"There is no formal recognised entry qualification for journalism in South Africa, although it appears that employers on the English-language (white) press generally expect candidates to have at least the matriculation certificate and the ability to write clear, simple English, while the Afrikaans Press requires a degree. African Press employers also aim at matriculants, though they are possibly rather more elastic than their counter-parts in the English-language Press," writes St. Ledger in 1974 in an article after conducting research for a doctoral thesis on press in South Africa [i].

Before 1970, no other English-medium university in South Africa taught journalism, although there were some communications departments at Afrikaans universities [ii]. "Aspiring journalists typically followed the British training system: they joined newspapers after high school and picked up the trade by osmosis," explained Anthony Giffard, head of the department at the time [iii]. It was called "learning by sitting next to Nellie". However, the field of journalism in South Africa was increasingly recognising the importance of a good educational background, preferably at University level. 

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In the first two years of the department's establishment, Bob Stimson, a distinguished BBC foreign correspondent was a great, if unconventional, teacher. One reporting course ended with Bob plying students with liquor at Settlers’ Inn so they could learn to function under real-life conditions. "It seems to have helped. The department grew rapidly, and by the end of the second year we had about 100 students taking journalism as a major," explains Giffard. 

By July 1979,  the tenth year of the Journalism Department's establishment, the change in academic attitude is indicative and evident in a reading of an editorial of Bulletin, where the Department's position clearly states that it aims towards both practical and theoretical underpinnings in the development of its curriculum: 

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If an academic department of journalism is to be worth anything to the profession it serves it should achieve two things. On one hand it has to provide vocational training for the rising number of young men and women who plan to follow careers in the media. On the other hand its task is to research and report on developments in the media, evaluating these in terms of broader social and political needs [iv].

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The years following this produced major changes in the Journalism Department at Rhodes - "changes that were not always welcomed either by the university or by the South African government," explains Les Switzer [v]. One change was in the curriculum. 

Media studies in South Africa at the time was in its infancy, but everything that existed had begun being collected at Rhodes and the department stood on the brink of significant advances. Guided by critical-cultural scholars, several courses were revised and new courses developed. They ranged from critiques of the historical press to courses in "new" (literary) journalism, media and modernisation, dependency and underdevelopment. The curriculum was designed to turn students into critical and informed consumers of the press and broadcast media rather than producers. Trends in the black press, readership and circulation patterns of newspapers facing the challenge of television, political and racial bias in the print and broadcast media, news censorship, South African press history and attitudes were all integrated into the curriculum and the fruits of this reflected in the work of graduates and undergraduates at Rhodes. "These efforts, I am convinced, were rewarded in the quality of our graduates entering the profession at that time," says Switzer [vi]. 

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To reflect the new direction the department was taking, its title was changed to the Department of Journalism and Media Studies in 1980. 

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1979 also saw changes in Journalism staff that saw new faces and ideas come into the department. Clive Emdon, former labour correspondent of the Rand Daily Mail and editor of its black edition, came to Rhodes to teach reporting and editing. Graham Hayman, former magazine programme producer for the SATV, joined the department to teach television and radio practical and lecture in broadcast theory. Another newcomer to the staff at this time was Guy Berger, at the time a B. Journ graduate who began as a teaching assistant. Professor Anthony Giffard took up a one-year visiting lectureship in journalism at the University of Washington, Seattle, and in his absence Les Switzer was acting head. Other lecturers were Graeme Addison and B.journ graduate "Boy" Johnson [vii].

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The 1980s were politically, technically and legally stormy years for the department. The department was still using old-fashioned manual typewriters in the backdrop of an array of threatening laws in the Journalism landscape. By the end of the decade there was a sense of a whole new era dawning; at that point the department had more than 50 computers and effective television gear [viii]. Over the decade, Gavin Stewart remarked that the university journ graduates overcame suspicion and hostility in the newsrooms and established a credibility in the media. 

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Journalism education from the mid-1990s onwards is described by commentators as an era in which renewed emphasis was placed on the development of practical skills [ix] & [x]. 

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1994

The turn in South Africa from apartheid to democracy saw discussions and conversations begin changing in the department that affected its teaching and direction. This included a number of points [xi]:  

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Firstly, a priority became broadening the professional experience of the department by transgressing professional academic confines in order to integrate courses more with other departments. Another priority was to cover under-reported institutions, locales and processes.

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Secondly, instilling a critical stance and research orientation in journalism and media studies training. This not only meant a sound theoretical foundation and progression in the curriculum which drilled in a coherent foundation course in first year, but also a focus on assessing and criticising media performance; media ethics, normative frameworks, media structure, institutions and ideology. The department also wanted to conduct and analyse audience studies which included reception analysis and lifestyle research as part of this objective, while highlighting the centrality of investigative journalism skills beyond news writing.

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In light of the democratic turn of the country, the department felt it imperative to focus on South Africa's relevant knowledge and practices to complement the first year 'SA Media' course as well as considering an SA Media course at the H.Dip/MA level; this also included redressing the lack of knowledge about Southern Africa's current affairs, interdependencies and media systems, and included overcoming language limitations (the idea of a second language option, African or International, was initiated). Part of this topic of discussion also centered around examining and generating indigenous conceptual frameworks, both 1st and 3rd world: the Euro/Afrocentric debate. 

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Technologically, the department realised and turned their attention toward ensuring multimedia technical familiarity. In 1994  this included desktop multimedia production (an integrated, hands on foundation course in second year), as well as a focus on computer mediated communication (email) and database searches via the internet. 

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Lastly, and with enormous foresight, the department already began its discussions around addressing a capacity for self-employment; freelancing and consultancy theory and practice. Their initial discussions were around learning from past practitioners in this context and also the need for assessment, planning, marketing and evaluative skills. 

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These discussions of growth and overhaul was also infrastructural as is evident in an August 1994 letter to the Registrar of Finance from Professor Guy Berger (head of department at this time) regarding space requirements [xii] to suit the training challenges that were needed for the oncoming 21st century. Berger's suggestions for medium-term space needs were: 

-customising a room in the building (Drama department shared with journalism) 

-opening up the Drostdy dining hall basement 

-utilising the whole ILAM building (shared at the time between journalism and sociology)

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1995

1995 saw the year of a new curriculum in the department [xiii]. A couple of things were also consolidated such as: 

1) assessing the course of the new curriculum 

2) re-evaluating the 1995 mission statement 

3) exploring whether the departmental theme of democracy was being used to its fullest 

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