By Admire Masuku
Journalism is under pressure. Trust is falling. Fake news is rising. AI is reshaping newsrooms. Unethical practices, shifting audiences, and shrinking civic space are adding to the strain.
Around the world, the need for strong, accountable journalism is urgent. But in smaller media markets, the crisis is even worse — fewer resources, higher risks, and growing public skepticism. Poor funding, economic instability, and increasing job insecurity are hurting quality journalism.
In such contexts, the future of the profession may depend on stronger partnerships between journalism schools and organisations working to build media resilience.
According to the 2025 International Media Support (IMS) Impact Report, good journalism needs allies.
“In a time of disruption, media partners must remain nimble and flexible, form new alliances, and learn from one another across borders, says Jesper Højberg, executive director of IMS.
The message reflects a broader movement, as many media organizations partner with training institutions to help ensure journalism continues to serve the public good.
One such partnership, between the Harare Polytechnic School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Fojo Media Institute at Linnaeus University, is proving how partnerships can help shape a new generation of ethical, skilled and adaptive journalists.
The two institutions have renewed their partnership through a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), taking a new step towards collaboration to foster sustainable and transformative journalism.
This partnership, which runs from 2025 to 2028, builds on a successful initial one-year pilot that laid the foundation for expanded programming.
During the pilot phase, mid-career journalists received training in investigative journalism, while trainee journalists focused on environmental and climate change reporting.
A Fojo-funded mentorship programme supported three emerging investigative reporters, providing them with intensive guidance.
Journalism lecturers from Harare Polytechnic also benefited, attending regional and international conferences that enhanced their teaching and professional development
A mentorship programme funded by Fojo supported three emerging investigative journalists.
The journalists received hands-on guidance on best practices in writing investigative journalism stories from local experts – Tawanda Majoni, Admire Masuku and Owen Gagare.
Harare Polytechnic lecturers also benefited from exposure to regional and international media forums, enhancing their capacity to teach and adapt to global journalism trends.
The renewed MoU outlines wider areas of cooperation, including strengthening journalism education, expanding collaboration with the media sector, advancing academic research, and facilitating student and staff exchanges.
Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to promoting professional journalism, inclusive training models and sustainable media development.
“This partnership will see us improve training opportunities for students and enhance collaborations for our staff,” said Harare Polytechnic Acting Principal Deborah Ruziwa. “It is a commitment to excellence and global solidarity in journalism education.”
She added, “This is a bold step towards promoting the participation of women in journalism leadership.”
Jean Nyaradzo Mujati, Fojo’s programmes manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, CHARM and Zimbabwe, said the partnership reflects “a shared commitment to building a generation of ethical, skilled and courageous journalists.”
She added that the renewed cooperation will help position the journalism school as “a centre for innovation” and thought leadership in journalism.
Under the EU-funded Advancing Global Innovation and Learning Effectively to Build Resilience in Independent Media (AGILE) initiative, Harare Polytechnic joins institutions in 13 countries benefiting from global journalism capacity-building programmes from 2025 to 2028.
Key projects include Women Media Leaders of Tomorrow, an 18-month mentorship programme preparing young women for newsroom leadership; Closing the Climate Coverage
Gap, a course co-designed with six other countries to boost climate reporting skills and output for international publication; and Managing Stress and Trauma, a mental health curriculum for journalists to be piloted at more than 30 universities in nine countries.
Another initiative, Investigative Reporting for Women Journalism Students, aims to build capacity among young female reporters through gender-responsive investigative journalism training.
These projects will promote progress toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to quality education, gender equality, and climate action.
Terrence Antonio, head of the Harare Polytechnic School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said the MoU will help the school meet the Ministry’s goals in TVET training.
“This partnership enhances our ability to deliver on the goals of the Education 5.0 philosophy and positions our school as a hub for sustainable, world-class journalism training,” he said.
“Our lecturers will benefit from international exposure and training opportunities, while our students gain invaluable practical experience aligned with the demands of a modern media environment.”
The MoU will see the journalism school partner with local media and journalism institutions, including the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Great Zimbabwe University (GZU), as well as with Fojo-affiliated institutions globally.
Cris Chinaka, director of ZimFact and a member of the Fojo Media Programmes Zimbabwe education board, praised Harare Polytechnic’s contributions to media training and
its continued efforts to set the pace for journalism training in the country.
“Harare Polytechnic has been held high not only locally but globally,” he said. “Its contribution to capacity building is probably more than you know and well regarded.”
He said the partnership ensures that “journalists are accountable for their actions by going beyond the classroom and influencing industry cultures.”
Chinaka said Fojo’s integrated approach—spanning training, mentorship and practical application—sets it apart. “Fojo plants the seed, grows it, and ensures that it is accountable to
the people. Very few institutions traverse all three elements,” he said.
Since 2007, Fojo has worked in Zimbabwe to enhance professionalism in journalism and raise the standard of training institutions.
This networked, global approach not only facilitates knowledge sharing but also reinforces a shared sense of purpose among journalism educators and practitioners.
As the journalism landscape continues to evolve, partnerships like this mirror how international cooperation can foster ethical, inclusive and resilient journalism.
The future of quality journalism depends on strong partnerships among training institutions, the media industry and development partners.
