Leading Media Through Disruption: New GIBS Programme Tackles AI, Sustainability and Market Challenges
Across Africa, independent journalism faces one of its most challenging eras.
Newsrooms are shrinking. Audiences are fragmenting. Advertising markets are dominated by global tech giants. Misinformation spreads rapidly, eroding trust. The skills required to lead sustainable, resilient, and innovative media organisations today are vastly different from those of even five years ago.
Against this backdrop, the Executive Programme in Media Leadership offered by the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), comes at a pivotal time. Designed to equip senior media and communication professionals across the continent with the leadership, strategy, and innovation tools needed to navigate an increasingly complex environment, the programme offers an exciting and intense learning opportunity to build new capabilities and networks.
'The future of Africa's media depends on strong leadership,' says Michael Markovitz, Director of the GIBS Media Leadership Think Tank and lead faculty for the programme. 'Yet too often, talented editors, executives and innovators are forced to lead in isolation, without the structured support, peer learning, and professional development that leaders in other industries take for granted.'
A Leadership Programme Built for Africa's Media Challenges
The four-month hybrid programme, running from July to October 2025, has been designed from the ground up to respond to the realities of African media markets — from small digital startups to legacy broadcasters, from public interest media to entrepreneurial ventures.
Participants will gain practical skills in areas such as:
AI in the newsroom and emerging technologies
Sustainable business models and media financing
Competition and communications law
Negotiation strategy and board management
Entrepreneurship in Africa
Public interest journalism in an era of market failure
Audience-centric innovation and product strategy
Styli Charalambous, CEO and co-founder of Daily Maverick, who co-designed the GIBS programme with Markovitz describes the motivation for the course: 'We wanted something that responds to the real constraints and opportunities facing African media, whether you're in Nairobi, Lagos or Johannesburg. And, importantly, making it accessible in terms of costs and travel.'
A World-Class, Cross-Disciplinary Faculty
One of the programme's major attractions is its exceptional faculty, combining GIBS's top thinkers in leadership, strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation with globally respected media experts.
Participants will learn from leading academics, practitioners, and innovators working at the forefront of fields such as media strategy, AI, public interest journalism, digital transformation, competition law, and media investment.
GIBS's own faculty brings deep expertise in strategy, leadership, AI, entrepreneurship, finance, and change management — ensuring a cross-sectoral learning experience that bridges media with the wider business and innovation world.
Urgency and Opportunity
Applications have opened with a deadline of 4 July 2025. A limited number of scholarships are available to support participation by candidates from across the continent.
The programme welcomes senior media and communications professionals, including editors, newsroom leaders, digital and product heads, media executives, policy-makers, financial and operational leaders with prior leadership experience.
Participants will graduate with a powerful new network of peers and faculty across Africa's media and innovation ecosystem.
Why Now?
Africa's media cannot afford leadership deficits at a time of profound market disruption. New operating systems, frameworks and networks are necessary to respond to the challenges of this important sector. The programme will seek to address the disruption by:
Digital platforms and AI are transforming content distribution and monetisation.
Financial pressures, market consolidation, and platform dominance are threatening the sustainability of many outlets.
New models of audience engagement, revenue generation, and collaboration are needed urgently — but require new skills and strategic thinking.
The regulatory environment is shifting fast, with competition and media law playing a growing role in shaping market outcomes.
'There is no going back to the old ways of funding and managing media,' says Markovitz. 'Leaders need to be able to operate in what we call a state of permacrisis — constant change, complexity and challenge. That requires not just resilience, but fresh thinking.'
Designed for Impact
Unlike conventional academic courses, the Executive Programme in Media Leadership is intensely practical and applied. Participants will engage with case studies, peer learning and a Capstone project to translate insights into action.
Sessions will include:
Public interest journalism and market sustainability
AI and data-driven strategy
Strategic transformation and entrepreneurship
Regulatory frameworks and competition law
Leadership in permacrisis and resilience
Inclusive leadership and cultural frameworks
Audience-centric innovation and strategic communications
Apply Now
For African media leaders ready to take on the next phase of their journey and to help build a stronger, more sustainable, more innovative media ecosystem. This is a rare opportunity to invest in transformational leadership skills.
