Journalism Education in Countries with Limited Media Freedom

Abstract

* Josephi, Beate (ed.) (2010). Journalism Education in Countries with Limited Media Freedom. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 280. Journalism education have enjoyed dramatic expansion globally since the 1990s. As of 2007, there were 1,859 journalism education institutions across the world, according to the World Journalism Education Census (Center for International Media Assistance, http://www.ellenhume. com/articles/education.pdf) . Against this background, the edited volume Journalism Education in Countries with Limited Media Freedom offers better understanding of the meanings and implications of the growth of journalism education in non-Western societies. It stands out among numerous books on journalism education by taking comparative perspective, not in conflict with global view, and focuses on the development and current status of journalism education in transitional societies over the past few decades. The editor, Josephi, selects twelve individual countries as case studies. The chapter contributors examine the sociopolitical context, media landscape, journalism education and training programs, and the norms and values informing journalism education. They then evaluate the socialization process to compare journalism education with the actual situation challenging journalists. In assessing these dimensions, the book estimates the role of journalism education amid political and social change. What follows some of the most interesting issues and questions raised in the book. Josephi and contributors first gauge the relationship between journalism education and media system. They scrutinize journalism education based on different levels of media freedom in the countries selected. According to Freedom House, in 2009, journalists in 60% of the world's nations worked under or non-free conditions. Using this criterion, the chapters grouped region by region, and then the countries ranked within the region from the least to the freest per Freedom House scores. The twelve case studies cover four continents: Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Among the chosen countries, six do not have media system (Cambodia, Singapore, Oman, Russia, China, and Palestine), and the other six in the partially free category (Croatia, Brazil, Romania, Tanzania, Egypt, and Kenya). While we see the idiosyncrasy of journalism education in these twelve countries, shaped by different political settings as the contributors indicate, their similarities seem to be more visible throughout these chapters. Josephi argues that journalism education is not necessarily indicative of country's media system and concludes that journalism education and media system are not linked in any systematic way (p. 254). It is worth noting that the Western influence is more or less present in the journalism education of these countries, which can be roughly grouped into two types. The first group is comprised of early adopters of the Western model. For example, China introduced the Missouri model to establish its first journalism school in the early twentieth century, although it was later overtaken by Soviet practices under Mao. Since the market-driven reform took off in the late 1970s, China's journalism education has evolved into mixed creature, featuring Russianstyle operation built on an American foundation (p. 19). Historical factors, such as colonial ties in Singapore and Kenya, also leave marks in journalism education (p. 254). The other group of countries is characterized by recently embracing the Western model. Cambodia, for example, is a country where journalism education came as an import as part of foreign aid programs (p. 6). In Croatia, the European standards were well implemented in its journalism education (p. 247). This sudden facelift or forced change of the mindset of current or future journalists may be regarded as particular component of the shock therapy that these postcommunist societies went through. …

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