.

Rhodes JMS was ranked amongst the top 200 J-Schools in the world.

Rhodes JMS founder and first Head of School, Anthony Giffard has passed away on 20 April 2018.

Organized by Duke University and hosted by the Forum, The Menell Media Exchange of 2018 took place between the eighth and ninth of April in Bryanston, Johannesburg. The Exchange served as a gathering and showcase for media practitioners, both professional and personal, to share ideas and engage in critical debate about the state of journalism in South Africa, and the world at large.

The Menell Media Exchange was mostly a space for like-minded journalists to converse and have a cheeky drink with each other. Journalists from all over the country used this space as a way to examine how journalism is in our country and how we can push it forward to greater spaces.

The lens through which well-established media houses view newly graduated journalists, could be the cause of their stagnancy and inability to adapt media, in order for it to appeal to the youth.

Renowned American documentary film-maker, Jon Alpert, paid a visit to the AMM and discussed some of his documentaries.

Rhodes University School of Journalism’s Anthea Garman presented her first lecture as a professor at the Eden Grove Blue on Wednesday 1 August 2018.

Rhodes JMS recently had the pleasure of hosting Dr Julian Matthews from the University of Leicester to learn more about his ethnographic research into the production of news.

The postgraduate programme in Media and Social Belonging (funded by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation) in the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University is now accepting applications for both study and scholarships.

When the editor of the Sunday Times in South Africa, Bongani Siqoko, published an apology in the newspaper earlier this month he surely set a new precedent in the country’s journalism.

Room 202 in the African Media Matrix was abuzz with journalism and political studies students and lecturers waiting to hear what CNN’s Jennifer Thomas had to say on reporting on elections in a time where “fake news” is rife.

The School of Journalism was honoured to have received internationally acclaimed and award-winning South African photographer Jodie Bieber recently. Bieber delivered workshops and seminars to second and third-year journalism students and presented her current project titled #i.

The Goethe Institute made it possible for the filmmaker from the Berlin Film School, Jide Akinleminu, to delight Rhodes JMS with his fascinating stories about how he makes documentaries drawing on his own life and family.

To mark its 25th year in South Africa, the Open Society Foundation for South Africa, in partnership with the University of the Witwatersrand and Rhodes University, are launching a special programme to grow the next generation of investigative reporters.

The South African Reserve Bank Center for Economic Journalism has opened the application process for students interested in obtaining the prestigious South African Reserve Bank Scholarships in Economics Journalism.

The School of Journalism and Media Studies would like to invite driven, research interested candidates to apply for PhD and post-doctoral scholarships in the department. We are running two research-driven projects, and invite interested parties to apply for funding. We are looking for exceptional students committed to a research career who have demonstrated critical thinking in their approach to previous study. Black South African and women candidates are urged to apply – and preference will be given to historically disadvantaged individuals.

The School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University is excited to announce the First African Digital Media Research Methods Symposium.

The School of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS) at Rhodes University extends its deep condolences to the family of Matthew Buckland who passed away on Monday 23nd April. Matthew graduated from Rhodes University in 1996, with a rare triple major in Journalism and Media Studies, History and Philosophy.

This week, the Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies will be hosting the very first African Digital Media Research Methods Symposium in June. The three-day symposium aims to find new ways of addressing the digital media research challenges in the African context and will include global and African leaders in the field.

Former newspaper editor and South African media heavyweight and Honorary Graduate of Rhodes University, Raymond Louw has died at the age of 93.

Sacree Kabeya was shocked and excited when she found out that her essay, one of 170 submitted, won one of five coveted prizes from the World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC). Representing Rhodes University, the nation and the African continent, the third year writing and editing student also receives an all expenses paid trip to Paris to WJEC, which takes place next month.

How would you like to spend the next two years…Making a video documentary? Designing a series of posters and learning how to transform these into animated explainer videos? Engaging farmers in discussions about South Africa’s first GMO product? Learning about Action Research? Getting a Masters degree in Journalism and Media Studies at the same time? Does this sound like your dream degree?

Makhanda -- What was meant to be a book launch for the late Matthew Buckland turned into a touching wake about a brilliant young digital entrepreneur whose life touched many and unfortunately came to an end too soon.

Morning Live interview with Prof. harry Dugmore

The Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS) held the first of its final two seminars for the year on 14 October, with the much anticipated visit of University of Coimbra’s (Portugal) Sociology Professor Boaventura de Sousa Santos, at the Eden Grove Lecture Complex.

The Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS) held a collaborative film seminar, Kindo Kadre and the Dream of the Cinema: Outside, Against and Beyond the Abyss, with the Kino Kadre Community Cinema Circle at the Fingo Village Library in Makhanda. The seminar formed part of the Mellon 30th Anniversary Seminar Programme hosted by the JMS in October.

Simple, cost-effective classroom libraries are popping up in primary schools across Makhanda (Grahamstown), courtesy of an innovative NPO, the Lebone Centre. Now Foundation Phase teachers are able to choose multilingual books and resources tailored to suit the needs of each classroom. In addition, children are now regularly reading bright, multilingual, culturally-appropriate books in small classroom reading groups. And, for the first time, they are able to take the books home.

Rhodes University School of Journalism and Sociology alumna, Andiswa Matikinca, has been awarded a regional Young Journalist of the year award by Vodacom, who held its 18th annual Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards across the provinces.