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Faculty of Arts and Design

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    Putting forward sustainability as a model for journalism education and training
    (Informa UK Limited, 2024-01-01) Booker, Nancy; Mutsvairo, Bruce; Baliah, Dinesh; Adjin-Tettey, Theodora Dame; Holt, Kristoffer; Tallert, Lars; Mujati, Jean
    African journalism practice presents unique opportunities and challenges that require journalists to be equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge, and values to engage in sustainable journalism. Training institutions play a critical role in ensuring that journalists are not only professionally-ready to execute their mandate but also that they can safeguard and promote ethical values in their everyday work. Some of these values include “truth telling, independence, objectivity, fairness, inclusivity and social justice” (Gade, Nduka, and Dastger 2017, 10). Africa, like other regions of the Global South, has several journalism training institutions that provide an opportunity to challenge “hegemonic epistemologies and ontologies of Western-centric journalism studies” (Mutsvairo et al. 2021, 993). In the context of this submission, the present study investigates the current state of sustainable journalism in Africa. We examined data based on a syllabi analysis of journalism programs in Kenya, South Africa and Ghana to appraise what role sustainable journalism education and training could play in Africa. Findings show that efforts are already in place across select learning and training institutions but also point to profound gaps in the curriculum, pedagogy and resources needed to prepare journalists for sustainable journalism.
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    Countering the threats of dis/misinformation : fact-checking practices of students of two universities in West Africa
    (Bastas Publications, 2024-01-18) Adjin-Tettey, Theodora Dame; Amenaghawon, Francis
    Although access is uneven, studies have shown a high uptake of digital technologies and platforms across Africa, with many accessing social media, which is a fertile ground for the spread of fake news and disinformation, calling for the need to factcheck information before consumption or sharing. The study was grounded in explore, engage, and empower (EEE) model of media and information literacy (MIL), which states that MIL competencies empower media and information users to identify, access, and retrieve information and media content skillfully (explore), analyze, and evaluate media and information critically (engage) and create, share, or use information and media ethically, safely, and responsibly (empower). The purpose was to assess fact-checking practices of students in two universities in Ghana and Nigeria to ascertain the extent to which they factcheck information, their levels of knowledge of fact checkers and the fact checkers that they use. The simple random sampling was used to draw a total of 316 respondents. It was found that although many respondents confirmed the authenticity of news and information received before acting on them, they mostly did so through social media and their networks. Few respondents knew about fact-checking platforms and could state names of actual factcheckers. The study makes a case for MIL, which includes fact checking, to enable media users to analyze and evaluate news and information critically to ensure the consequent ethical safe and responsible sharing and usage of information and media content, as EEE model proposes.