(MISA/IFEX) – The government appointed Media Ethics Committee of Zimbabwe has presented a report in which it calls for further restrictions to be put on the operations of the media in Zimbabwe. The committee was appointed in September 2001 to look into the “level of professionalism” in Zimbabwean media. It has called for the government […]
(MISA/IFEX) – The government appointed Media Ethics Committee of Zimbabwe has presented a report in which it calls for further restrictions to be put on the operations of the media in Zimbabwe.
The committee was appointed in September 2001 to look into the “level of professionalism” in Zimbabwean media. It has called for the government to stamp out what it called “racism and the pursuance of foreign interests” by the media.
The committee, chaired by a Harare Polytechnic media lecturer, Tafataona Mahoso, said that its report must govern and inform the formation of a statutory media council to look into issues of
ethics in Zimbabwean media.
The report calls on the government to define a media policy that enhances people’s ethical values, culture and dignity. According to the report, the media should build upon the country’s history, experiences and the struggle for independence so as to enhance patriotism within the population.
In a veiled reference to the independent media, the committee noted in its findings that foreign owned media in Zimbabwe remained “anti-African, anti-government and Euro-centric”. The report
recommended that laws governing the operations of media practitioners and those protecting the privacy of everyone including public figures had to be implemented. This, the committee said, is in light of the growing polarisation of the media in Zimbabwe in recent years and also of the high number of cases involving defamation.
The report added that a distinction between the invasion of privacy and the investigation of matters of public interest was needed. It also recommended that the media should work together with indigenous knowledge and strive to identify with, and project, people’s aspirations. The need for the use of indigenous languages was emphasised.
The report by the committee has, however, been received with scepticism and suspicion, especially by the independent media in Zimbabwe. The independent media, including MISA’s Zimbabwe chapter (MISA-Zimbabwe), dismissed the Media Ethics Committee soon after its appointment, as a front for the Department of Information and Publicity.
The appointment of committee members was solely done by Minister of Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo and no diverse representation of the Zimbabwean media was considered. The
committee is largely seen as laying the ground for the set up of a statutory media council as provided for in the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
The government, which came under fire for its lack of consultation on the act, is seen as using the report by the Media Ethics Committee to suggest that a process of “consultation” took place. The report, as largely expected, dove tails with the contents of the recently enacted Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and recent political rhetoric (see IFEX alerts of 21 and 18 March, 28 and 1 February, 31, 25, 21, 18, 15, 11, 9 and 8 January 2002, 14 and 3 December, 29 October, 2 August, 25 July, 26 June, 9 April and 13 March 2001).
Despite numerous complaints noted by civic organisations regarding the lack of professionalism in the state-owned media, the report is silent about this subject. The national broadcaster and the state-owned print media have come under fire for directly supporting the ruling party and instigating violence through the use of inflammatory and racist language. The report by the committee is silent on all these concerns.
The report is largely seen as a useful tool for justifying the draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This is so because the committee allegedly held public meetings at which ordinary citizens, the media, business, church, community leaders and women and youth groups gave their input on the nature of the media they would like to see in Zimbabwe.
Background Information
On 25 July, MISA reported that the permanent secretary for the Department of Information and Publicity in the office of the president and cabinet, George Charamba, announced on Monday 23 July the appointment of a committee to look into issues affecting the level of professionalism in the media, as part of the department’s restructuring of the media industry.
At the time, Charamba was quoted as saying that the committee would determine professionalism and ethical awareness in the media by looking at news gathering, processing and presentation skills. The committee would pay attention to the level of skills, news value and level of advocacy. “The terms of reference are the relationship with news sources and fairness to and respect for the reading public; market pressures and their impact on the integrity of journalism paying particular attention to advertorial power, ownership and funding,” Charamba said. Charamba elaborated, “?politics of polarisation within the media industry and any other matters the committee may consider relevant to the development of a sound media industry.”