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Journalism standards in Zimbabwe have plummeted
Sure Kamhunga
July 22, 2005

http://www.fingaz.co.zw/fingaz/2005/July/July22/9033.shtml

I WAS amused when I read a statement by the Minister of Information and Publicity, Dr Tichaona Jokonya, during the presentation of a draft code of conduct by the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ).

He spoke of a "crisis in the media fraternity", particularly what he termed the informal media operating via the Internet which he said needs to be addressed. At the same occasion, ZUJ president Mathew Takaona spoke about lazy journalists who are loathe to research and verify facts.

Both could have been saying the same thing albeit differently, but the truth is that there is something seriously wrong with journalistic standards in Zimbabwe.

To start with, the calibre of journalism graduates being churned out by the various tertiary institutions in the country leaves a lot to be desired, as some of them lack the depth and inquisitiveness that should be the hallmark of any aspiring journalist. To make matters worse, some of them can't conduct a sensible interview and sometimes embarrass not only themselves but also the organisations they represent. You then wonder what sort of article the journalist will write and even feel for the sub-editors and editors who have to labour to re-write the article.

At best, some of the published articles are not properly researched and given appropriate background, and at worst, leave the reader none the wiser or more confused and with more questions than answers. On the other side of the coin, there is no consistent and religious follow-up of running issues and topics.

The most glaring weakness is in business and financial reporting, where the country is desperately short of experienced middle and senior level journalists who are adept and at ease tackling mundane and complex business and financial issues. This is a specialised area that needs passion in addition to the requisite skills and formal training.

Small wonder then that such important policy announcements as the central bank's quarterly monetary statements are not given the proper in-depth coverage and analysis that they deserve, save for the usual profuse praise given to such pronouncements by "analysts" and "economists".

Secondly, remuneration for journalists in Zimbabwe still leaves a lot to be desired. Only a few publications have seen the light and have begun recognising and rewarding talent. It is a sad paradox that journalists are highly regarded in society but they are still struggling up the social ladder and some confirm they struggle to make ends meet.

Being human, they become susceptible to subtle and direct "inducements" and "softeners" from unscrupulous people who want to either curry favour with the media or are seeking publicity. This inevitably compromises the journalists' professionalism and objectivity, and clouds their moral judgment on what is right and wrong. The loser in this case is not the readership, but the journalism profession itself.

That is why there has been an exodus of experienced and senior journalists who have either left the profession or have ventured into public relations and corporate communications disciplines, where remuneration is comparatively much better.

Those that have stuck with the profession are doing so out of the love of it, while others have found innovative ways of making an extra dollar by venturing into what Jokonya has termed "informal Internet media". This, ironically, is a creation of the government itself. When it imposed severe restrictions on the operations of foreign correspondents in Zimbabwe, this led to the closure of the bureaux of foreign news organisations.

This naturally created a void that needed to be filled and it does not need a rocket scientist - as former information minister Jonathan Moyo is fond of saying - to realise that someone had to feed the foreign news organisations with news about Zimbabwe.

This has led to the development of a thriving "Internet media industry" in Zimbabwe where enterprising journalists are writing for foreign papers and news agencies under assumed names to escape the wrath of their employers and the law. Unfortunately, standards have been compromised because some of the articles are sometimes laden with falsehoods and inaccuracies because there no is way the foreign media organisations can verify the facts.
Articles have also been spiced up and given a sensational angle to ensure they are published, something the journalists would never dream of doing if they were writing for their employer.

This is where ZUJ, together with other interested parties, should come in firstly to make a skills gap analysis, formulate a programme of action to help address the skills gap and also offer refresher courses to improve standards in the newsrooms. Without such a dedicated effort, Takaona's comment that some Zimbabwean journalists are "either lazy to think or dig deeper into the stories" will ring true in a year's time as it is today.

For things to change, there is need to end the polarisation that exists between the public and private media, which even extends to the owners of these organisations. It is an open secret that until probably a few months ago, it was considered professionally treasonous for a journalist from the public media to interact with colleagues from the "other side".

There is even an association of editors for those working for the public media and another for those in the private media, all pursuing seemingly different agendas. One is forced to ask, is this really necessary? Once again, this sad development is a creation of the government itself, which, through its draconian media laws, promoted this polarisation.

This polarisation could frustrate efforts by ZUJ to enforce the code of conduct. Unless it gets the solid backing and agreement of the entire media fraternity, the document presented to Jokonya will not be worth the paper it is written on.Without doubt, the draft code of conduct is a small step in a long journey towards restoring and improving professionalism in journalism, but evidently more still needs to be done.

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