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Gross abuse of public media
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Weekly Media Update 2007-5
Monday February 5th – Sunday February 11th 2007

THE authorities’ gross abuse of ZBC and its programming was illustrated by the amount of time the broadcasting corporation devoted to publicising President Mugabe’s forthcoming 83rd birthday celebrations.

For example, ZTV (12/2, 9pm) cut short a discussion on media issues during its Media Watch programme to accommodate ruling party propaganda about the event. Half of the 30-minute programme was allocated to ZANU PF youth secretary Absolom Sikhosana eulogizing Mugabe’s birthday while accusing journalists who write for publications owned by "some European countries that are fighting us" of "manufacturing" negative stories on Zimbabwe.

During the week Spot FM also regularly punctuated its programming with an old Runn Family song entitled "Ishe Komborera President Mugabe" (God bless President Mugabe), praising Mugabe as a God-given gift to Zimbabwe. The station also aired excerpts of his old interviews with ZBC in which he either bragged about the purported achievements of his government or pledged to improve the welfare of Zimbabweans.

Similarly, ZTV interspersed its programming with snippets of old footage that projected Mugabe as a caring leader.

In addition, ZBC’s news bulletins prominently featured updates on ZANU-PF’s preparations for the February 21st Movement’s annual cult worship of the President, due to be held in Gweru this year.

But while the national broadcaster was promoting this totalitarian propaganda, it deliberately suppressed important news affecting the public, such as continuing human rights violations.

Again, these only appeared in the niche market private media.

This week they carried 14 stories on rights abuses by state security agents against Zimbabwe’s citizenry and recorded four incidents. They included government’s intimidation of teachers to force them to return to work, the barring of male students from University of Zimbabwe residences, the arrest of college students and scores of members of the activist group, Women of Zimbabwe Arise.

The failure by ZBC, and indeed the government Press, to report such important developments reaffirms their unreliability as sources of information and reinforces calls for the repeal of repressive laws that obstruct the establishment of alternative news outlets that would adequately inform the public. 

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