Development of indigenous journalism and broadcast formats : curricular implications for communication studies in Africa

This paper highlights the need fora new ideology of professionalism in the face of the social and political realities of the Third World. It calls for a reassessment of the role of journalists, and the function of journalism and journalism education in Africa. It argues that proficiency in the receptive and expressive language skills should be made an integral part of journalism education and neither relegated to the syllabuses of other departments which have a variety of objectives of their own, nor left to develop by chance. Language, the vital tool of journalists, has to be utilized in newer and subtler ways in contemporary communication environments.