LATEST FROM THE WCJ
Africa’s top five investigative stories announced for 2026 AIJY Award
The top five finalists of the prestigious African Investigative Journalist of the Year Award 2026 have been selected. This year saw a record number of 204 entries received from across the continent, with the outstanding caliber of investigative reporting on display...
journalism.co.za
A resource for the journalists of South African and the African continent, featuring resources produced by the Wits Centre for Journalism. Sign up to the WCJ newsletter to follow the latest from our staff, students and research associates.
WCJ WEBINAR RECORDINGS
WCJ webinar – Under Duress: Journalism in Authoritarian Contexts
On 25 May, the Wits Centre for Journalism hosted Dr Richard Stupart for a webinar discussing a new report about journalism in authoritarian contexts. Stupart, a British Academy Research Fellow at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and...
Webinar launch – Breaking Barriers: A Study of People With Disabilities in the South African Media Industry
In a population of more than 56 million, 3.3 million people in South Africa identify as disabled or as living with a disability. On an individual level, the disabilities within this community fall across a spectrum which is as complex as the lives of everyone. Despite...
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,...
NEWS
Africa’s top five investigative stories announced for 2026 AIJY Award
The top five finalists of the prestigious African Investigative Journalist of the Year Award 2026 have been selected. This year saw a record number of 204 entries received from across the continent, with the outstanding caliber of investigative reporting on display...
Wits Centre for Journalism hosts over 150 academics and communications professionals at the 2026 SACOMM conference
Johannesburg – How is ‘the human’ being redefined and reasserted in a time of technofeudalism? This is the question more than 150 academics and communication professionals looked to answer at the annual South African Communications Association (SACOMM) conference,...
Call for Papers: Cross Current and Critical Encounters
The International Association for Literary Journalism Studies invites submissions of original research papers, abstracts for research in progress and proposals for panels on Literary Journalism for the IALJS annual convention on 19-21 May 2027. The conference will be...
WCJ welcomes Tshegofatso Ngwako as project assistant
The Wits Centre for Journalism is pleased to welcome Tshegofatso Ngwako, a passionate Witsie who takes on the busy role of project assistant in supporting the Centre’s growing programmes and activities. Tshegofatso holds a BA majoring in Media Studies &...
WCJ hosts content creation workshop with Dan Corder
The Wits Centre for Journalism recently welcomed Dan Corder to facilitate a hands-on content creation workshop designed for Wits students across all faculties. The first cohort included Witsies studying a wide range of disciplines - from humanities, law and business,...
Applications open for 2026 AIJC investigative journalism Masterclass
The African Investigative Journalism Conference, a project of the Wits Centre for Journalism in association with Bellingcat, DW Akademie and other partners, will host the 5th annual intensive training course on the latest investigative journalism techniques in...
Entries open for SANEF 2026 Nat Nakasa Awards
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF), in proud partnership with Sanlam, invites nominations and entries for the prestigious Nat Nakasa Awards for Courageous Journalism 2026. At a time when journalism faces growing threats, misinformation, intimidation,...
WCJ health reporting grantee Brygettes Ngana takes runner-up prize at Voices of Impact Awards
Kenyan journalist Brygettes Ngana’s powerful story on how USAID funding cuts have severely impacted HIV treatment centres across the country took second place at the recent Voices of Impact Awards. Ngana was one of 24 recipients of a Wits Centre for Journalism (WCJ)...
Content creation workshop with Dan Corder open to Wits students
Do you have a compelling story to tell about Johannesburg but haven’t figured out how to tell it just yet? The thought of hooks, a script and editing put you off? Well, we might have something to remedy that. The Wits Centre for Journalism is partnering with Dan...
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
Literary Journalism Studies January 2026 (Vol. 16, No. 2)
The latest edition of Literary Journalism Studies (January 2026 Vol. 16, No. 2) is now available and includes...
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...