SECTOR 4 4.7 Media professionals have access to training facilities offering formal qualification programmes as well as opportunities to upgrade skills. There are a wide variety of media-related training opportunities in South Africa, although some are not necessarily affordable to the majority of people interested. There are normally some levels of bursaries available, however. Degrees in journalism and/or media studies are available at most universities, including the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg. Wits, Rhodes University in Grahamstown and the University of Stellenbosch also offer post-graduate journalism degrees. As an indication that media training opportunities in South Africa are well regarded on the continent, some 45-50% of those on these courses come from other African countries. Earlier in 2013, the Gordon Institute of Business Science ran a four-day programme on Digital Multimedia Management and Regulation. The Johannesburg-based Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) offers a range of short courses for working journalists, including longer, funded courses. Some of the programmes may be funded, but most must be paid for by the journalist themselves or their media house. “As the IAJ courses are not cheap, it is difficult for smaller newspapers to afford to send their staff on these courses. It is a big investment in a tight newsroom.” Media24 supports IAJ by sending staff for training. Independent Newspapers used to send its journalists to IAJ, but has not done so for years due to a lack of funding for training. The Times Media Group does not support the IAJ, but it does offer in-house training at cadet level. Some of these cadets end up working as effective full-time staff. Caxton, the Independent Group (now Sekumajalo Independent Media), The New Age and the Mail & Guardian all have their own cadet schools. The SABC has a policy that pays for staff to attend short-term (two-week) courses, at Rhodes University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies for example. The SABC also gives bursaries to employee’s children who wish to study media. The Thomson Reuters Foundation offers good, short-term, exercise-based training courses for journalists on various topics, such as women’s rights and improving business-reporting skills. These courses are offered around the world and scholarships for journalists from developing countries are offered. “Mid-term career training is not getting the support it needs from the industry. There is a strong focus on cadet training, but this may possibly be a cheap way to get people into newsrooms.” AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2013 69