The Sunday Mail
Government is currently implementing a raft of policy and legislative reforms that are envisaged to transform the media sector and guarantee greater freedoms to the media and media practitioners.
The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) is lobbying for the proposed Media Practitioners Bill, a law meant to regulate the conduct of media practitioners. The Sunday Mail’s TANYARADZWA RUSIKE (TR) spoke to ZMC board chairperson Professor RUBY MAGOSVONGWE (RM) on the current state of the media industry in Zimbabwe and the ongoing reform programme, among other issues.
************************ TR: You were appointed chair of the ZMC nearly two years ago. Can you outline your vision for the organisation during your time in office?
RM : There has been so much polarisation in the media sector and that in itself is a thorn that ZMC has to deal with.
I feel that the media need to bring about conversations amongst Zimbabweans irrespective of their diverse views and opinions and in the spirit of the Constitution.
The whole idea of promoting diversity and inclusivity is in line with our present Government policy of leaving no one behind.
So, inclusivity becomes very critical in the manner that we conduct ourselves as a board and also the manner that we deal with our publics.
As an entity, we are there to promote human rights and democracy in Zimbabwe through access to information and also freedom of information and the media.
We are very much interested, within the same vein, to professionalise the media as an industry.
The other issue which I am very passionate about is the issue of local languages, which is very critical.
This is because without promoting local languages, there is no other better vehicle that we can reach out and engage with the common people.
TR: What would you say are your priorities at the ZMC?
RM : We can have so many players within the media industry, but without the requisite professionalisation of the industry, I do not think we can grow at the rate that we envision as a country.
This is because everything has to operate within a specific framework.
Frameworks are important in guarding against infringing upon the general citizens and human rights.
TR: What’s your assessment of the development of the media sector in Zimbabwe under the Second Republic?
RM : I am impressed by the developments that we are seeing.
We have community radios getting licensed, our State universities are getting radio licences and there is also the licensing of television channels that are going to complement the work that ZBC has been doing.
For instance, the launch of 3Ktv has given Zimbabwean viewers a wider choice. Also, the continuing engagement ZMC has with the parliamentary portfolio committee on media and with other stakeholders is helping in developing the media industry.
TR: ZMC has been in the past been criticised for the way it has handled issues to do with regulation of the media. What is your comment?
RM : The whole idea of accountability, transparency and responsibility is something we cannot evade as the Zimbabwe media players.
I would like to acknowledge all the engagements that happen prior to our coming on board.
It will be a fallacy, in my view, to claim that ZMC unilaterally develops and comes up with policy and establishes a policy framework that they think is user-friendly.
ZMC does not make laws but rather administers laws. At the moment, we are still in consultations with different stakeholders concerning the Media Practitioners Bill.
So I think as an entity we have opened up to the concerns and the whole idea of inclusivity and engagement with the other stakeholders in the industry.
TR: What’s your assessment of the participation of women in media?
RM : There are so many factors that influence women’s participation.
When we look at the numbers, there appears to be a subdued representation of female players in the media.
But again that has to be looked at in a broader context within which women can actually participate and contribute to the media.
At times it comes as a result of policies of certain media houses, but there is a need for us to look beyond the numerical representation to interrogate the reasons behind why we have a low number of female participants.
We must also be cognisant of the patriarchal environment we operate in.
Whether we like it or not, the whole issue of patriarchy does contribute to the depressed number of female participants.
TR: What needs to be done to facilitate the entry of more women into the media sector?
RM : Capacitation is mandatory on our part.
If funds and resources permit, ZMC would like to capacitate female players so that they can contribute in the media.
Gender is a sensitive subject and it has many facets to it.
I think ZMC should come in through sponsoring some female students.We are also in the process of drawing some training programmes in line with capacitating female players.
TR: Why are we not witnessing the licensing of community newspapers moving at the same rate as we are seeing the licensing of community radio stations?
RM : The launch of community newspapers is multi-pronged.
We are looking at the issue of capital in terms of money and equipment itself.
The whole idea of penetrating certain marginalised spaces is difficult.
We may be willing to but there are factors that come into account.
The issue to do with making the newspapers viable and sustainable also comes into play.
So these are some of the factors that are influencing the delay of the launch of these papers.
TR: What is ZMC doing to try and fight off the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation in Zimbabwe?
RM : It is part of the conversations that we are having through the draft Media Practitioners Bill together with the Ministry of Information (Publicity and Broadcasting Services) and civil society organisations.
So many people have been “killed” through our newspapers and there were no retractions with equal prominence as the original headlines.
This is because there is no regulation and there are missing links in our professionalism that make people accountable.
There is nothing in place at the moment to sanction this kind of misbehaviour and conduct.
So it’s an aspect that is going to be included in the Media Practitioners Bill.
If ZMC is not empowered through an Act of Parliament, we will continue having these acts of misconduct because our hands are tied.
There is no way we can reprimand anybody if there are no accompanying regulations.
So that is the challenge we have at the moment and I hope the forthcoming Media Practitioners Bill will plug that hole.
TR: Is ZMC satisfied with the quality of training offered by media training institutions in Zimbabwe?
RM: There has been a proliferation of so many training institutions.
I do not think there are any minimum standards for setting up these institutions.
In our view, we think as ZMC we can actually help to standardise the curriculum across the board so that there is uniformity in terms of quality.
We should be setting the minimum standards and ensuring the quality of training that the institutions are giving to the students.
One issue we ignore is the fact that we are not training just for Zimbabwe.
We are training for the region and the globe and if there are too many glaring gaps in terms of the competencies and skills, we are actually shooting ourselves in the foot, because our practitioners will not be able to serve beyond Zimbabwe.
TR: What is your view on the proliferation of new media and online publications and how are you making sure that they do not become vehicles of falsehoods?
RM : I would like to applaud some of these new online media houses who have voluntarily come to register with ZMC.
That’s an indication of maturity and desire to be accountable, transparent and a desire to serve the Zimbabwe citizenry in a professional way.
Where they are not accredited and registered with ZMC, it becomes very difficult.
ZMC is very much committed to professionalising the industry because once the industry has been professionalised, the whole idea of accountability and responsibility becomes easy to deal with.
