MTN Group, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and The African Editors’ Forum (TAEF) yesterday welcomed the first cohort of media practitioners to the MTN Pan-African Media Innovation Programme. This marks the start of a continental effort to strengthen journalism and build media institutions in a digital world.
The inaugural cohort to start the six-week course is made up of 42 journalists, editors and media practitioners from 10 African countries. They come from print, broadcast, digital and independent newsrooms in South Africa, Nigeria, Rwanda, Eswatini, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, South Sudan, Zambia and Benin. Between them, they carry a working picture of how African media is changing.
Newsrooms are absorbing rapid technological shifts, audiences that behave nothing like they did five years ago, revenue models under strain, and the growing pull of artificial intelligence and global platforms. How journalism gets made, paid for and delivered is being rewritten – and newsrooms are expected to hold on to public trust and editorial integrity while it happens.
Strong and independent media institutions are essential to informed societies as well as to Africa’s progress,” said Nompilo Morafo, MTN Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer. “This first group is made up of people who already understand what African newsrooms are up against and can do something about it. MTN is providing the platform and the partnerships. Responsibility for the curriculum as well as the selection of participants sits with our academic partners.”
UJ selected fellows independently by using professional and academic criteria based on track record, commitment to ethical journalism, the ability to influence their own organisations, and a genuine appetite for media innovation. The selection also aimed to reflect the geographic and professional spread of journalism across MTN’s markets.
The programme puts academic rigour alongside the daily realities media professionals actually face,” said Professor Sifiso Mnisi, Director of the Centre for Data and Digital Communications at UJ. “Fellows will interrogate how technology, audience expectations and commercial pressure are reshaping journalism - and then take that thinking back into their own newsrooms.”
The Pan-African programme builds on the MTN Nigeria Media Innovation Programme, established in 2022, which combines academic study with practical exposure to the institutions and issues shaping Africa’s media environment. This week, its fifth cohort is undertaking a week-long study visit to South Africa, engaging with leaders from academia, business, government and the media.
The shrinking of democratic systems, the rise in attacks on press freedom, and the revolution in technology, all conspire against journalism in many ways than could be imagined, but they also present opportunities – opportunities that journalists who are aware and conscious of their responsibilities can take advantage of and turn positive,” said Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, the Vice President of TAEF during the virtual induction of the cohort. “We’re genuinely glad you’re here. The work ahead matters, its arduous, but must be done. Africa needs us. Africa needs impactful journalism now more than ever – you have the chance to learn to do it more effectively. Hold yourselves accountable to the facts, and as you do, serve the people, and uphold the standards.”
Six weeks, six areas of focus
The certified programme includes a six-week curriculum of online academic study, where fellows will work through:
- Pan-African media futures and storytelling
- Media innovation and entrepreneurship
- Digital transformation and platform economies
- Digital journalism, content strategy and analytics
- Media business strategy and sustainability
- Media ethics, law and governance in the digital age
Every fellow will also build a practical innovation project aimed at a real problem or opening in their newsroom or the wider sector. Beyond the curriculum, the intention is a standing Pan-African community of practice - fellows trading knowledge across markets, building relationships that outlast the six weeks, and shaping a broader conversation about where African journalism goes next.
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