On Monday, July 7, 2025, a team from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News held a podcast-focused event for students at the University of Media, Arts and Communication – Institute of Journalism (UniMAC-IJ). The podcast sought to educate journalism and media students on the significance of podcasting in modern journalism and its role in storytelling and content creation.
Welcoming the BBC team and the Guest Speakers, the Ag. Dean of the Faculty of Journalism, Professor Prof. Sikanku, emphasised the importance of the session. He noted that the BBC team and the invited Guest Speakers, were there to share their knowledge and experience about podcasting and its benefits for journalists. He described journalism as a powerful storytelling medium that is evolving, with podcasting becoming a key component. He urged students to pay close attention, as the insights shared could help shape their future careers.
The BBC News delegation included Mr. William Lee Adams, a Producer; Ms. Hannah Gelbert, a Presenter; Ms. Verity, an Assistant Producer; and Ms. Jumoke Adebisi, a Senior Business Development Officer. Speaking also at the event, were Guest Speakers invited to share insights on the journalism profession. They were, Mr. Kwadzo Afeku, a Podcaster from Gold Coast Radio; Mr. Percy Appiah, a Podcaster; and Ms. Seyram Afi Tsegah, also a Podcaster.
The podcast session, moderated by Ms. Hannah Gelbert, offered a platform for the Guest Speakers to share their thoughts and experiences. Ms. Tsegah highlighted the fact that, podcasts provide an opportunity to express ideas and deliver educational content. She elaborated on the importance of research, emphasising the need to verify facts to avoid spreading misinformation. “We do more research to get the facts right before putting information out there,” she said. She also encouraged students especially the female students, to begin podcasting while still in school.
Mr. Afeku urged the class to take initiatives by starting their own podcasts and discussing topics they are passionate about. He encouraged collaboration among students as a way to build ideas and grow together.
Mr. Appiah, advanced the discussions and spoke about the opportunities presented by technology. He encouraged students to take advantage of technology to make podcasting easy by stating that, “you can use your smartphones to start your podcast right from the beginning,” reinforcing that point that expensive equipment are not barriers to start podcasting.
Students interacted with the Guest Speakers and the BBC team by asking clarifying questions to gain clarity on various aspects of podcasting that were discussed. They expressed appreciation for the practical insights the resource persons have added to the curriculum and pledged to implement them.
Closing the session, Dr. Martin Ntem, the Course Instructor for the ‘Social Media and Journalism’ course for the Level 100 class, expressed appreciation to the BBC News team, together with the Guest Speakers, for their efforts in educating and inspiring the students on the relevance of podcasting, particularly in today’s media landscape.
UniMAC is committed to academic excellence, practicalising new trends in media and journalism and nurturing the next generation of communication, arts and media professional for the 21st century. Bridging the professional gap between theory and practice is the forte of UniMAC’s specialised training for professional excellence.