The media of
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
has varying amounts of control by successive governments, coming under tight restriction in recent years by the government of
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
, particularly during the growing economic and political crisis in the country. The Zimbabwean constitution promotes freedom of the media and expression, however this is hampered by interference and the implementation of strict media laws. In its 2008 report,
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
ranked the Zimbabwean media as 151st out of 173.
["Press Freedom Index"]
. Reporters Without Borders.
History
1965–1980
Following
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
's
Unilateral Declaration of Independence
A unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) is a formal process leading to the establishment of a new state by a subnational entity which declares itself independent and sovereign without a formal agreement with the state which it is secedi ...
(UDI) in 1965, one of the main aims of the protracted political struggle launched by the
Zimbabwe African National Union
The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Muga ...
(ZANU) and the
Zimbabwe African People's Union
The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) is a Zimbabwean political party. It is a militant organization and political party that campaigned for majority rule in Rhodesia, from its founding in 1961 until 1980. In 1987, it merged with the Zimba ...
(ZAPU) during the
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War, also called the Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe-Rhodesia).
The conflict pitted three for ...
was for a
free press.
[Chavunduka, M. G. (2002). In ''The Right to Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development''. Eds. Islam, R., Djankov, S. & McLeish, C. World Bank Publications. ] The independent Rhodesian press was also almost universally critical of UDI, and claimed to have been subject to physical intimidation by the authorities. New legislation was also passed declaring it illegal to print statements "likely to cause alarm, fear, or despondency among readers".
In the 1970s, criticism was leveled at Rhodesia's
Official Secrets Act
An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security but in unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secrets Act 1911) can include all infor ...
, which made it a crime to publish articles related to "classified information" and the Law and Order Maintenance Act (LOMA), which allowed the state to impose exceptionally heavy sentences on those who violated the ban.
[ Such acts were used to impose a ]media blackout
Media blackout is the censorship of news related to a certain topic, particularly in mass media, for any reason. A media blackout may be voluntary, or may in some countries be enforced by the government or state. The latter case is controversial in ...
on journalists reporting on allegedly excessive losses or setbacks suffered by the Rhodesian Security Forces
The Rhodesian Security Forces were the military forces of the Rhodesian government. The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of a ground force (the Rhodesian Army), the Rhodesian Air Force, the British South Africa Police, and various personnel a ...
as the bush war intensified. Media was ordered to focus on casualties among guerrillas and to report on their retreats to Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
and Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
.[
Shortly after the Lancaster House Conference, media restrictions were again revised. Censorship of the foreign press ended, although the Joint Operations Command retained the power to apply internal media blackouts at its discretion. This was protected by Section 42a of the Law and Order Maintenance Act, and when ]general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
were held in February 1980 nothing had been done to alter it. Nevertheless, the security forces were also forbidden to abuse the legislation by banning the publication of political material. The Rhodesian government had also issued a number of "D Notices", which revoked publishing rights to photographs of two candidates, Joshua Nkomo
Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo (19 June 1917 – 1 July 1999) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and Matabeleland politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's ...
and Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
, except through official sanction. These remained in force during the election.
1980–1999
After Mugabe's victory in the 1980 election, the new Republic of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
did not implement the proposed media reforms carried over from the Rhodesian years, which were instead seen as useful for disseminating information approved by the government. The only act to be repealed was the Powers, Privileges, and Immunities of Parliament Act, which had made it illegal for media to report on debates in parliament.[ In January 1981, the government set up the Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust (ZMMT) as part of the government's new media policy, under widespread criticism of the national media, which at the time was inherited from foreign control. It was originally intended to serve as an authority to oversee the transition of the media from white minority control to Zimbabwean society as a whole and to regulate the media.][Park, Myung-Jin; Curran, James. (2000). ''The media and the state in Zimbabwe'' in ''De-Westernizing Media Studies.'' Routledge. .] The government emphasised that the media be free, non-partisan, mass-orientated and serve the national interest; however, a growing presence of the Ministry of Information into the media effected its original function.[
Despite difficult working conditions for the media, they had contributed to improved governance in Zimbabwe. In 1987, despite threats from the ]Zimbabwe National Army
The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is the primary branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces responsible for land-oriented military operations. It is the largest service branch under the Zimbabwean Joint Operations Command (JOC). The modern army has ...
where the disease was taking its toll, the ''Financial Gazette'' newspaper published its first article on AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
.[''World Press Freedom Review 2000''. International Press Institute, 2000. Vienna.] The topic was vigorously covered in the private media, which later led to the government's decision to facilitate maximum publicity and education on the disease. Around the late 1980s, while the government was favouring a one-party state based on its alliances with other communist states, independent media launched a campaign against this style of governance, which was later joined by the public, churches and opposition groups.[ By 1988, the concept was abandoned and continued in its multi-party form. In 1989, '']Chronicle
A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
'' editors Geoffrey Nyarota
Geoffrey Nyarota (born c. 1951) is a Zimbabwean journalist and human rights activist. Born in colonial Southern Rhodesia, he trained as a teacher before beginning his career with a Zimbabwean state-owned newspaper, '' The Herald''. As editor of t ...
and Davison Maruziva
Davison Maruziva is a Zimbabwean journalist and editor. Along with Geoffrey Nyarota, he broke the 1989 "Willowgate" scandal that resulted in the resignation of five government ministers, but was forced from his job with the state-owned '' Bulawa ...
exposed what was known as the Willowgate scandal which exposed corruption of the authorities during a shortage of foreign currency in Zimbabwe. It emerged that foreign vehicles were sold at cheaper prices compared to the public which were sold the vehicles at highly inflated prices. Media coverage led to the resignation of six government officials, one of whom later committed suicide.[ This was followed by further scandals in the 1990s which involved the looting of funds set aside for government projects by government officials, which the media brought to the attention of parliament. The government responded with corrective actions, though not all of the suspects were punished.][ The looting of diamonds in the ]Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
by the Zimbabwe National Army on a peacekeeping
Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.
