Enrolment of first year students in journalism leaps up by 30% in 1979. Why?
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"Possibly because the Information scandal has made journalism seem like a glamorous profession." At least this is the opinion of Journalism staff who compare the jump in numbers with a similar phenomenon at journalism schools in the United States after Watergate.
Of course, the increase may also be linked to the growing reputation of the Rhodes department, the only one of its kind at an English-language university in South Africa.
Bulletin, 1979 (2): 3
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Voice
What role did the department play?
Dianne Tipping-Woods (2002)
Dianne Tipping-Woods was a student in the SJMS in 2002.
Voice
"My time with the department was hugely influential - I think of lecturers often and they continue to influence how I think about and approach my work. I loved the curriculum, I did the new media specialisation (but writing has always had my heart). I am still working to live up to the standard that lecturers like Gillian Rennie, Anthea Garman, Angelo Fick, Guy Berger, Larry Strelitz, Carol Christie and others set. It wouldn't be unreasonable to say many of them reframed my view of the world, the media and my own identity.
My relationship with journalism is not uncomplicated though and I have taken a circuitous route in my career to get to a point where I feel comfortable owning and practicing my craft."