News
Ajen publishes a monthly newsletter, called AJENda, to keep colleagues aware of changes to the journalism landscape in Africa from an academic, research and professional point of view.
Meet Your Colleague: Agaredech Jemaneh
Dr. Agaredech Jemaneh, associate professor at Addis Ababa University, is a leading researcher in gender, media, and literature. Passionate about journalism education, she bridges academia and industry while shaping Ethiopia’s media landscape. As a founding member of the Ethiopian Media Women’s Association, she advocates for media literacy, ethics and journalistic integrity.
New PhD and MA programmes at UCU and UR powering on
Uganda Christian University (UCU) and the University of Rwanda (UR) have successfully enrolled their second cohorts in newly introduced PhD and master’s programmes in journalism, media, and communication studies. Supported by NLA University College and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, with funding from Norad, these programmes are shaping the future of media professionals in Africa.
IPIE to launch scientific panel on AI impact on economic development
The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) will host the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025, launching a new panel to study AI’s impact on economic development and inclusion. The summit’s theme, “public interest AI,” highlights how AI is reshaping global access to financial services, banking, housing, and employment opportunities.
Queer Representation in African News Media: Navigating Criminalisation and Visibility
Queer representation in African media remains deeply contested, shaped by societal attitudes and restrictive legal frameworks. With half of the world’s anti-homosexuality laws found on the continent, LGBTQ+ visibility faces censorship, newsroom intimidation, and outright bans. Even where same-sex relationships are not criminalised, queer individuals endure prejudice, violence, and marginalisation.
Wits University launches climate change multilingual project
The Wits Centre for Journalism (WCJ) has launched In My Culture, a project aimed at breaking language barriers in climate action. In collaboration with climateXchange (cXc), the initiative seeks to build an online platform that collects words and stories reflecting local understandings of climate change.
Ethiopia to host the 15th EACA conference
The 15th East African Communication Association (EACA) conference will take place from August 27–29 2025, at Addis Ababa University’s School of Journalism and Communication in Ethiopia. Centered on the theme ‘Media and Communication in Africa’s Integration’, the conference aims to foster a mature, robust, and professional media and communication ecosystem across the continent.
Social media: problematic platforms, problematic users
Social media is shaping the run-up to the German parliamentary elections, but studies show it’s also distorting political education. Platforms like X are amplifying echo chambers, spreading disinformation and fueling extremist content. While tech giants downplay their responsibility, the bigger issue is how users, often unaware of their own biases, rely on social media as their primary news source.
New Publications in February 2025
Explore our latest list of new publications and articles that explore various facets of digital media, communication, social dynamics and other areas related to the African communications and media studies research community. Read a collection of case studies exploring how communication drives social transformation across African societies and other research that explores social change, health communication, disinformation, foundational scholarship, and media’s policy role.
New Publications in January 2025
Explore our latest list of new publications and articles hat explore various facets of digital media, communication, social dynamics and other areas related to the African communications and media studies research community. Read an analysis of Big Tech’s role and local platform innovation in cultural industries and research that addresses the integration of sustainable journalism principles into African curricula.
Meet Your Colleague: Joseph Njuguna
With a career spanning several years, Dr. Joseph Njuguna, a lecturer at Murang’a University of Technology in Kenya, is helping new crops of media specialists while providing unique insights on how media and technology can drive societal progress in East Africa. Find out more about him in our Meet Your Colleague interview series.
Climate change: Deserted land in journalism education
A 2024 joint study by the African Journalism Education Network and the European Journalism Observatory uncover a starling gap: that climate change reporting is missing from 64% of journalism curricula globally, leaving journalists underprepared for critical coverage.
Guide to online privacy for journalists
Journalists spend countless hours online, exposing themselves to cyber threats that could compromise their safety and the confidentiality of their sources. In the Ultimate Guide to Online Privacy for Journalists, cybersecurity writer RF Lucca highlights these dangers, including data theft, blackmail, and breaches of anonymity.
Zimbabwean journalism fraternity to discuss AI
The Zimbabwe Journalism Educators Network, an affiliate of AJEN, will host a conference in Masvingo from March 26–28 2025, focusing on “Journalism Practice and Journalism Education in Zimbabwe in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” With AI tools like Alice and Vusi reshaping Zimbabwean newsrooms, ZIJEN has invited papers to explore their impact on news production, distribution, and audience engagement.
AJEN speaks at AWIM 2024
The African Journalism Educators Network proudly participated in the 2024 annual conference for African Women in the Media, Africa’s leading gathering of women changemakers in media. Held at the Pullman Hotel in Dakar, Senegal, the conference centered on the theme “Media and Sustainability.”
Professor Carol Azungi Dralega on AI, Covid and the Classroom
The rapid transformation of journalism in the digital age demands a re-evaluation of education, practice and ethical frameworks. Few understand this better than Professor Carol Azungi Dralega, whose work bridges the fields of digitisation, artificial intelligence (AI) and African journalism. Her latest edited book, Digitisation, AI, and Algorithms in African Journalism and Media Contexts, tackles the implications of technological advancements on the African media landscape in the contributions of twenty researchers, academics and practitioners from Africa and Europe.