|
Back to Index
The
Zimbabwean is a gigantic media fraud
The Media
and Information Commission, Zimbabwe
Press
release No1 /2005
February 17, 2005
The Media and
Information Commission is shocked by former daily news co-founder
Wilf Banga’s (sic) misrepresentation in the latest media fraud with
his The Zimbabwean representing "the voice of the voiceless".
One of the most
sacred principles of professional journalism concerns the acceptance
and handling of funds and any other forms of subsidy by a supposedly
"independent" and "objective" mass media.
It is a matter
of public and professional concern who the funds or subsidies are
from; what the funds or subsidies are for; how the funds or subsidies
are accounted for and audited; by whom the funds and subsidies are
to be audited and what the funders intend the provision of the funds
and subsidies to have in the destiny of Zimbabwe to justify the
sponsorship of a propaganda outlet for themselves named The Zimbabwean
on the eve of a national election.
Purporting to
be published in London the Zimbabwean is printed in Ireland and
given away at $4000 on the streets of Harare after being flown all
the way from Ireland. $4000 does not even pay for combi ride in
Harare. A locally published weekly paper of similar size is selling
in Harare at Z$10 000 even with adequate advertising support. The
Sunday Times of South Africa retails in Harare at Z$15 000 after
being shipped just from Johannesburg. It too is heavily supported
by advertising.
The Media and
Information Commission therefore concludes that the Z$4000 being
charged for The Zimbabwean is enough only for a stipend for the
vendor. All the other players have already been paid from a clandestine
slush fund. That is neither journalism nor is it the way "the
voiceless" find voices. It is the way "the purchased"
earn their keep.
Such a paper
is no better than a missionary tract prepaid in Germany, the USA
or Britain, which is brought into the country for free distribution
to faithful catechists. Obviously the local couriers must be paid
just enough for one combi ride to dish out the tracts. A missionary
tract is even better than the so-called The Zimbabwean because it
has no need to hide where its real headquarters are situated and
who the key bishops are. Mbanga instead wants Zimbabwean readers
to believe that he is pope, bishop, editor and the World Bank at
once, but there is a clear commercial outrage as well.
Even the reactionary
World Trade Organisation would not allow a product concocted in
Britain and produced in Ireland to be dumped on a country 10 000
miles away which is only 40% of comparable local product. That is
far cheaper than manna form heaven. Here we suspect an imperialist
and racist godfather.
Therefore the sort of media dumping being perpetrated by Mr Wilf
Mbanga with the assistance of European and North American slush
funds is wrong on three counts:
- it violates
the most sacred media ethics,
- it contravenes
basic business practice,
- it abuses
and threatens freedom of the press and freedom of expression by
using secret slush funds to produce a product intended to undermine
national, duly registered and truly sovereign publishers who are
making an honest and transparent living by informing their audiences.
The MIC will
therefore not hesitate to take the necessary steps to stop those
three abuses and to protect our national and sovereign print media
industry.
End of statement.
Stamp: Executive Chairman,
Media and Information Commission
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
