By Enock Sithole
The African Journalism Education Network (Ajen) will hold an online symposium on campus media on 27 March 2025. Find the programme here.
Ajen executive member, Dr Basil Hamusokwe, told AJENda that campus media often served as a training ground for students interested in journalism, media production, and communication, “while also providing a platform for discussing campus-related issues and events”.
Operated by or associated with educational institutions, typically universities or colleges, campus media can take the form of student newspapers, radio stations, television stations, and online platforms and cover a range of topics, from campus life to specific academic interests.
“However, administrations in most colleges and universities are faced with the question of what constitutes effective campus media,” reads the founding document for the symposium.
“This question often relates to basic governance and sustainability issues involving campus media with diverse perspectives. The governance standpoint includes student autonomy, administrative oversight and issues relating to advisory roles.
“In addition, some governance views emphasise that student media should operate independently with minimal interference to foster creativity and authentic student expression. This approach supports the idea that student media needs the freedom to cover controversial issues and represent diverse viewpoints without administrative or external pressures.
“In relation to sustainability, the different perspectives include funding and resource allocation, digital transformation, community and alumni engagement, training and professional development. Most of these views focus on securing adequate funding and resources to ensure the longevity of campus media.”
The document added that adequate financial support, whether through university budgets, grants, or fundraising efforts, is essential for maintaining operations and investing in necessary technology and training to enhance the effective running of campus media.
It has been argued that campus media should evolve by developing strong online presences, using social media, and exploring multimedia content to engage a broader audience and remain relevant. “These perspectives highlight the complexities involved in managing and sustaining campus media, each offering valuable insights into how these entities can thrive in a rapidly changing environment,” the document reads.
The symposium, which will see papers being presented on the subject, will address a range of issues, focusing on governance and sustainability of campus radio from an African perspective.
Abstracts have already been submitted for papers dealing with governance and management, governance models and different approaches to governing campus media, including student-run, faculty-advised, and administratively overseen models.
The abstracts also deal with issues of sustainability and financial management, touching on funding strategies and the various methods for securing financial support, including university budgets, grants, and fundraising activities.
Furthermore, the symposium will hear inputs on student engagement and training, focusing on developing training and professional development programs for student journalists and media producers.
Other items that will come up for discussion are:
- Content creation and innovation, exploring best practices for reporting, storytelling, and media production within a campus context.
- Impact and Influence: The role of campus media in shaping campus culture and addressing issues affecting students.
- Challenges and solutions: Handling controversial topics and conflict within campus media environments.
- Case studies and best practices: Case studies of successful campus media programs and what can be learned from them.
These themes, according to the founding document, can provide a comprehensive look at the multifaceted nature of campus media, offering valuable insights for the students, faculty, and administrators involved in or studying campus media.
The symposium aims to attract Ajen members, media practitioners, educators and researchers working with campus media or in any way associated with colleges and universities with campus media.
The link to the symposium will be emailed to various prospective participants using mailing lists of multiple institutions working in the fields of journalism, media and communication education.