Wits Centre for Journalism | State of the Newsroom 2024 Online Launch

This Wits Centre for Journalism State of the Newsroom report covers two main areas: job losses in the news media sector, and the challenges journalists faced in the coverage of the national and provincial elections in May. It reports on some unexpected findings of a snapshot survey of staff capacity and job losses in newsrooms, and, in a context where even financial journalism is under threat, explores creative revenue generation options for news producers. The challenge of preserving foundational journalism skills as teachers prepare students for a diverse media market is also touched on, as is the need to better understand the nuances of intersectional threats faced by journalists in the global South. Its overview of the difficulties journalists faced reporting on the recent elections in South Africa suggests that most threats journalists faced have moved online, while disinformation taxed the capacity of newsrooms working in the public interest.

Contributors for this edition, Qaanitah Hunter (award-winning political journalist and author), Mamaponya Motsai (CEO of fraycollege), Prof Glenda Daniels (associate professor and head of the department of Media Studies at Wits University) and Prof Anthea Garman (professor of journalism at the Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies) discuss their findings with report editor Alan Finlay (research associate at the Wits Centre for Journalism).