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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Origins
4 conceptions of a journalism department
I. 1970
This will be the first degree which is specifically aimed at the requirements of journalists to be offered by an English-medium residential university in South Africa.
A post-graduate diploma in journalism will be offered later. A spokesman for the University said Rhodes has for a long time been interested in offering such a course.
Impetus was given recently by a Government circular urging universities to interest themselves in offering courses in communication.
In planning the course the university has worked in close co-operation with editors of newspapers and magazines in South Africa, South-West Africa and Rhodesia.
Major Subject
This course has been approved by the University authorities and now awaits formal government
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approval. It is expected that a senior lecturer in journalism will be appointed for next year and most of the other courses will draw on lecturers in the faculty of arts.
Candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Journalism will study a selection of liberal arts subjects relevant to their intended careers.
The compulsory major subject will be journalism and the second major subject can be selected from a group of germane subjects which include both official languages, psychology, social anthro-pology, politics, sociology and economics.
They will also be required to follow at least one course in both official languages, at least one course each in economics and politics, a course in Press law and an introductory course in Press organisation and management.
The major course in journalism will deal with effective reporting and news writing, the organisation and function of these media, laws affecting the Press, the history of journalism and the relationship between the Press and society.
During their vacations students will be given the opportunity to work in newspaper offices in the major centres in the Republic to get some practical experience.
They will be paid during this time at the normal cub reporter rates.
The post-graduate course, which will lead to a one year diploma is envisaged to cater for those students who have a degree in any other subject and feel the need for some specialised training before entering journalism as well as for established journalists requiring some further training.
II. 1972
Up until 1972, Journalism was a sub-department of the English department and was still being headed by Guy Butler and run by Dr C.A.J. Giffard, Senior Lecturer. The special degree of Bachelor of Journalism was now ready to become independent and in 1972 Journalism hived off and became an independent department in the university.
III. 1976
As a result of the changes spurred in 1976, particularly revised in the curriculum, the department wanted to reflect the new direction it was taking and in 1981 its title was changed to the Department of Journalism and Media Studies.
IV. 2006
The establishment of a structural 'face' for the department pushed it into a technological, multimedia journalism superpower, and further developed the department into its standing as a top journalism school on the African continent. Take a tour through the link below.
School of Journalism and Media Studies
Departmental publication
School of Journalism and Media Studies archive
May, 2006
This original Africa Media Matrix brochure outlines the aesthetic choices of the department's vision and gives a visual tour of the department's structure, design and palette.