Mismatch between Theory and Practice? Perceptions of Ethiopian Journalists towards Applying Journalism Education in Professional News Production

This study scrutinizes perceptions of Ethiopian journalists towards the application of journalism knowledge and skills into practice. Through individual interviews and focus group discussions with journalists who work in both the private and state broadcast media, the study discloses the mismatch between the essence of journalism education and media practice in Ethiopia. Although journalism education plays a role in terms of the advancement of journalists’ theoretical knowledge, the respondents hardly believe that their practices live up to the principles of the profession. Accordingly, two views stand out. One is a tendency to believe that journalism education is unable to supply the input needed to support the local practices owing to the disposition of the curriculum to “Western” journalism values. The other is the attribution of the assumed disconnection between academic knowledge and journalism practice in Ethiopia to structural factors, such as unfavourable political conditions and excessive organizational interests. © 2020, © 2020 iMasa.