Academy is a Greek word from Akademos, a Greek hero after whom the garden where Plato used to teach was named.

It means a place of study or training
in a special field.

There is general unanimity within senior media practitioners and editors that graduates from journalism schools are in the main ill equipped to do work in newsrooms in SA. It is a problem that was apparent many years ago and led to the skills audit commissioned by the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) in 2002.

That audit found a lot lacking in the preparation of journalists for work. Sanef fought hard for journalism internships to be classified as learnerships by the relevant SETA, when the law was being interpreted as excluding journalism. This process saw many companies opening their doors for students to do internships, some of which have since been reconfigured into learnerships of the kind that Media24 has been running until now.

The problem persists however and is exacerbated by the continuing migration of experienced journalists into other areas, mainly consulting, government and corporate areas. The impact of this is that junior reporters with less than five years of experience are now the cornerstones of coverage of many media institutions, with graduates depending on them for guidance and help.

It is therefore important to ensure that the incoming reporters are as efficiently prepared for the tasks at hand as is possible. The creation of the Media24 Journalism Academy is Media24's attempt to do this. The academy caters for all the journalistic needs of the varied forms of platforms through which Media24 disseminates its content. This means the curriculum includes writing for online, mobile, podcasting, newspapers and magazines. It also includes video and the attendant skills needed.