Capacity building, tertiary postgraduate interventions and the changing media environment in southern and eastern Africa

Abstract

Abstract An academic revolution in higher education during the past half century has been marked by transformations unprecedented in scope and diversity. Simultaneously, the significant changes in the ‘mediascape’ of southern and eastern Africa over the past two decades have replaced total state control with a degree of liberalization, while the digital revolution has changed the access to, and the content of, media programming. The article argues that the production of postgraduate scholars, particularly at the doctoral level, is a useful indicator of the way in which capacity building in higher education – specifically, higher education for media and journalism studies – is being undertaken. This desk research article synthesizes the trends in media and academia under six headings: 1. structure and regulation; 2. end users – audiences, readers and viewers and students; 3. content delivery – programmes and curricula; 4. human resources; 5. digital technology and new media; and 6. financial sustainability.