​​A South African media expert based in America has joined Stellenbosch University’s Department of Journalism as an extraordinary professor. Although he has worked abroad for most of his academic career, Prof Sean Jacobs, currently an associate professor of International Affairs at the New School in New York, has strong roots in the Western Cape and has kept close ties with his country of birth. He regularly visits South African family and friends with his wife Jessica Blatt and their two children Rosa (17) and Leo (13). 

Over the past two decades, Jacobs has collaborated closely with renowned media scholar Prof Herman Wasserman, who was appointed chair of SU’s Department of Journalism at the beginning of the year. Jacobs and Wasserman both started their journalism career in the mid-1990s at Die Burger newspaper in Cape Town. “Herman and I have a long history of collaboration. Our academic careers took off at the same time and in 1995 I received a Fulbright fellowship to study political science at Northwestern University, north of Chicago, and Herman went to do a PhD at Stellenbosch,” Jacobs explains. “After we completed our PhDs, we edited a book of essays on South African mass media and popular culture which was published in 2004. Over the years we’ve collaborated on many projects and co-authored regular opinion articles for publications such as The Washington Post, Globe and Mail in Canada, and the Mail & Guardian, News24 and Sunday Times in South Africa.”Both academics have received critical acclaim for their research and publications on media, democracy and society. Before venturing overseas to complete his PhD in Politics at Birkbeck College of the University of London, Jacobs worked as a political researcher at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa. He received a Commonwealth scholarship and fellowships from The New School, New York University and Harvard University. Jacobs served on the board of the African Studies Association between 2018 and 2021 and he presently serves on the board of the Atlantic Fellows on Racial Equality. His book Media in Postapartheid South Africa: Postcolonial Politics in the Age of Globalization was published by Indiana University Press in 2019 and by Wits University Press in 2020. Wasserman says he’s delighted that Jacobs accepted the position of extraordinary professor at SU. “Sean’s work on digital media in Africa has been groundbreaking. In particular, the website Africa is a Country, which he founded, provides an example of how digital media can be put to innovative and creative use to tell African stories. Our students will be inspired by his work. As a media scholar and critic, Sean also has a strong international reputation, and I look forward to finding new ways to extend our collaborations in the area of research. Sean also brings valuable links with his home institution, the New School in New York, which will be beneficial for our department in its internationalisation efforts.”Jacobs says he started the Africa is a Country website in 2009 to challenge prevalent stereotypes and misconceptions about the continent. The title of the popular blog is an ironic reaction to old and tired images of Africa. “We deliberately challenge and destabilise received wisdom about the African continent and its people in Western media,” Jacobs notes.At the celebrated New School, where he teaches, there is a great emphasis and appreciation of the idea of a public intellectual, Jacobs says. “The New School encourages academics to not only produce work for academic journals but to make their research accessible in the public domain. I think Africa is a Country succeeds in breaking down the wall between academic writing, which can be impenetrable and full of jargon, and conventional journalism.”  Through the Africa is a Country website and collaborating with local writers and intellectuals for two decades, Jacobs has also kept a finger on the pulse of South African media and the changes happening at Stellenbosch University. “Last year I participated in the Ubuntu Dialogues conference organised by Stellenbosch University and Michigan State University and I was impressed by the diversity of the people who were on the panels with me. I follow news about Stellenbosch closely and it’s encouraging to see how the University is reflecting a greater diversity of ideas and people while confronting its own past.” SU’s Department of Journalism is considered one of the top journalism schools in South Africa and Jacobs says he’s excited to come on board at a time when the media landscape is undergoing radical changes. “Herman and I have discussed a variety of exciting projects and opportunities for collaboration. When I visited the SU campus recently, I was impressed by how engaging and inquisitive the journalism students are. The best journalists are people with a solid grounding in areas such as politics, economics and sociology and a good understanding of technology. It’s critical to train media practitioners that can report ethically and accurately about what is going on in the world.”Jacobs says he looks forward to collaborating on projects to review and analyse the changing South African media landscape. “We’re also exploring interesting partnerships and exchange programmes for students. Another priority is bridging the gap between journalism and other academic disciplines which have not historically engaged with media studies in the university context. Herman and I are both passionate about community news and grassroots reporting that connect journalism with audiences. It’s a thrilling time to get involved with SU. I’m at a place in my career where I feel I can add value and facilitate exchange in learning and teaching.”​