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Birthday cult media
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2006-8
Monday February 20^th – Sunday February 26^th 2006

THE extent to which the ruling elite has enslaved the government media was well illustrated this week by the saturation coverage they gave to President Mugabe and his 82^nd birthday.

This was reflected in the torrent of uninformative stories that the public broadcasting corporation, ZBH [61] and the government papers [16 stories plus two 16-page supplements] carried on the subject, idolising the President.

For example, ZTV alone devoted nearly a quarter of the two hours 37 minutes of the week’s 8pm news bulletins (excluding arts, sports and business) to celebrating Mugabe’s birthday (38.25 minutes or 24.3 percent).

In addition, ZTV suspended its regular programming on Sunday (19/2) to beam a rambling 100-minute birthday interview with President Mugabe labelled Reflections at 82. The interview, conducted by ZBH’s editor-in-chief, Chris Chivhinge, turned out to be a monologue where Mugabe glossed over the country’s pressing socio-political and economic crises.

The station (22/2, 9 pm) also devoted its Behind the Camera programme to praising Mugabe’s liberation war credentials and leadership qualities.

The next day (23/2, 9.30pm) ZTV scrapped its Face The Nation to make way for yet another 90-minute long talk show praising the President under the banner Mugabe, the man.

Two days later (25/2), this slavish adulation rubbed off onto ZBH’s radio stations, which – like ZTV – obliged by covering the birthday celebrations in Mutare live, including President Mugabe’s 90-minute speech. Notably, ZTV re-broadcast highlights of the event later that night after its main bulletin.

Government papers were anxious not to appear neglectful. The Herald (23 & 24/2) devoted acres of space to the ‘reflections’ interview, which it serialised over two consecutive days. In addition, it carried a 16-page advertorial supplement – whose adverts were mainly from struggling government-run enterprises – hero-worshipping Mugabe’s leadership. The Chronicle of the same day also carried a similar supplement.

The official media’s overkill of the birthday celebrations did not translate into critical analysis.

Instead, their docile coverage simplistically amplified Mugabe’s statements, which only portrayed him as a caring head of state while simultaneously censoring excerpts, which reflected badly on his policies.

None of the government media questioned the rationale for the existence of The Twenty-First of February Movement, a totalitarian-style hero-worshipping cult based on nothing more than an individual’s birthday. Nor did they even attempt to query the lavishness of the party itself amid deepening poverty in the country.

For example, ZTV (22,2, 8pm) merely reported passively that $12.5 billion had been "raised so far" for the celebrations while Spot FM (22/2) referred to the festivities as "historic".

These media also declined to reconcile Mugabe’s admission of corruption and incompetence in his government (ZTV 20/2, 6pm and Spot FM 20/2, 8pm) with his own performance, or the moral grounds on which he judged his fellow African leaders to be "cowards" (Spot FM 21/2, 1pm).

Instead, Spot FM (21/2, 1pm) simply quoted Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa, Simon Khaya Moyo, citing Mugabe as "a specimen of great respectability" who "has shown courage where others have feared most".

Similarly, while the government papers unquestioningly overplayed Mugabe’s criticism of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) for alleged mismanagement, they did not balance their sycophantic plea for government’s intervention with any publicity of the regulations governing the International Football Federation (FIFA), which brook no such interference (The Herald and Chronicle [20/2].

Such professional insincerity also resulted in the official media suffocating the President’s justification for printing money to settle the IMF debt. Neither did they relate his dismissal of the IMF as a "monster" with his government’s frantic efforts to restore relations with the Fund.

The Herald (20/2) also portrayed Mugabe as open to a transparent democratic succession debate without investigating the real reasons why aspiring leaders continued to resort to "clandestine manoeuvrings and besmirching of rivals".

In fact, nearly all stories that emerged in the government media as a result of Mugabe’s birthday were developed into a one-dimensional glorification of the President.

It was against this background that The Herald (22/2) carried a prayer by an unnamed "Christian community" asking God to bless Zimbabwe and its leadership because the "skilful and godly wisdom has entered into the heart of President… Mugabe and knowledge is pleasant to him", adding that "discretion watches over him, understanding keeps him and delivers him from the way of evil and from evil men".

Such deification and blind praise of Mugabe in the government media remained unbroken throughout the week.

The supine nature of the official Press’s stories was a result of their narrow sourcing pattern, which failed to balance ruling party views with any alternatives, as reflected in Fig 1.

Fig 1. Voice distribution in the government Press

Although ZBH’s sourcing appeared diverse (in Fig 2) nearly all the voices accessed hailed Mugabe’s comments.

Fig. 2 Voice distribution on ZBH:

The government media found an ally in the Mirror stable.

For instance, almost all the 10 stories that the stable carried either regurgitated Mugabe’s statements or simply endorsed his views. The Daily Mirror (21/2) also carried an 8-page supplement exalting Mugabe.

However, the rest of the private media showed no such professional passivity in the 24 stories they carried on the matter, nine of which appeared on Studio 7, eight on SW Radio Africa and seven in the private papers.

For example, these media reported commentators taking issue with the extravagance of the celebrations, Mugabe’s defence of the printing of money, and his contempt for other African leaders, among other issues.

The Zimbabwe Independent (24/2) observed that Mugabe’s justification for printing money to pay the IMF was "no solution to our woes" but a "strange economic theory" steeped in "the facile mantras of nationalism and sovereignty". The paper’s article, Mugabe rapidly losing grip on reality, also noted that his interview provided the "clearest sign" of his "detachment from events on the ground" as he "appeared off message and handcuffed to the past" thereby "confirming he is beyond his sell-by date as a leader".

Earlier, Studio 7 (20/2) raised similar sentiments. The station (21/2) also quoted Professor Munondulo of the New York-based Institute of African Development advising Mugabe against isolating himself from his African peers over his unflattering statements. He said the President’s comments were "not a smart message to be putting out" since many African leaders were becoming impatient with the crisis in Zimbabwe.

The Standard (26/2) wondered why Mugabe was accusing some ministers of ineptitude when he should "shoulder the blame for appointing non-performers and then protecting them when they fail to deliver".

The government media avoided such analysis. Neither did they report on the arrest and detention of scores of NCA demonstrators protesting against the lavish birthday celebrations (Studio 7 [21/2] and SW Radio Africa [23/2]).

Although the private papers also gave more space to Mugabe, mostly excerpts of his interview, they tried to balance his views with independent comment. See Fig 3.

Fig 3 Voice distribution in the private Press

Private radio stations, as exemplified by Studio 7 (Fig 4), gave more attention to alternative voices.

Fig. 4 Voice sourcing pattern on Studio 7

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