OSISA MEDIA FREEDOM STRATEGY WORKSHOP (Monomutapa Crowne Plaza) on May 18th, 2009.

Presentation by Andrew Moyse, Coordinator, Media Monitoring Project, Zimbabwe at the OSISA MEDIA FREEDOM STRATEGY WORKSHOP (Monomutapa Crowne Plaza) on May 18th, 2009.

 

Zimbabwe’s media landscape is a wasteland…. And it remains so today. Despite some encouraging signs of the government’s intention to reform the media according to the Global Political Agreement between the country’s three main parties, the recent arrest and detention of journalists from the Zimbabwe Independent demonstrates the first point I want to make; we’re dealing with a Jekyll & Hyde government.

On the one hand, the MDC section of the government wants to see the media reformed – evidently for good reason. According to MMPZ’s findings the MDC has been consistently pilloried in the dominant state-controlled media in all of Zimbabwe’s national elections since its formation. Suffice to say that the story of the media in Zimbabwe – and of its repression and abuse by the authorities – is well known to Zimbabweans.

On the other hand, hardliners within the leadership of the old regime are finding it difficult – if not impossible – to accept the idea of democratic change…and most importantly of a change in the media landscape.

And – once again – for good reason.

If they lose control of the media and therefore the type and form of information reaching the public, they are painfully aware that they will also lose control of the public mind – and the generally unchallenged space the state media still enjoy today to exclusively disseminate their version of the truth.

 

So where are we today? 

 

A schizophrenic government is certainly a dangerous animal: One day it is initiating media reform conferences and seeking all stakeholders’ opinions, and the next it is arresting journalists and accusing donor organizations of “infiltrating” Zimbabwean civil society to drive the illegal Western regime-change agenda. This accusation was a front-page story in the state-controlled Herald only last week…

 

While there appears to be some opportunity to push open the door for democratic reforms, it is obvious that we should take care how we proceed.

 

So while I would say that we should pursue the media community’s well-documented reform agenda – starting with the laws that have so suffocated the voice of the people, we should also make contingencies for setbacks.

 

Of course, with a sympathetic Parliament, real media law reform is a distinct possibility and we must continue to lobby parliamentarians to pursue this as a matter of urgency. This is particularly important because, as has been mentioned a number of times in recent weeks, without real media reforms there is little hope of any other genuine reforms if the means of communicating with the public is still severely restricted and one-dimensional…

 

But we should also pursue the public advocacy and awareness programme around freedom of expression and public information rights for obvious reasons – the most obvious being that it is vital in building confidence in the public mind that we CAN reclaim our rights and restore Zimbabwe to a functioning democracy. Regional and rural communities are generally open again to outreach initiatives, although not without some risk. But we should seize this opportunity while we can, especially because these communities are desperate to hear what is being debated about the future – and particularly about Zimbabwe’s political and economic developments. And, of course, because they want to contribute too – and to be heard.

 

And then there is the training aspect…Because most of Zimbabwe’s media and journalism training centres have collapsed, or have long ago lost their professional staff, there is a need to prepare for a next generation of journalists in all fields of communication if we are ever to fill the needs of a rapidly expanding media environment – if that ever becomes a reality. Yes, there are quite a few experienced local journalists who can help to fill the gap, but more will be needed to staff the newsrooms of newspapers, magazines, radio stations – and the training institutions themselves…not to mention domestic online agencies, and dare I hope…television too, which will need the skills of film-makers and those familiar with all manner of television programming.

 

Concomitantly, continued support should be given to establish institutions of self-regulation and strengthen existing ones. While we have the Voluntary Media Council, it needs to be seen and heard more; it needs to speak out against continuing unprofessional journalistic conduct – and all those actions that curtail media freedom. But I am also thinking about the need to establish a genuinely independent broadcasting authority…and maybe a press or media ombudsman. This will be essential to encourage professional journalism, which has been so badly abused in recent years. These safeguards, together with the credibility of the output of media institutions will be the main instruments for ensuring an improvement in the quality of information reaching the public domain.

 

So…these are the main fields of opportunity that exist today for those of us in the media community…There are, I’m sure, many more that will need to be addressed.

 

But there is one other aspect that I’m sure we should consider…And that is a greater networking and collaboration with other reform-minded civics in the wider campaign for the restoration of democracy. While there is a fair degree of this at the moment, I think the voice of civil society will be more effective if we collaborate more closely than we have been doing thus far, and that we ensure that we are better informed about the initiatives of other sectors of civil society, especially where it is possible to operate on a collaborative basis.

What I am trying to say is that while the media community can – and should – lend its support to other pro-active civic initiatives, our own efforts will be greatly enhanced if our colleagues in other sectors are aware of our work and actively support it.

 

And the threats..? Or as OSISA so politely asks, the “challenges” that stand in our way?

 

Well, I mentioned these at the beginning – and we’re all too familiar with what they are. We should be sure that those who are persecuted are adequately protected and represented.

But most of all, we should perhaps seek to support and strengthen those elements within government that genuinely seek to restore a culture of democracy and not be afraid to act in the interests of their objectives – because they are ours too.

I thank you….