Wits Centre for Journalism 2025 Annual Report

The WCJ's 2025 annual report highlights a year of sustained commitment to strengthening journalism in South Africa and across the continent. Through impactful training, research, and professional projects, the Centre continued to support and engage with students, journalists and media institutions navigating an increasingly complex information ecosystem.

"The WCJ continued to focus on health, science and climate journalism and communications along with its focus on community journalism and investigative journalism. We recognised that there is far too much for us to do alone and so we expanded our collaborations and leveraged off the expertise of our partner organisations and their incredible people," — WCJ Director, Dr Dinesh Balliah.

Read the full report here.

CE Honours students complete 2025 In-Depth Reporting Project

The WCJ's career-entry honours students have completed their In-Depth Reporting Project for 2025, putting into practice the varied skills learnt during the year-long journalism and media studies programme in the Wits Vuvuzela newsroom. 

"This year, students were asked to consider and investigate the slogan, 'Joburg, a world-class African city'," says WCJ lecturer Pheladi Sethusa. "Their curiosity led them down varied paths, which revealed to them everything from the city's unique culture to its knowledge ecosystem, the local economy, and more." 

Read the long-form articles here.

2025 State of the Newsroom report released

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 future holds for public interest journalism in the country, and look at the donor funding crises facing media initiatives.

Report editor Alan Finlay was joined by Sipho Kings, co-founder and publisher of The Continent News, and Paul McNally, founding director of Develop AI, for the online launch on 26 November.

Click here to download the report and watch the launch webinar.

Prof Lesley Cowling retires after a remarkable 25 years at Wits

The Wits Centre for Journalism bids a heartfelt farewell to Prof Lesley Cowling, who retires in 2025 after a remarkable 25 years at Wits University.

As one of Wits Journalism’s founding leaders, Prof Cowling was instrumental in guiding the Centre to where it is today, carefully curating the academic programme over the years.

Read more here.

WCJ celebrates 2025 PhD graduates  

The Wits Centre for Journalism congratulates Dr Lesley Mofokeng (supervised by Prof Lesley Cowling) and Dr Yarik Turianskyi (in absentia; supervised by Dr Bob Wekesa), who graduated on 9 December with their PhDs in Journalism and Media Studies.

Mofekeng's research examines Sol Plaatje's role in South African journalism through an analysis of the newspapers he edited from 1901 - 1915, making original contributions to the understanding of early black press, its commercial operations and its construction of black identity. 

Turianskyi's thesis examines how countries of differing status in international relations use the affordance of social media to advance their foreign policy goals, using Kenya, the USA and Australia as case studies.

Well done to Mofokeng and Turianskyi on achieving this remarkable milestone in their academic and professional journeys.

See more about the WCJ's PhD programme here.

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 University’s brand, including strengthening its commitment to academic excellence for students within the media studies space.

The management realignment also comes with a substantial investment from Wits University, which will allow the WCJ to build new state-of-the-art, public-facing studios on the main campus.

Read more here.

WCJ releases findings of baseline survey into safety of African journalists

Earlier in the 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 and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the project sought to highlight the risk, threat and harm journalists face in these regions, as well as inform future research on journalist safety on the continent.

The survey received responses from 109 journalists from 17 different African countries, and found that:

• More than 80% of journalists have worked on a story that made them feel unsafe or where they had been threatened.

• Around 60% of journalists have received threats or hostile comments on social media.

• Only 40% of journalists receive workplace support when they are threatened or harassed.

A new survey for Western and Central Africa will be launched in 2026, with follow-up surveys planned for 2027.

Click here to download the report.

The WCJ also looks forward to welcoming the class of 2026 in the new year. Please see our 2026 timetable page for more information.

• Health-e News Service is looking for an Associate Editor & Partnerships Officer to join the team in a hybrid role. At least 5-7 years of newsroom experience required. Deadline: 28 December. Click here for details.

• Kas Media Africa invites journalists to submit their best work for its 2026 Local Journalism Award. Submissions must showcase the importance of local reporting and meet high journalistic standards. Deadline: 5 January. Click here for details.

• Pulitzer Center seeks funding applications from journalists and newsrooms worldwide for enterprising and underreported stories about global health inequities and challenges. Projects of any scope and size will be considered. Click here for details.