Mia Malan is the founder and editor-in-chief of South Africa’s Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. She is a former Knight International Journalism Fellow^[1] and a fellow at the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.^[2] Malan has primarily written on health issues in Africa and media sustainability in the Global South.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Background

Malan began her career at the South African Broadcasting Corporation, covering Aids and other health issues.^[10] In 2003, Malan joined Internews Network in Nairobi.^[11] She subsequently moved to the group’s Washington, D.C. office where she managed journalism training.^[12] In 2011, she joined Rhodes University as a senior journalism lecturer, teaching health and gender reporting to graduate students.^[13]

In 2013, Malan launched Bhekisisa as part of the Mail & Guardian’s health desk.^[14] In 2019, it became an independent media start-up.^[15]

COVID-19 coverage

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Malan received international attention for her coverage of the pandemic in South Africa.^{[16][17][18][19]} She has also written on journalistic reporting practices in the context of the pandemic.^[20][21][22]

Awards

• Health journalist of the year (2013 and 2016)^[23][24]
• Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Award (2014)^[25]
• South Africa's newspaper journalist of the year (2015)^[26]
• CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Award (2016)^[27]
• Columnist of the year (2022)^[28]

References