A year after the newly created Zimbabwe Media Commision (ZMC) issued its first licences to private players, readers are now spoilt for choice as the new entrants’ battle for the market share.
Among those given licences is Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) owned NewsDay, which has given the country’s longest surving publication, The Herald a good run for its money.
Market watchers say The Herald’s circulation has gone down drastically in the past year.
AMH also publishes The Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent, which have survived the country’s most turbulent times in the fight for press freedom.
Another new publication that has made its mark is The Daily News, which was closed down in 2003 for failing to comply with registration requirements provided for in the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa).
ZMC was set up following the amendment of Aippa by the inclusive government.
Takura Zhangazha, a Harare-based media analyst said due to lack of liberalisation of the broadcast media, the rural-based citizens have not seen an improvement in the manner in which they access public information.
Print media has limited reach compared to radio and in some instances television.
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The partisan Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) still enjoys its monopoly although the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) recently called for applications for commercial radio licences.
Zhangazha agreed with veteran journalist Bornwell Chakaodza that the expansion of the print media has made a positive impact.
“The major beneficiaries of this expansion have been citizens of Zimbabwe who can access more information on what is going on in the country from what are evidently different editorial angles,” Zhangazha said.
“The opposition political parties and civil society organisations have also benefited in that they now have a number of publications in which they can have their issues and views published either as stories, letters to the editor or as editorials.”
Over the years, the state media has become heavily partisan to an extent that only President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF received positive coverage.even after they joined the unity government, opposition leaders continue to be vilified and the state media has even gone to the extent of refusing to take advertorials from them.
However, Chakaodza said the growth of the media industry had come with its own challenges.
“Of course there are bad sides to the print media freedom that we are currently enjoying,” he said.
“There is pressure on journalism ethics in a fiercely competitive market in the form of sensational headlines which do not reflect the contents of the stories.”
Chakaodza said this was a problem that was evident in both private and state controlled papers, which are under pressure to maximise on circulation.