Visit www.gibs.co.za/execmedia to learn more and submit your application. Applications close 4 July 2025.
There are limited partial scholarships available so interested applicants should not delay. DM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
10 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Who will steer the R55bn marriage of MultiChoice and Canal+?
There's a new power couple in African media. After nearly five years of courting, Canal+ has finally put a ring on MultiChoice to form a pan-African content colossus with global ambitions. French media titan Canal+ has secured the final go-ahead to acquire MultiChoice in a landmark R55-billion deal. After years of quiet manoeuvring and regulatory hurdles, the merger is now a question of who controls what. The Competition Tribunal's conditional approval, granted late last week, closes the chapter on a five-year 'creeping takeover' and opens a new era in African broadcasting. Now it's a balancing act weighing foreign capital with national sovereignty on a digital scale with local content. Enter the media monarchy In return for its princely sum, Canal+, owned by the French conglomerate Vivendi, gets access to MultiChoice's 14.5 million Anglophone and Lusophone subscribers, the DStv powerhouse, sports juggernaut SuperSport, and a foothold in streaming via Showmax. MultiChoice, facing rising costs and subscriber declines, finds itself rescued by a suitor with deep pockets and pan-African ambition. Combined, the merged entity will serve more than 24 million subscribers across 50 countries — instantly becoming the largest pay-TV and streaming provider on the continent. However, if Canal+ was hoping for free access, South African regulators had other plans. The deal's approval came wrapped in layers of red tape — not as a deterrent, but as a deliberate design feature. Transformation goals Central to the regulatory conditions is the creation of LicenceCo, an independent company that will hold MultiChoice South Africa's broadcast licence. It will be majority-owned and controlled by historically disadvantaged South Africans and employees. Crucially, Canal+ has no control and no board seats. This structural firewall protects South Africa's legal requirements around media ownership, ensures transformation goals are met and serves as a template for foreign investment in other sensitive sectors. Phuthuma Nathi, the B-BBEE shareholder darling, increases its economic interest in LicenceCo to 27%, with a new employee trust added. The licence, and the local airwaves it governs, stay South African. The R30bn lobola The Competition Tribunal didn't just demand structural separation; it also extracted a commitment package valued at more than R30-billion. This includes: A three-year moratorium on retrenchments linked to the merger; Significant investment in local content production, sports broadcasting, SMME procurement and Corporate Social Investment programmes; Ongoing free-to-air broadcast access for key sporting events, safeguarding the public's ability to view major matches without a subscription; and Local skills development through Canal+'s 'University Programme', to train historically disadvantaged individuals in broadcasting and production. In a media environment where Netflix and Amazon Prime are increasingly dominant, this local-first approach is designed to future-proof South African media. Showmax, SuperSport and scale Behind the regulatory muscle lies a clear commercial imperative. MultiChoice has struggled in recent years, shedding 2.8 million linear subscribers and burning cash to prop up Showmax 2.0, its streaming reboot built on Comcast tech and bolstered by NBC Universal's 30% equity stake. Canal+ brings financial stability and scale. It also inherits Irdeto, MultiChoice's profitable cybersecurity unit, and Showmax's potential to become Africa's answer to global streamers. Vivendi, Canal+'s parent company, views this merger as critical to its own transformation and part of a plan to split into three listed entities, with Canal+ as its global growth engine. Listing Canal+ on the JSE within nine months of deal completion is a further nod to local inclusion, visibility, and capital market confidence. The shiny ring can't cover controversial holes While South Africa celebrates a structurally sound deal with tangible local benefits, not all observers are convinced. Critics warn that Canal+'s track record and the Bolloré Group's 30.4% stake in it come with baggage. Vivendi's past includes one of the largest corporate losses in history and regulatory infractions that still cast a shadow. Vincent Bolloré, the billionaire behind the curtain, faces corruption charges in France and has been accused of turning Canal+'s French media outlets into right-wing political mouthpieces. With Canal+ now embedded in South Africa's broadcasting ecosystem, some fear creeping influence over editorial independence, particularly if there are future attempts to deepen ownership or control beyond the current firewall. Marriage isn't buying a horse Mergers are easy to announce but hard to manage. However, the competition bodies have played their hand cleverly — extracting commitments, safeguarding jobs and setting a precedent for how global capital must behave when it enters South Africa's strategic sectors. The long-term test lies ahead. Can Showmax truly compete with Netflix? Can SuperSport keep its sports crown as global streamers outbid for rights? Will LicenceCo be a transformative force or a regulatory box-ticker? Will Canal+ respect the firewall, or try to chip away at it over time? The merged entity is now king of the hill in African broadcasting, but it's a kingdom that won't run on size alone. Trust, execution and transformation will be the currencies of success. DM
