Sensational media building or destroying Zimbabwe?

Our country, Zimbabwe, is undergoing a crucial process of metamorphosis for us all to redefine ourselves in the era of uncertainties. The nation is faced by numerous challenges which imperatively demand extreme concentration with untiring hope for practical solutions. This dispensation requires a comprehensive involvement of all citizens, with the media playing the leading role sufficient enough to make a difference.

Alas! To what extent is the local press capable of executing this responsibility to the best satisfaction of the mammoth challenges confronting the citizenry.

The media seems possessed by the destructive demon of sensationalism which threatens to upset our society and derail it from its focused developmental goals.

Sensationalism in media operations is a type of intentional, and purposefully commissioned editorial bias in mass communication in which events, topics in news stories, and pieces are over-hyped to present biased impressions cause a manipulation of the truth of a story. For example, in the recent weeks, there were sensational headlines by various local newspapers. They were exaggerating the shortage of basic commodities on the market as well as the purported soaring prices of such products.

Last week, the Reserve Bank Governor, Dr John Mangudya, complained heavily over such sensational headlines which jeopardise the state interests in a big way if not well managed. The major risky is on sending the wrong messages to the potential investors, and the whole population that is subjected unnecessary panic.

Meanwhile, it's a living that the nation is on the recovery path. In that vein, we are all including media practitioners are obliged to work together with one purpose to develop our society for the good of the population, and future generations. If we function irresponsibly we will endanger the lives of all future generations today, consciously or unconsciously.

 Sensationalism peddled by some irresponsible colleagues on the media front, incorporates reporting emphatically about generally insignificant trivial matters, and events that do not influence meaningfully overall society, and biased presentations of newsworthy topics in an inconsequential or lurid manner contrary to the fundamental principles of ethical professional journalism.

The old adage that, 'The pen is mightier than the sword' remains valid today. It is quite easy to destroy our own nationhood through our daily media reports, and then we attempt to find a scapegoat over our own recklessness. Surely, some tactics engaged by our kith and kins in the journalism fraternity, include being deliberately obtuse, appealing to emotions with well calculated objective to whip them wild to ensure screams ensue, being controversial, intentionally omitting facts, and information critical to facilitate making of informed decisions, being loud and self-centred, and acting to obtain unwarranted attention whose ripple effects are perilous to public interest.

Trivial information about certain events are sometimes misrepresented, given prominence and overstated as essential or significant, and oftenly include stories about the actions of individuals seeking notice  and small groups of people, the content, more often than not, is incongruent and irrelevant relative to the macro-level day-to-day events that occur nationally.

Furthermore, the content and subject matter typically affect neither the lives of the masses nor society, and instead is broadcast and printed to attract viewers and readers to give prominence or deny it to public figures or politicians.

One presumed goal of sensational reporting is to increase or sustain viewership or readership, from which media outlets can price their advertising higher to increase their profits based on higher numbers of viewers and/or readers at the expense of public good. Sometimes this can lead to a lesser focus on objective journalism in favor of a propaganda or profit motive, in which editorial choices are based upon astounding stories, and presentations to promote selfish interests. This is typically, a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers to the detriment of the our country.

Yellow press newspapers which are dominating the local media landscape are usually flooded with daily multi-column front-page headlines covering a variety of topics, such as political buffoonery and scandals, using bold layouts, heavy reliance on unnamed sources, and unabashed self-promotion, lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings, and the dramatic sympathy with the "underdog" against the system.

With yellow journalism the truth is usually misrepresented or concealed habitually and truth is compromised. The repercussion is on misinformation to our society and misleading the generality of the public.

However, vibrant press is expected to involve itself in watchdog journalism which mandates it to inform the public about goings-on in public and private institutions and the society, especially in circumstances where a large portion of the public would demand changes in response. This should involve fact-checking statements of public officials, interviewing public figures and challenging them with problems or concerns, beat reporting to gather information from meetings members of the public might not otherwise attend, and to observe on the ground in broader society, investigative journalism, which involves information-gathering on a single story for a long period of time. This should ultimately amount to objectivity, factuality, truthfulness, accuracy, reliability and credibility of media reports to the heterogeneous audiences. By so doing the media forms the bedrock of society.

