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Launch of the Media Council of Zimbabwe (MCZ)
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2007-2
Monday January 15th 2007 – Sunday January 21st 2007

AS the media fraternity prepared for the launch of the Media Council of Zimbabwe (MCZ), Acting Information Minister Paul Mangwana launched a pre-emptive attack on the initiative, misrepresenting the principle behind the self-regulatory body.

The Chronicle (22/1) reported him telling journalists that the MCZ’s draft constitution was "undemocratic" and an "infringement of the Bill of Rights" because "it barred complainants who would have sought recourse from the council to take legal action against the errant journalists".

The paper did not subject these claims to scrutiny.

For instance, it did not clarify that the spirit behind the council is to encourage amicable resolutions to disputes and that the council cannot – and does not intend to be – a substitute for judicial authority. Neither did the story explain that the provision applies only to those who first choose to seek redress through the council rather than seeking legal redress, and that the council’s establishment is aimed at encouraging greater professional conduct among journalists.

There was no indication that the paper sought the opinion of the Media Alliance that is sponsoring the establishment of the council, or that the version of the constitution is a draft that can be amended by the inaugural convention to establish the council that was due to take place on January 26th. Instead, it passively quoted Mangwana criticising the constitution for being silent on "an instrument for punishing errant or irresponsible journalists", arguing that "just publishing an apology" as stated was "not enough".

Most notably, the paper was silent on the fact that the country already has a battery of repressive media laws that aggrieved parties can still use against the media.

The Chronicle also allowed the minister to dismiss the idea of an independent media council. He argued that the council, like other "self-regulatory institutions", should be "linked to the Government" through "the parent ministry" and "not completely divorced from the State" as advocates of the MCZ were "trying to do". He did not elaborate on the nature of this relationship or explain why the authorities still wanted the body "linked" to government if they were not "against the setting up of a self-regulatory council" as he claimed. Neither was he asked to.

Such statements expose the fallacy of the authorities’ claims that the government only established the Media and Information Commission as a result of the media’s failure to form their own regulatory body.

In another development revealing the intolerance of government over the issue of media freedom, the private electronic media (Zimdaily19/1) reported more cases of security agents confiscating radio sets donated to rural communities by civic organisations to enable them to access independent Short Wave broadcasts on Zimbabwe.

Earlier, ZTV (17/1 8pm) did not report the illegal confiscation of the radios, but quoted Mashonaland East governor Ray Kaukonde criticizing NGOs for distributing radios instead of food. He told ZTV’s audiences that the NGOs were handing out radios that "churn out anti-government propaganda". This quote gave ZTV’s presenter the chance to editorialise the story’s introduction by saying the radios were meant "to divide villagers and force them to rise against the government".

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