• Transparency

Access to Information and Transparency

This paper assesses the status of the media in Zimbabwe. The report has three different sections which discuss:

• developments in the media sector in Zimbabwe over the past five years
• challenges for future media development activities
• a case study from Zimbabwe illustrating good practice in media development.

Key findings include:

• improvements to the media sector in Zimbabwe will require a mix of political and economic reform, as well as reform of the legal context in which the media operate
• reform of the media legal environment needs to include constitutional amendments specifically guaranteeing media freedom and the public right of access to information
• the Zimbabwean media sector needs growth and investment, an independent public broadcaster and community media
• journalism training and harnessing of new information and communication technologies are also priorities.

The report highlights a number of strategic issues arising from the case study which include:

• media initiatives should support community media and capacity building for media house
• support should be given to pan-regional media initiatives which give security to citizens and have more impact
• the lack of capacity, both in terms of skills and materials, hinders the development of media messages/content on developmental issues such as HIV-AIDS.<./UL>
  • Full text of document
  • Publisher details
  • Send to a friend