Why should journalism curriculum be Africanised

Abstract

I find journalism to be too important a subject to be left in the hands of the Western establishment. And it is the main reason why I think that the curriculum should be Africanised – so that African 'national interests' will be catered for under journalism education on the continent.Why do I say so? It is because, while we were sleeping in Africa, journalism was slowly transforming from being merely a tool for information, education and entertainment, to one that looks after, and protects, national interest; a tool used by the power centres of the world for their own ends.National interest is by far the most important factor influencing the coverage of news, both domestic and foreign. In 1991, Ronald Spark, then chief lead writer of The Sun (the newspaper with the largest circulation in the UK) made an amazing admission: 'Truth is sacred, but a newspaper that tells only part of the truth is a million times preferable to one that tells the truth to harm his country.'