AudiencScapes

The quality of journalism ethics topped the agenda in the first-ever meeting between senior journalists and the country’s media commission this week.

By Tawanda Karombo

Senior media professionals and the Zimbabwe Media Commission voiced concerns this week about what they see as a trend in Zimbabwean journalism toward weak reporting ethics and questionable professionalism. The discussion occurred as media professionals joined the commission in their first meeting since the formation of the ZMC a year ago.

“Ethical reporting standards and professionalism by some journalists in this country are very worrying and we should do something about this,” said John Gambanga, a senior editor with the Daily News.

ZMC Chair Godfrey Majonga echoed this sentiment and tasked the editors to reinforce ethical journalism practices by their journalists. Inadequate training for local journalists was cited as contributing to the plummeting standards of reporting by Zimbabwean newspapers.

“The training trends in this country are very worrying,” said Vincent Kahiya, the group chief editor of the Alpha Media Holdings which publishes the Zimbabwe Independent, The Standard and Newsday. “Training institutions are in intensive care and we are lagging behind. Some training institutions do not have modern-day resources while the curriculum that is being used is ancient as the resources that are being used to train journalists do not conform to changing media trends.”

The ZMC said newspaper editors should submit written proposals for input into the crafting of a strategic plan for the commission. It also called for expediting the establishment of a Zimbabwe Media Council, which will deal with disciplinary issues related to the media sector.

The delay in creating a Zimabwe Media Council stands in stark contrast to developments in neighboring countries such as South Africa, where effective media self-regulation has successfully been established. Majonga said the commission will include the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ), a media-driven initiative aimed at self-regulation.

The VMCZ, however, has been sidelined by state media organizations such as the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and the Zimpapers group, which publishes The Herald, The Sunday Mail and other state-controlled publications. These state-controlled media houses have not joined the media council, complaining that its composition includes nongovernmental organizations, human rights lawyers and independent media personnel.

Handing out more print media licenses
Other news from the meeting included the licensing by the ZMC of three more print media outlets, bringing to 15 the number of licenses issued for print media houses since the commission was established last year. It issued warnings to those who have not yet started operations. “We want to encourage those media houses that have not started publishing to approach us to explain,” said Majonga.

The three newly licensed media houses are a business magazine that will specialize in classifieds advertising; a Harare-based daily newspaper, National Day; and the local office of Bloomberg, which will be run by seasoned financial and business journalist, Nelson Banya. Banya was previously editor of The Financial Gazette and also worked for the Reuters news agency in its Harare office.

“We have licensed upto 15 publications to date, the latest being three media houses that were licensed this month,” confirmed Majonga. In addition to this, AudienceScapes also has it on good authority that at least three more publications -- Business Press magazine, The Southern Voice newspaper and Business Inc magazine -- last week submitted applications to launch.

Tawanda Karombo is a freelance journalist living in Zimbabwe, covering southern Africa. He can be reached at tawakarombo@yahoo.co.uk .

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