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Biased news reportage by state media
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2008-7
February 18th - Sunday February 24th 2008
February 28, 2008

The extent to which programming has virtually collapsed at ZBC was aptly demonstrated by the saturation of the airwaves with ZANU PF propaganda during President Mugabe 84th birthday celebrations. The celebrations, held annually under the auspices of the 21st February Movement, dislocated normal programming through persistent insertions of current affair programmes, congratulatory messages and music praising President Mugabe's leadership qualities. For example, during the week ZTV audiences were subjected to six hours of unrelenting praise of Mugabe's 'unique' leadership, without recourse to alternative opinion.

These comprised five hours nine minutes of propagandist current affair programmes such as Cde Robert Mugabe, From Humble Beginnings to Man of the People and His Excellency Cde R.G. Mugabe at 84; one hour eight minutes of praise music and seven minutes 18 seconds of congratulatory messages from government ministries.

The authorities' abuse of the national broadcaster to churn out ruling party propaganda comes amid complaints of unfair and inequitable coverage of the activities of opposition political parties by election watchdogs ahead of the March 29 harmonised polls in blatant disregard of ZBC's own rules on election coverage under the Broadcasting Services Act.

The highly uneven electoral playing field is set to further worsen following new punitive registration fees charged by government on journalists wishing to cover the elections. The Herald (18/2) reported Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu as having gazetted new registration and accreditation fees for mass media services and journalists where local journalists working for foreign media would be required to pay a staggering US$4 000. Local journalists working for local media will pay a total of $11 million. Those wanting to operate a representative office for a foreign mass media service or news agency in the country, reported The Herald, would pay a total of US$32 000.

However, the paper did not say where payment would be made since the Media and Information Commission (MIC), the then media regulatory body, no longer exist at law following the amendments to AIPPA. Just as with a raft of measures, such as undertaking to selectively invite observers to monitor the polls, these prohibitive costs are likely to discourage local journalists from covering the elections, and, more crucially, seem calculated to deny the international world access to unvarnished truth of what will take place in the country during elections. Such stringent demands on journalists are further proof of the continued repressive nature of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) despite the recent amendments to this law.

Notably, the amended AIPPA reconstitutes the MIC as the Zimbabwe Media Commission, consisting of a chairperson and eight other members appointed from a list of not fewer than 12 nominees submitted by the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders. But with parliament having adjourned due to the pending polls, there is little likelihood that a new commission would have been put in place before polling on March 29.

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