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Independent Media Council long overdue
Nyasha Nyakunu, MISA-Zimbabwe
Extracted from the MISA-Zimbabwe Monthly Alerts Digest- May 2005
June 07, 2005

Zimbabwean media practitioners have since 1980 not been able to come up with their own self-binding code of conduct – the pre-cursor to an independent self-regulatory body.

The establishment of an independent media council is, therefore, not only long overdue, but an issue that should be pursued vigorously by those who cherish the vital role played by an unfettered media in a functioning democracy.

The integrity of the profession of journalism has been seriously shortchanged and compromised because of the lack of will by journalists to work as a unified force willing to be subjected to probity and scrutiny by the public through self-control mechanisms.

It is common cause that the inability of the profession to self-regulate itself has left it vulnerable to the whims and dictates of politicians and those in authority who by their very nature are inimical to criticism.

This untenable state of affairs became much more acute with chilling manifest in the run-up to the 2000 and 2002 parliamentary and presidential elections respectively.

During that period some journalists allowed themselves to be used as conveyor belts of hate speech, violence, vengeance and retribution without being brought to account through a voluntary media complaints council.

In short, the journalism profession in Zimbabwe was taken to the dogs as the self-serving predatory instincts of politicians with the complicity of some media professionals, took center stage at the expense of writing truthfully and without fear or favour.

During that dark era readers woke up to fictitious revelations of opposition plans and plots to unleash an anthrax terror campaign as well as bomb high-rise buildings in Harare.

The insensitive and melodramatic coverage of the Cain Nkala murder case in November 2001, without an iota of sensitivity to the grieving family of the murdered former freedom fighter, still echoes as the epitome of the rank madness which gripped the media fraternity during the period in question.

An independent media council, it is argued, would have had a sobering effect on the professional conduct of journalists during that period.

Besides raising the standards of journalism, a self-regulatory media body also imposes certain sanctions on errant journalists by subjecting them to peer review, public scrutiny and accountability.

Studies of codes of conduct and independent media councils have demonstrated that self-regulatory media bodies ensure that the media is accountable to the public and also assures sources of news that journalists will act responsibly.

Besides ensuring that media workers perform to the highest professional standards, such bodies help in protecting the professional integrity of journalists against political and economic interference.

Recent pronouncements by the deputy Minister of Information and Publicity Bright Matonga, acknowledging the need for an independent media council pose as a serious indictment on the part of Zimbabwean media practitioners to unite for a common purpose.

It is a serious indictment because journalists should be in the driving seat as opposed to allowing the government to hijack the process as that will only result in the birth of yet another state-controlled body such as the Media and Information Commission (MIC).

This comes on the backdrop of the former minister of Information and Publicity Professor Jonathan Moyo’s riot act against journalists working for the state media not to have anything to do with the proposals for an independent media council.

Matonga’s assertions should, therefore, spur journalists from across the political divide to revive the initiative with greater vigour and strong sense of unity and purpose.

In working towards that goal, lessons can be drawn from the examples of other African countries that do not have statutory regulatory bodies such as the government-appointed MIC.

The Botswana Code of Ethics which was approved in early 2004, is one such example while other lessons can also be drawn from South Africa which does not have any press laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The Botswana Code sets standards on reporting accurately, right of reply, confidentiality of sources, privacy of individuals as well as guarding against publishing material that is likely to cause hostility or hatred on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion or political affiliation.

The 2002 Banjul Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa which was also endorsed by Zimbabwe, has obviously inspired African countries that have gone this route.

The Declaration states among other salient points: "Effective self-regulation is the best system for promoting high standards in the media."

The need to adopt a binding media code of conduct presided over by an independent media council has been on the back-burner for far too long and should be revisited and revived as a matter of urgency.

To act otherwise will only leave the media naked to the wile and guile manipulations of those who thrive on a fragmented media fraternity that does not respect the sacrosanct principles of reporting truthfully and without fear or favour

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