VOLUNTARY MEDIA COUNCIL ZIMBABWE

2009, A Year of Challenges and Accomplishments

By: Abigail Gamanya – Programmes Coordinator

The year 2009 was a year of learning for us all here at the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ), especially as the pioneering Secretariat. In spite of the teething problems, we have made some headway as follows:

§        Set up a Secretariat and offices

§        Established a Media Complaints Committee

§        Established systems and procedures for receiving complaints

§        Held a  number of issue-specific advocacy meetings with Parliament and government officials

§        Held awareness raising meetings with both Journalists and the broader civic society

§         Conducted refresher mid career courses for journalists from both state and private media.

Out of all the above, the most significant results came from our training program, rather than from the adjudication of complaints which is our core function. Zimbabwe journalists who have borne the brunt of state repression are determined that only an independent  media regulatory body in the name of the VMCZ can provide safety and protect both media and consumer rights. This sentiment was also echoed by the Prime Minister in the Unity government in November 2009, when he stated that his preference is that of self regulation as compared to statutory regulation. This sentiment is a boost to the VMCZ. as it exposes the fact that it is the old regime that still harbors repressive tendencies and wants to see a continuation of the old media regulatory system. The existence of the VMCZ is therefore to be seen not only as a direct challenge to the old system, but as a policy intervention so that media reforms are not glossed over.  

Despite the Unity government, issues of entrenching media freedoms are still very problematic in Zimbabwe, as there is still no agreement or acceptance across the board of what constitutes media freedom and what needs to be done. It is in this regard that the VMCZ has a role to play as a bulwark against state infringement into media practice and freedoms and as in the fight to regain the media space that has been lost over the years.

The set up of the statutory Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) under the Unity government has been fraught with controversy, as known ZANU PF sympathizers have been forced onto the body. The ZMC in its form will still be a statutory regulatory body and cannot be seen differently from the former MIC. It is generally agreed that the ZMC is a temporary measure, at least by those in the MDC political formations.  In this regard, the two political formations have given a tacit support to the VMCZ as the ultimate and legitimate body to arbitrate on media issues in Zimbabwe.   The VMCZ therefore has that obligation and role to maintain its opposition to statutory regulation for the long term interest of the Zimbabwe media.

Training has been the main vehicle for introducing the VMCZ to the media houses, and we will continue with this activity.  In spite of media politics, training managed to be a unifying factor for journalists as professionals. The training has helped the VMCZ to reach out to the media houses and journalists with the concept of self regulation and ethics. The training has offered the media assistance in their ambition to be more balanced, impartial, accurate, and ethical and has shown that the VMCZ is not only there to regulate but to assist.

PLANS FOR 2010

The Board and Secretariat in November 2009 met to review objectives and goals of the Council for 2010.  Activities will unfold in four major areas of work aimed at enhancing the profile of the Council and building capacity at different levels in the newsrooms. This will be informed by media monitoring activities done to track improvement of journalism standards.

Description of activities for 2010.

VMCZ shall seek to promote professional solidarity, peer oversight, and learning from best practices as well as role models within the region as well as the Zimbabwean media fraternity. This programme shall comprise the following components:

1.      Visibility

The starting point for any self regulation mechanism for the media is that it should be owned by citizens, i.e. known, appreciated, and, utilized by citizens. While created by the media, the VMCZ is a platform for mediation between the media and its public. Hence, awareness must be raised about VMCZ and its purpose, and VMCZ must increase its visibility.  A comprehensive publicity campaign is at the core of the strategy of the VMCZ and will involve the printing and distribution of materials that are necessary to encourage citizens to use our complaints mechanism. The VMCZ also intends to hold a number of one-on-one meetings with key institutions that include labor representatives, business, NGOs, churches, youth groups, and women’s groups so that there is intense discussion of what VMCZ means.

2.      Source(s) Book

During the VMCZ’s awareness raising and training programme conducted within the first half of 2009, we learned that journalists need a comprehensive list of news sources and contacts. They were appeals from journalists at our workshops that a Source Book would help in their everyday journalistic work. The availability of such a publication has become even more necessary during this transitional period under the Global Political Agreement. A useful Source Book for the industry will include key contacts in the political, civic, civil, private, and media sectors. It would be published electronically and in book form and would be updated annually in order to remain relevant in view of the ever changing operational environment in Zimbabwe.

The Source Book will be a useful tool to key sectors of society as well as the general public in accessing people with information that impacts on their daily lives. Elsewhere in the region, for example in South Africa both the governments departments and media lobby group publish such a directory. The VMCZ also intends to contribute to the increase of women voices in the media, and this Source Book will ensure that women who are potential sources for the media in different facets of social life (be it politics, economy, banking, NGOs, sports, etc.) are also included. This will, in a way, remove arguments in the media that they don’t know which women to call to learn more about specific topics.

3.      Engaging Parliament/  political decision makers

The VMCZ also intends to undertake a comprehensive and vigorous programme involving legislators starting with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Media and Communication. This activity will include workshops to raise awareness of the work of the VMCZ within Parliament as well as facilitate trip(s) abroad, especially in Africa, to appreciate how other countries are dealing with issues of media self regulation. The facility trips will help the legislators not just enlist their support for self regulation but also to realise that this is the general norm on governing media work in a democratic environment. One key activity of this project is to bring the Press Ombudsman of South Africa to speak to members of parliament explaining how their structure works and the democracy dividends thereof.

The awareness programme also will be expanded to other members of Parliament by holding special workshops at the constituency level. These workshops will include community media scribes and publishers to enhance interaction with legislators. This we hope will assist journalists lobby the legislators to adopt a positive attitude towards democratic media reforms and practices. VMCZ intends to expand the awareness to local council levels where mayors and councillors will be engaged throughout the towns and districts of Zimbabwe. This activity is particularly important as it is senior community leaders, MPs, Councillors etc that have the most complaints against the media and also are leading perpetrators of violations against journalists. The VMCZ will ensure that its materials are shared with founding partners, such as Media Institute of Sothern Africa, Zim Union of Journalists, and Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe. At any meeting of these organisations, VMCZ materials will be distributed and, where possible, a VMCZ representative will give a short talk on the body.

4.      Monitoring

The VMCZ will collaborate with the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ), in a programme to specifically monitor unethical conduct and professionalism in both the electronic and print media. The MMPZ will document significant developments on the media landscape such as media violations, legislative changes and any other developments that will guide the VMCZ in formulating programmes and allocating resources to key areas in line with prevailing trends. From the monitoring, a body of knowledge will be built up on media conduct, journalism trends, and reporting patterns. The results also will help VMCZ to evaluate the impact of its training programmes and to design remedial courses. An annual review on the state of the media also will be produced based on the monitoring and research that would have been carried out. In addition to the annual review, the VMCZ will issue and publish press statements and position papers on the media as needs arise.

LINKS WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS AND ACTORS

The VMCZ plans to put in place deliberate, planned and coordinated interventions that will be inclusive of all media (public, private, community or state run) in order to achieve its main purpose. Collaboration will be with organizations such as MISA-Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, Zimbabwe National Editors Forum, and the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe. These organizations will not only strengthen the work of the VMCZ but also allow the Council to work towards the common goals of achieving professionalism, pluralism, diversity, and accountability in the Zimbabwean media.