African Media Leaders To Discuss AI Strategy And Newsroom Sustainability At GIBS Webinar

The webinar will feature Michael Markovitz, director of the Media Leadership Think Tank at GIBS; Wale Lawal, founder and editor-in-chief of The Republic (Nigeria) and alumnus from the 2025 Executive Programme in Media Leadership (EPML); and moderator Lindsey Schutters from Business Maverick. The discussion will draw on real experiences from the EPML’s inaugural cohort and will address the current state of African media sustainability and emerging leadership strategies.

The 2026 landscape has exposed a critical strategic vacuum within many newsrooms. While many organisations have scrambled to implement tactical responses – such as experimenting with basic chatbots or automated summaries – leadership often lacks the time or institutional support to engage these disruptions at a high strategic level. Historically, the industry has separated editorial excellence from business sustainability, but the current era of “permacrisis” demands a synthesis of both. Without this strategic pivot, African newsrooms risk managing a slow decline rather than building resilient, high-trust organisations.

To bridge this gap, GIBS has substantially expanded its 2026 EPML curriculum to move beyond the basics of technology. The programme now features a deep-dive AI Mandate, focusing on hands-on applications like prompt engineering, ethical governance and business model innovation specifically tailored for the African context. Beyond technical skills, the initiative emphasises the creation of social capital across the continental ecosystem, encouraging leaders from across Africa to collaborate and share insights on building financially sustainable and AI-ready newsrooms that can withstand global market failures.

“The complexity of the current landscape requires media leaders to step back from day-to-day pressures and think strategically about the future of their organisations,” says Michael Markovitz, director of the Media Leadership Think Tank at GIBS.

Styli Charalambous, CEO of Daily Maverick and programme co-lead, adds that the initiative is already yielding results: “Participants are not only engaging with new ideas, but actively applying them,” he said. “Our 2025 alumni are reporting faster business growth and a more nuanced space to think deeply about building resilient, high-quality media organisations.”

The inaugural class of the Executive Programme in Media Leadership 2025 saw 18 participants from across Africa embark on a four-month programme at GIBS’ Johannesburg campus.

Webinar: Leading African Media – Strategy, AI & Sustainability

To provide immediate insights into these challenges, Daily Maverick will host a free, open-access webinar on Friday, 15 May 2026. This session serves as a vital briefing for editors, publishers and media executives navigating the current crisis.

• Topic: Leading African Media: Strategy, AI & Sustainability
• Date: 15 May 2026
• Time: 12-1pm (SAST)
• Panellists: Michael Markovitz (director, Media Leadership Think Tank, GIBS)
  • Wale Lawal (founder and editor-in-chief, The Republic)
  • Lindsey Schutters (Daily Maverick business journalist & moderator)
• Registration Link: https://events.dailymaverick.co.za/events/2026/05/15/leading-african-media-strategy-ai-sustainability

The webinar will explore how African newsrooms can move beyond “managing decline” to build financially sustainable, AI-ready operations.

About the Executive Programme in Media Leadership (EPML)

The EPML is a four-month, 14-day hybrid programme delivered by the Media Leadership Think Tank at GIBS. It invites applications from practitioners and professionals across the African media and communications landscape, including editors, newsroom leaders and content strategists, digital, technology and product heads, executives and senior managers, and communications professionals. The programme is designed for individuals with prior leadership experience to maximise the value and impact of the experience. The 2026 cohort runs from July to October, with in-person sessions at GIBS in Johannesburg and online delivery across four blocks. Applications are open and close on 15 June 2026.

Media contact:

Ompha Tshamano, programme manager, EPML, [email protected]

About Daily Maverick

Founded in 2009, Daily Maverick is an independent national news and investigative journalism publisher. Daily Maverick covers pressing issues across politics, business and the environment, providing in-depth reporting and insightful commentary on the topics affecting the lives of South Africans.

Daily Maverick is one of the last remaining free-to-read news sites in South Africa and one of the country’s largest publishers. Available online and in a weekly print edition, DM168.

Its voluntary community programme, Maverick Insider, is designed to keep journalism free for all, and it has a community of civic-minded readers who participate actively through contributions to ensure this access continues for all.

Website: www.dailymaverick.co.za

About GIBS

Internationally accredited Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) is the University of Pretoria’s business school based in Johannesburg. It focuses on general management and aims to significantly improve responsible individual and organisational performance in South Africa and our broader African environment through high-quality business and management education. Our purpose is to inspire exceptional performance to make business healthier.

The UK Financial Times ranked GIBS 37th globally in the Executive Education Rankings 2025 for open enrolment programmes. GIBS was rated as a Level 4 Transforming School by Positive Impact Rating (PIR), an official partner of PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education), in 2023, 2024 and 2025. In 2025, GIBS ranked seventh among large schools in the Corporate Knights Better World MBA Ranking, and the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Global Executive MBA Rankings 2026 ranked the GIBS MBA in the top 100 globally and 2nd in the Middle East and Africa. In 2026, US-based CEO Magazine ranked GIBS 22nd in its Global MBA Rankings, recognising it as a Tier 1 business school. The School was also acknowledged as a Tier 1 institution in the magazine’s inaugural Green MBA Rankings.

GIBS is Triple Crown accredited, holding EQUIS accreditation from the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). GIBS is the 113th business school worldwide to achieve Triple Crown status. In addition, the School holds regional accreditation from the Association of African Business Schools (AABS) and local accreditation from the South African Council on Higher Education (CHE). GIBS is a member of the South African Business Schools Association (SABSA) and Global Business School Network (GBSN).

GIBS is a United Nations Principles for Responsible Management (PRME) Champion and an affiliate of the Central and East European Management Development Association (CEEMAN).

For more information on applying for the EPML https://www.gibs.co.za/programmes/executive-programme-in-media-leadership