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Transitional Barometer Monthly Report: February 2010
The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
February 01, 2010

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THERE was a 64% increase in the coverage of the activities of the inclusive government in the public media, from 220 stories in January to 360 in the month under review. However, there was still no evidence of compliance by these media to provisions of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) requiring them to give equitable coverage to the coalition partners.

Once again, ZANU PF received the greatest attention in the overnment-controlled (public) media with 193 reports (54%), followed by MDC-T with 116 (32%) and 51 (14%) for MDC-M.

The official media's sourcing pattern reflected a similar bias. ZANU PF received the lion's share with 193 (61%) of the 318 voices of the coalition parties these media recorded in the month. Voices from the MDC formations were only accessed 125 times (39%): 76 (24%) for MDC-T and MDC-M 49 (15%). Figs 1-4 illustrate these disparities.

Stories on ZANU PF's activities were almost always positive, portraying the party as having satisfied all its obligations under the power-sharing agreement. In contrast, those on the MDC-T were generally negative reports that presented it as an insincere partner in the inclusive government responsible for the lack of progress in the implementation of the GPA, especially through its alleged reluctance to campaign for the lifting of Western sanctions against the ZANU PF elite and its associates, which they misrepresented as national economic sanctions. The MDC-M was reported mainly criticising the MDC-T over the targeted sanctions or demanding that the party call for them to be lifted.

Fig 1: Stories on coalition parties in the government Press

Fig 2: Coverage of political parties on ZBC

Fig 3: Coverage of political parties in the public Press

Fig 4: Political parties' voice distribution on ZBC

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