Weak unions, a state-controlled public media, poorly trained and paid journalists and a Constitution that ignores freedom of the press are just some of the pressing problems facing the media profession in Zimbabwe, writes Wallace Chuma. Media reform can be possible only if there are broader reforms in the nature of society and the state.
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/ 16 January 2006
First there was the decolonisation process that started in the ’50s, then came the deregulation of the ’90s. The "third wind" to change the African print landscape could be driven by pan-African projects out of South African companies like Johncom and Naspers. Wallace Chuma reports.
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/ 21 February 2005
It is understandable that the independent media should celebrate Jonathan Moyo’s political slide for he epitomised probably the worst form of abuse of power to settle both personal and state scores in recent times. As a Zimbabwean weekly noted, the information minister ”personalised his crusade against media freedom”.
The print sector in Africa is still an elitist enterprise. It may be a solid source of political criticism, but financial constraints have kept circulations at a minimum. Can the so-called "imperialists" from the South find a business model?