By Kemiso Wessie
Seasoned South African journalist and educator, Franz Krüger has mastered the art of rolling with the punches in the ever-changing media industry. “I like the intellectual challenge of engaging with an environment that is changing all the time,” he says.
In addition to being president of the African Journalism Education Network (AJEN), Krüger is an associate professor in journalism, media, and communication at NLA University College in Kristiansand, Norway, and an associate researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand. Describing himself as curious and adventurous, he is motivated by a love of engagement and ongoing learning. “I enjoy encounters with people, particularly younger people, who are finding their way in the world and finding their way into this field, ” he reflects.
Born in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape and growing up in Cape Town, Krüger was captivated by language from a young age, writing, and a burning curiosity about the world, “I have a strong need to do [things] that feel worthwhile, that I feel are socially interesting and important,” he explains.
Attending the University of Cape Town (UCT) in the late 1970s, Krüger became very aware of the political landscape of apartheid South Africa. His interests in journalism and politics developed here where he was media officer of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC). He also served as general secretary of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS), the precursor of SASCO, for a year.
After graduating with his bachelor of arts from UCT in 1980, Prof Krüger was unsure of his next move but then landed a reporting job at the Windhoek Advertiser. “I didn’t stay very long there, but it was the most extraordinary experience,” he recalls. In this small newsroom, Krüger was given a level of responsibility that entry-level reporters would otherwise not get. “I got to travel, I got to ask people embarrassing questions. I got to write, and I had a sense that it was useful [and] it made a contribution,” he muses. This brief experience sold him on the idea that journalism was his calling.
Upon receiving his master’s degree from City University, London in 1989, Prof. Krüger returned to South Africa and became a founding group editor of the East Cape News Agencies, a network of independent news agencies during the 1980s. “[It] was tough, but also incredibly rewarding,” he adds. Under the apartheid government, the network faced large amounts of repression.
When apartheid officially ended in 1994, Prof Krüger was invited to serve as the National Editor of Radio News and Current Affairs at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). As a member of the inaugural post-apartheid editorial management team, Krüger spearheaded efforts to overhaul and elevate the credibility and calibre of the station’s radio journalism. Such projects included election coverage, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the addition of sound to bulletins and equal news resourcing for African language stations.
Krüger’s five-year tenure at SABC ended as he battled the fatigue that often accompanies groundbreaking change. “I needed a change myself,” he continues. Without a clear direction, Krüger turned to his passion for teaching, giving workshops and training. During this time, he participated in the early stages of the journalism programme at the University of the Witwatersrand, alongside Leslie Cowling, Anton Harber, and Jo-Anne Richards. Krüger’s engagement grew over a decade as he balanced freelance reporting and consultancy. It wasn’t until 2009 that he became a full-time educator, continuing work on the programme and gathering funds to spearhead the establishment of the Wits Radio Academy.
Krüger’s background influences his research interests in radio, sustainability, education, and ethics, shaped during post-apartheid South Africa. He explores how ethics should evolve in a new democracy and highlights the global challenge of sustainability in journalism. Platforms diverting funds from traditional media have led to job losses and compromised information. “We desperately need to find solutions,” Krüger advises, particularly in small, local, and community media where broad media trends don’t uniformly apply. His report Greening Africa’s News Deserts addresses these issues and calls for collective action. “It’s an ongoing search,” Krüger admits. “I don’t think we have all the answers yet, but it’s urgently necessary for us all to work together to find a way forward.”
As an educator, Krüger emphasises adapting curricula to industry changes and encourages ongoing reflection and discussion. “You have to keep asking yourself, what is changing? How is it shifting? And how should we represent this? Then I think we benefit from discussion with each other,” says the educator. As President of the Ajen, Krüger is actively working on a project to revise journalism curricula in various institutions.
Acutely aware of the pressing challenges facing journalism and its education in Africa, Krüger says they must be confronted, “[We] need to understand what it is that young people want and need to learn to work in this sector.” He further highlights the importance of adapting to new skills, especially those required to navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape, “But it’s not just new skills, there is also a need to understand the ways in which old skills apply.” Currently, Prof Krüger is working on a project alongside Dr Sisanda Nkoala to develop new teaching materials as well as a book on local media in South Africa with Dr Sarah Chiumbu.
While juggling so much, Krüger says the most memorable piece of advice he has ever received is the principle of simplicity which he feels quite strongly about. He quotes Mark Twain’s “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do,” to further his position. “Keep it simple stupid,” Krüger chuckles as he expands on the KISS principle.
Outside of academia, Krüger finds spending time with family, reading, hiking, and walking relaxing and although he jokingly admits he hasn’t done it in a while, gardening as well. “I like to get out into the open air. I’ve often found that if I’m stuck with something, that a walk or a bike ride will clarify the issue in my mind and then can take me forward,” he states.
Given the opportunity with any three media figures, Prof Krüger would have dinner with Australian journalist John Pilger, “He had an extraordinary writing ability and an eye for important stories,” he explains, also hoping to learn what Pilger thought of South Africa when he visited during the transition to post-apartheid. The presence of Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci would also be requested, who Krüger notes for her interesting views on objectivity and gender in the context of journalism. The last guest would be a pioneer in South African journalism, Sol Plaatjie, “I would just love to hear his kind of take on the time that he lived in,” says Krüger. A dinner table such as this one is filled with people who have played such important roles in journalism and would no doubt spur some needle-pushing discussions.
If given the choice of any superpower, Professor Franz Krüger would choose the eyesight of an Eagle, noted for its astounding vision. “I think the ability to really see more than one does and see clearly would be a remarkable thing to have,” Krüger explains. Although, it can be noted that in his dedication to the media industry and education of the next generation of journalists, Krüger already exemplifies the vision and insight he so admires, continually striving to make a meaningful contribution to society.
After publishing, the article corrected two errors regarding Prof. Krüger’s time at university and the East Cape News Agencies.