Conclusion and building a case for the centre

Abstract

From the ongoing debate, a significant challenge for the media is how to bridge the gap between communication training and practice, on one hand, and the advancement of African societies and communities, on the other. The preponderance of media organisations in the urban centres has resulted in the neglect of the rural opulace and their needs. The prevailing media system will continue to drive most of media activities to the urban areas, thus efforts must be made towards the development of community media that does not necessarily have to be in the vernacular languages. Consequently, institutions need to focus on the training of correspondents and journalists who reside in areas outside the cities where almost allof the training on communication and media takes place. Distartce learning becomes important in this context, to offer an environment that is flexible to correspondents, within the demands of their work and social responsibilities. In addition, institutions need to address the issue of training in areas that are not traditionally viewed as journalistic. Areas such as Film, for example, offer untapped, but immense opportunities for growth and cultural development. Another such area is development communication and journalism.