Ideally, watchdog journalism can be located in a variety of news media, such as radio, television, internet and the print media, and concepts like as weblogs and citizen journalism. This makes watchdog journalists "agents of social control", or "moral guardians." Certainly, their contribution is very essential to the proper running of the society. The role of a watchdog journalist as a guardian is to supply the citizens with information which they must have to prevent the abuse of power in public office and the corporate world, and to warn citizens about those that are doing them harm.

In order to conduct their role as a watchdog, journalists need to have a certain distance from the powers and challenge them, as opposed to "propagandist" journalists, who are loyal to the political elites. However, due the power of distance and its overseeing function, watchdog journalism often officiates as the fourth estate.

After all and sundry, it is important to focus on the need to promote media development which involves capacity building for institutions or individuals related to responsible freedom of expression, pluralism, and diversity of media, as well as transparent media ownership. This enhances them to serve the developmental role of the media for positive contribution to the nation.

If put to good use, media operations, are articulators of national identity, promoting campaigns for independence from colonialism or as re-enforcers of recognized national identities. Media practitioners are expected to act as motivators for national cohesion and unity, and doing so should be stirred by personal aspirations as expression of their own beliefs, inspirations and policies. This role shames journalists that are driven by malice which potentially can destroy rather than build our nation.

Media is the major open source of information that is accessible to everyone with no limitations which can keep the society informed, and make them active in their routine activities. For instance, during elections time, voters barely know some of the candidates they vote for first hand, except hearing them speaking in newspapers, radios or televisions. While they can also deny others their vote based on what they have read in the press. To play this role correctly, journalists should observe the cardinal traits of the job ethically and professionally by acting independently and keep themselves hands-off any other vested interests which fuel unreasonable actions that are detrimental to our society.

Media is the indispensible source for valuable information about development, as in providing guidance and advice to say farmers via radio and TV on, for example, the use of seeds and fertilizers in support of agricultural extension workers. This development communications is poised to prop-up continuity of nation states.

Present day we notice the blatant abusive role of the press as unabashed, unapologetic instruments of thoughtless propaganda dissemination funded by numerous agents with covert agendas. If journalists are not intelligent enough, they risk participating unconsciously in a holocaust as was the recent case of Rwanda where the Radio Rwanda was found guilty of fanning the execution of an estimated 800 000 people in just 100 days along tribal lines. The responsible broadcasters in Rwanda faced their price when they were sentenced up to 35 years imprisonment as retribution for their carelessness while on the line of duty. Never again can humanity permit the replication of the same, especially locally.

Normatively, the press is expected to act as a mirror of reality in respect of the central functions of media, that is, for information, education and entertainment for the good of society at large.

The media can be a powerful force for change in both developed and developing countries. In developing countries, it can have an important role in advancing a pro-poor development agenda, as well as supporting economic growth by stimulating consumer markets. Where it is able to effectively fulfill the roles of watchdog, gatekeeper and agenda-setter, it can improve governance by raising citizen awareness of social issues, enabling citizens to hold their governments to account, curbing corruption, and creating a civic forum for debate. It can also amplify the voice of marginalised and excluded groups.

A moment of thought over our own local situation demands that we pause for a while, and contemplate over the impact of media operations in our society. There is need to reflect and audit to ascertain whether it still on rail or its de-railing heading towards the cliff to collapse the nation. To what extent would foreign investors find Zimbabwe as an attractive and palatable investment destination based on the daily publicity on the local media platforms? Or instead the nation is perceived on the contrary?

I want to challenge media institutions at this point in time to exonerate themselves from shouldering the blame that they are contributing immensely to the destruction of the country by writing sensational stories, for example, over the purported breakdown of the rule of law. I want to ask if the magnitude is as high as it is portrayed to represent outright chaotic anarchy which is synonymous with laisez faire. I understand that the Zimbabwe Republic Police is enforcing the law daily by making legitimate arrests in which the suspects are taken to court for justice to take its full course. The guilty are taken to prison, while the innocent walk scot free.  

Honestly, is it possible that one does anything in this country without following the provisions of relevant laws where necessary? Certainly, this is too much of an exaggeration. While you may agree or disagree with me on this point, but reality is that our media is battering our international image in the region and beyond thereby diminishing our hopes for an urgent economic recovery.

Media practitioners need to go back to the drawing board and re-map their operational strategy to foster positive contribution to nation building, and its development for the good of the entirety of the citizenry.

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Sparkleford Masiyambiri <sparklefordmasiyambiri@gmail.com