L’Année du Maghreb (Jun 2022)
L’École de journalisme d’Alger (1964-1990) : les défis d’une formation professionnelle
Abstract
Through a history of the École de journalisme d’Alger (Algiers School of Journalism), from its creation in 1964 to the large-scale reforms of 1990, this article aims to shed light on the journalistic profession in independent Algeria. During this period, the establishment of the single party translated into a monopoly of political power over the media as a whole (newspapers, radio, television and press agencies), placed either under the supervision of the Ministry of Information or under the party of the National Liberation Front (FLN). With the evolution of this university institute, the only place in Algeria for training in the information trades, there emerge different visions of the figure of the journalist and the great transformations of higher education in Algeria, of which the most striking is Arabisation.By considering, on the one hand, ministerial supervision and, on the other, the socialist and Third World positions adopted by Algerian political managers from 1962, this article favours an internal view of the institute. Sources consisting primarily of writings, such as university works, autobiographies, academic articles, etc., left by the principal role-players of the École de journalisme (directors, lecturers and students), have been enriched by previously unpublished interviews and personal archives collected from the above-mentioned, making it possible to approach as closely as possible to the functioning of the institute.The article first recounts the context of birth and dwells on the initial project of the years 1964–1965. The description of the first journalism training course since independence, organised at the start of 1964, just a few months before the opening of the École de journalisme in October 1964, highlights the influence of the socialist countries and the practical dimension of the training provided. The study of the composition and curriculum of the first course emphasises the choices made in the university programme, and outlines the tendencies of a training already geared more towards the acquisition of general knowledge than an apprenticeship in a trade.Then, in examining the various reforms, introduced at the level of both the university system and the École de journalisme, the article recounts the process of the Arabisation of the sector and its effects. It also shows how these contributed to progressively reinforcing the academic nature of the training, to the detriment of its professional character, despite regular debates and critical discourse by the leading figures concerned, particularly on the question of job openings for graduates.Taking into account the various projections on the École de journalisme finally emphasises the insurmountable challenge for the institution of satisfying role-players with distinct conceptions of the journalist’s trade.
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