Jennifer Dube
4 October 2008
ZIMBABWE'S journalists need reorientation through refresher courses, workshops and exchange programmes in an effort to rebuild the media, judges at a recent edition of the National Journalistic and Media Awards (NJAMA) said.
Comprising media academics and practitioners, the team of seven judges said the quality of a number of stories submitted for the competition was quite disturbing.
"We are fully aware that journalists can no longer survive on their salaries," the judges said in a report. "Unfortunately, this has forced most journalists to contribute their best stories to online publications as a way of raising extra income for survival. . . The situation has resulted in a marked decline in concentration, interest and enthusiasm by the journalists, thus compromising on the quality of stories the media in Zimbabwe is receiving."
They said among others, newsrooms tended to concentrate on political developments towards the build up to the historic 2008 elections, resulting in very little or poor coverage in other equally important areas.
They said the recommendation to revamp the media was in line with the theme of NJAMA 2008 -- National Healing and Supporting Democracy in Zimbabwe The Role The Media Can Play.
The judges said they were concerned about the relatively low number of entries, particularly from the electronic media and community newspapers, resulting in a high number of categories without winners.
In the 31 electronic media categories, judges said they received about 20 entries and managed to find 14 winners, leaving 17 categories without takers.
"The situation was even more worrisome at the ZBC, the sole broadcaster (and) we understand this was due to a variety of challenges," they said. "Judges are aware that some bulletins are not recorded for archival purposes due to a shortage of resources such as tapes and machines."
Bulletins that include radio and TV morning news, midday news and nhau/ indaba, they said, did not have archival material, resulting in the lack of submissions for the competition. The judges said some of the few entries from the ZBC did not have sound and had very poor picture quality.
They however commended ZBC for good working relationships with some independent production houses saying these had a key role in the future of broadcasting in Zimbabwe.
Speaking at the same event, recently elected Speaker of the Lower House of Assembly, Lovemore Moyo said as the country embarks on the process of healing, the media's role should be to help the public to appreciate the contents of the historic agreement among the three major political parties and on national healing, to ensure ownership of the agreement and the healing process by the people.
"(The media) must always seek to protect the public interest and serve as a link between the inclusive government and the people," he said. "Government interference should be discouraged to ensure impartial and accurate reporting, while the media must afford its readers an opportunity to criticise it when necessary."
He expressed concern over some sections of the public media which he said continued to report negatively about the opposition despite the signing of a political agreement by the three main political parties.
"It is indisputable that the public media has the public service responsibility of taking a leading role in the healing of our nation," he said. "It is against this background that I call upon the independent and public media to have a paradigm shift in order to play a positive role in this process."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Zimbabwe Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