Within the United N ...
mission also led to a national investigation.[
A decline in popularity of the government in the late 1990s and growing instability saw the emergence of independent newspapers critical of the government, including the ''Financial Gazette'', ''Daily News'' and ''The Standard''. The independent press competed with the more dominant ]state media
State media or government media are media outlets that are under financial and/or editorial control of the state or government, directly or indirectly. There are different types of state and government media. State-controlled or state-run media a ...
, particularly the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is the state-owned broadcaster in Zimbabwe. It was established as the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC), taking its current name in 1980. Like the RBC before it, the ZBC has been accused of bein ...
, which is currently the sole TV and radio broadcaster in the country. The emergence of this new media, along with civic groups and opposition parties, successfully changed government policy from a one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
to a multi-party system
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...
.[
]
1999-present
All news media in the country are careful to reflect the government line when reporting by self-censorship.["BBC Country Profile: Zimbabwe media"]
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
, November 20, 2008. Private press was common and still exists, however since the 2002 Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) was passed, (which replaced LOMA from 40 years earlier[) a number of outlets were shut down by the government, including ''The Daily News'' the same year.][ As a result, many press organisations have been set up in both neighbouring and Western countries by exiled Zimbabweans. However, because the internet is currently unrestricted, many Zimbabweans are allowed to access online news sites set up by exiled journalists.][2009 Map of Press Freedom: Zimbabwe]
Freedom House. Reporters Without Borders claims the media in Zimbabwe involves "surveillance, threats, imprisonment, censorship, blackmail, abuse of power and denial of justice are all brought to bear to keep firm control over the news."[ Opposition views are often skewed, scantly covered or not mentioned in the state media, which has also criticised demonstrations and strikes against the government.][ Until July 2009, a Zambian newspaper, ''The Post'', was the only foreign newspaper allowed to work in the country, along with the ]Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.
AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
, Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
and SABC
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...
news agencies.
After a power sharing deal was agreed by ZANU–PF
The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years under Robert Mugabe, first as prime ministe ...
and the opposition MDC in February 2009, Morgan Tsvangirai
Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was President of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democratic ...
announced he was to "democratise" the state media and repeal many strict laws in order for the media to have a more meaningful role in the rebuilding of the country. The MDC had accused the state media
State media or government media are media outlets that are under financial and/or editorial control of the state or government, directly or indirectly. There are different types of state and government media. State-controlled or state-run media a ...
of "gutter journalism" and biased reporting against the party. In April 2009, the coalition government planned to review media restrictions, including the removal of bans for some foreign news agencies and to create a new media commission to issue licences. ZANU–PF Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa
Patrick Antony Chinamasa (born 25 January 1947) is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as the minister of various cabinet ministries. Previously he served as the Minister of Finance and Investment Promotion and the ...
said there was an "agreement to review the media policy so as to create a political climate where divergent voices will be heard." The media environment is slowly improving in Zimbabwe; on July 28, 2009, Zimbabwean journalists set up a rights body, the Zimbabwe Journalists for Human Rights to defend media freedom in the country and the establishment of a new government body, the Zimbabwe Media Commission to replace the defunct Media and Information Commission. Three papers – the previously banned ''Daily News'', ''Financial Gazette'' and ''NewsDay'' were to relaunch. A licence was issued to the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) that publishes ''Daily News'' which the government previously banned, was now free to operate. The ''Daily News'' newspaper re-appeared again on March 18, 2011, with its first article questioning whether Robert Mugabe should continue to rule at the age of 87.
Relations with foreign media and governments
The Zimbabwean press at times has strained relations with foreign press and governments. Governments from neighbouring countries such as Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
and Zambia, as well as Tanzania who have a tense relationship with Zimbabwe, have regularly protested against attacks on their countries by Zimbabwean state media
State media or government media are media outlets that are under financial and/or editorial control of the state or government, directly or indirectly. There are different types of state and government media. State-controlled or state-run media a ...
. The government also banned many foreign broadcasting stations from Zimbabwe, including the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
. However, restrictions were lifted in July 2009, meaning the BBC and CNN could again operate in the country, however other aforementioned Western news media organizations are still forbidden to operate. News agencies and newspapers from other Western countries and South Africa have also been banned from the country. Other stations that were allowed into Zimbabwe, such as
, were told to be "more objective" in their reporting by the Zimbabwean government during the presidential election.
Rising media fees for reporting in the country have also caused condemnation from foreign journalists claiming that
will deteriorate. The Ministry of Information claimed the rising costs were necessary to prevent foreign journalists for "distorting stories".
'', Zimbabwe's major newspaper, replaced the ''Mashonaland and Zambesian Times'', which was present from the late 1890s. ''The Herald'', once an influential paper, has seen a decline in readership from 132,000 to between 50,000 and 100,000 in recent years.