LATEST FROM THE WCJ
WCJ releases findings of baseline survey into safety of African journalists
Earlier this year, the Wits Centre for Journalism conducted a baseline survey into the safety of local and community journalists in Southern and East Africa. Led by WCJ lecturer Dr Nechama Brodie with support from the Consortium on Human Rights and Media (CHARM) and...
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WCJ WEBINAR RECORDINGS
Levelling the Media Playing Field: Lessons from South Africa
Three decades have passed since media reforms sought to create a more democratic, inclusive media in South Africa, providing a good opportunity to assess how successful those initiatives were. A new report, published by DW Akademie and co-authored by Prof Franz...
AI in African Newsrooms: Towards an Ethical Framework
The Wits Centre for Journalism and African Women in Media recently hosted a webinar exploring the debates, best practices and ethical roadmaps for deploying artificial intelligence in African newsrooms, featuring Dr. Grace Githaiga, CEO at KICTANet, Sara Elkhalili,...
Webinar Recording: Responsible Reporting on Whistleblowing
The Wits Centre for Journalism (WCJ) held a special online session discussing ethical and responsible practices when reporting on whistleblowers. This webinar is based on the recently published WCJ handbook on Responsible Reporting on Whistleblowing, and was hosted by...
WCJ Webinar: Reimagining Financial Journalism in the Age of AI
Guest speakers Ryk van Niekerk (editor of Moneyweb) and Rob Rose (editor and co-founder of Currency) join WCJ lecturer Gillian Jones for part one of a two-part Wits Centre for Journalism webinar series exploring how we should redefine and re-educate financial journalists for an AI-augmented future.
NEWS
WCJ releases findings of baseline survey into safety of African journalists
Earlier this year, the Wits Centre for Journalism conducted a baseline survey into the safety of local and community journalists in Southern and East Africa. Led by WCJ lecturer Dr Nechama Brodie with support from the Consortium on Human Rights and Media (CHARM) and...
VOW FM 88.1 enters new era under Wits Centre for Journalism management
The Wits Centre for Journalism (WCJ) has assumed management of the VOW 88.1 community radio station from the Faculty of Humanities at Wits University. The move comes as part of the “VOW Reimagined” project which began in 2023 to realign the station with Wits...
Online launch: 2025 State of the Newsroom report
The 2025 edition of State of the Newsroom takes a detailed look at the possible impact of artificial intelligence on the news in South Africa, what’s happening now, and the changes newsrooms will need to make. We also ask media experts what they think the...
Levelling the Media Playing Field: Lessons from South Africa
Three decades have passed since media reforms sought to create a more democratic, inclusive media in South Africa, providing a good opportunity to assess how successful those initiatives were. A new report, published by DW Akademie and co-authored by Prof Franz...
#AIJC2025 welcomes more than 450 attendees from 50 countries for its 21st edition
Stuart Dickinson Images: Leon Sadiki Over 450 delegates from 50 countries participated in 65+ lectures, workshops and networking sessions at the 21st African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC), held at Wits University in Johannesburg from 5-7 November. Widely...
The African Investigative Journalism Conference heads to Kenya in 2026
The African Investigative Journalism Conference is taking flight in 2026, heeding the call of the continent’s journalism community in making the event more accessible to those who travel from afar every year to the annual gathering in Johannesburg. “Over 21 years of...
WCJ hosts successful Africa-China policy seminar
On 6 November 2025, the Wits Centre for Journalism (WCJ) hosted a seminar on Africa-China relations that was attended by more than thirty academics, journalists, civic actors and business leaders from South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Ghana and Senegal. The seminar’s main...
South Africa’s Dewald van Rensburg named 2025 African investigative journalist of the year
Dewald van Rensburg of South African investigative journalism unit amaBhungane has won the 2025 AIJC African Investigative Journalist of the Year Award for his series of investigations titled “City of Gold”, laying bare in meticulous detail how the underground...
Rising Beyond the Narrative: Africa’s Promise in the 21st Century – Fatou Bensouda’s keynote address at #AIJC2025
21st African Investigative Journalism ConferenceKeynote Address by H.E. Dr. Fatou BensoudaHigh Commissioner of The Gambia to UKFormer Chief Prosecutor of The International Criminal Court (2012-2021)5 November 2025 Dear Esteemed Members of the Media,...
STATE OF THE NEWSROOM REPORTS
State of the Newsroom 2025 – AI, Trust and Resilience: Building a Future News in South Africa
The 2025 edition of State of the Newsroom takes a detailed look at the possible impact of artificial intelligence on...
State of the Newsroom 2024 – Saving Journalism in South Africa and How Newsrooms Coped with the Elections
This State of the Newsroom report covers two main areas: job losses in the news media sector, and the challenges...
State of the Newsroom – 100 Years of Radio Broadcasting
This State of the Newsroom shows that radio has the powerful potential to continue to create the inclusive, democratic...
State of the Newsroom: Senegal 2023 (French)
State of the Newsroom Senegal deals with the profound impact of the internet on journalism in Senegal, disrupting how...
State of the Newsroom Malawi: The Politics of Information – Corruption Continued
The second State of the Newsroom report from Malawi is a follow-up to our 2021 report on the same country, produced in...
State of the Newsroom 2021: Outside the Mainstream
Edited by Alan Finlay, this State of the Newsroom report looks back on 2021 and explores whether innovative media...
WCJ RESEARCH & RESOURCES
Baseline survey into safety of African journalists
In 2025, the Wits Centre for Journalism conducted a baseline survey into the safety of local and community journalists...
Press Council: Decoding the Code
> Download The media plays a very important role in a democratic society such as ours where competing rights often...
WCJ Handbook: Responsible Reporting on Whistleblowers
> Download This book is designed for journalists, editors, and anyone working in a newsroom. It provides an...