IOL News
16 hours ago
- IOL News
Mnangagwa outlines Zimbabwe's path to becoming an economic powerhouse at the Liberation Movement Summit
President of Zimbabwe and leader of Zanu-PF, Emmerson Mnangagwa addresses the Liberation Movement Summit in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni on Sunday. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has laid out a sweeping economic transformation strategy aimed at empowering the country's youth, boosting rural economies, and positioning Zimbabwe as a driver of African innovation and self-reliance. Speaking at the Liberation Movement Summit in South Africa on Sunday, Mnangagwa emphasised that Zimbabwe's development would be people-centered, inclusive, and anchored in Pan-African solidarity. 'In our case, ZANU-PF has adopted strategies to empower the youth,' Mnangagwa declared. 'We are not only issuing mining claims but also providing equipment so they can actively participate in the mining value chain.' He revealed plans to drill boreholes in each of Zimbabwe's 35,000 villages.
IOL News
21 hours ago
- IOL News
Nomfundo Mcoyi-Zondo honoured as the first woman president of SAFPA
THE Icebolethu Group chief executive, Nomfundo Mcoyi-Zondo who's the first woman president of the South African Funeral Practitioner Association will be honoured in a ceremony today at the Durban Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Conference Centre. TRIBUNE REPORTER In a pivotal moment for the South African Funeral Practitioners Association (SAFPA), Nomfundo Mcoyi-Zondo will be honoured today in Durban for her unprecedented election as the association's first female president in its 25-year history. This momentous occasion underscores not only her dedication to advancing the funeral industry but also her role in championing gender equality within the business sector. Today's celebration at the Durban Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Conference Centre, will bring together a host of dignitaries, funeral industry professionals, and special guests, reflecting the widespread recognition of Mcoyi-Zondo's accomplishments. The founder of the Icebolethu Group, she has transformed her company into an internationally recognised brand that boasts a multinational footprint across various sectors, including travel, tourism, and catering. Mcoyi-Zondo's election as SAFPA president is particularly significant, marking a watershed moment in the organisation's history. Her journey in the funeral industry reflects her commitment to uplift and empower others. Just a month after being elected during a fiercely contested national conference in Sun City, she announced the acquisition of burial land along the M1 highway in Mariannhill, designed for the benefit of Icebolethu clients. In addition to her leadership roles, Mcoyi-Zondo's Icebolethu Group recently launched Icebo Labantu, a reality show that premiered on SABC1 on Sunday evenings. The show addresses the needs of families grappling with the loss of loved ones, showcasing genuine stories of grief and healing. Hosted by Thembisa Mdoda-Nxumalo, the show highlights how Icebolethu provides crucial funeral services, ranging from transportation and catering to tents and coffins, ensuring families can honour their loved ones with dignity and respect. The Icebolethu Group, in a recent statement, celebrated Mcoyi-Zondo's presidency as a milestone in promoting gender equality and African excellence, stating, "The tribute will honour her accomplishments and the general development of the funeral industry in South Africa, serving as a symbol of empowerment and cultural pride." Mcoyi-Zondo, who previously served two consecutive terms as chairperson of SAFPA in KwaZulu-Natal, accepted her new role with a clear vision: 'I am honoured to be trusted with the responsibility to lead such a powerful organisation. I ascend to this role with a full understanding of the expectations that members have of us as the new leadership. We are committed to serving with honesty and building a SAFPA that will add value to their businesses.' Joining her on the SAFPA national executive committee are key figures such as Deputy President David Maklein (Free State), Secretary-General Monageng Legae (Gauteng), Deputy Secretary-General Selwyn De Vries (Western Cape), Treasurer Luvo Titi (Eastern Cape), Public Relations Officer Thabo Banda (Gauteng), and Skills Development & Training representative Nape Masenamola (Limpopo).
