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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 2 CHAPTER TWO: MEDIA MONITORING OF THE NEWS AGENDA 10 CHAPTER THREE: MONITORING POLITICAL PLURALISM 23 CHAPTER FOUR: THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN POLITICIANS 38 CHAPTER FIVE: MONITORING OF POLITICAL COVERAGE ON ZTV 45 CHAPTER SIX: PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL CONDUCT IN ELECTION REPORTING 47 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION 60 BASELINE STUDY ON ELECTION REPORTING IN ZIMBABWE’S MAINSTREAM MEDIA • FIRST QUARTER 2018 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is produced by Media Monitors under the programme “Support to media on governance and electoral matters in Zimbabwe” The programme conducted by International Media Support and the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe is funded by the European Union and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. International Media Support (IMS) is a nonprofit organisation working with media in countries affected by armed conflict, human insecurity and political transition. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Media Monitors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union or the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ii BASELINE STUDY ON ELECTION REPORTING IN ZIMBABWE’S MAINSTREAM MEDIA • FIRST QUARTER 2018 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Media Monitors conducted a study from 11 – 24 February 2018 on media reporting of Zimbabwe’s political processes ahead of the election on 30 July this year. The study monitored the media’s coverage of political parties, candidates, government officials and public affairs as well as the media’s professionalism in doing so. The study chose a sample that was representative of the various media in the country, which include the state broadcaster; private commercial radio stations; state owned and private print media. For this report, Media Monitors did not include a sample of the local commercial radio stations. News coverage in the monitoring period was dominated by the death of longtime opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, the end of the Biometric Voter Registration exercise where 5,2 million Zimbabweans registered to vote, and the appointment of Priscilla Chigumba as the new Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. These events shaped the media’s election narrative. The study concluded that the media in Zimbabwe falls short of standards of fair and balanced coverage of political actors in the country. ZANU PF and MDC T dominated the media’s coverage and combined for 94% of the space and time dedicated to political parties whilst the remaining 15 parties accounted for 6% of the coverage. This is a reflection of the lack of diversity in the representation of political actors, given that over 100 political parties are contesting the upcoming elections. The gender dynamics were also problematic as the research noted that women political actors continue to be underrepresented in the media, they made up 16% of the space and time dedicated to political actors in the media while men accounted for 84% of the coverage. The study assessed both the state and privately owned media and noticed that, despite all state-owned media outlets are constitutionally obliged to be fair and impartial in their reporting, the tone of MDC-T coverage was either neutral or negative in the state-owned news outlets, while ZANU PF received a more favorable attention on these platforms. Elections were not one the major issues for coverage, filling 6% of all news hole. Out of all the news stories aired and published devoted to elections 62% focused on campaign activities or statements by political players during campaigns of the different political parties, while there was much less reporting of election related administrative issues and other preparations ahead of the upcoming elections. An analysis of the news agenda showed that the state and privately owned media have implicitly endorsed different parties and candidates to win the election. State-owned print and broadcast media seem to have endorsed President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ZANU PF as the presidential candidate and party to win the upcoming elections. Private media on the other hand, seem to have endorsed Nelson Chamisa as their preferred presidential candidate, particularly over Thokozani Khupe, and the MDC-T as their party of choice. While the majority of news reports on elections were professionally done, there were some challenges noted, particularly the lack of objectivity in some reports. There was also an over-reliance on “sound bites” with news reports developed from isolated catchy or scandalous comments by politicians at rallies, which in many cases would be taken out of context To help strengthen the role media plays during elections, Media Monitors recommends that: 1. For these and successive elections, media legislation must be reviewed to align these with provisions on freedom of expression and freedom of the media in the Constitution. 2. More media players especially in the broadcasting sector must be licensed in line with Constitutional provisions that allow for freedom of establishment of broadcast media. This would enhance diversity of voices that represent various interests 3. Election regulations on media coverage must be amended so that they clearly define the election period, and further articulate what fair and equitable coverage means 4. Review the media coverage regulatory framework to ensure that there is an effective enforcement mechanism in place for monitoring compliance, receiving and acting upon infractions related to election reporting 5. Stakeholders in the media must take measures to strengthen professional journalism outside the election period, as elections do not take place in a vacuum. BASELINE STUDY ON ELECTION REPORTING IN ZIMBABWE’S MAINSTREAM MEDIA • FIRST QUARTER 2018 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1.1 Introduction This baseline report produced in the first quarter of 2018, on media and elections in Zimbabwe presents findings on media reporting of Zimbabwe’s political processes ahead of the election on July 30th this year. The study monitored the media’s coverage of political parties, candidates, government officials and public affairs as well as the media’s professionalism in doing so. The main objective of the report is to assess the performance of a sample of media in providing information on political processes, and to understand to what extent the media is fulfilling its responsibility to the public. Media play an important role in the conduct of free, fair and credible elections. Citizens need to have adequate and credible information on various aspects of the electoral process that includes information about parties, policies, candidates and the election process so that voters can make informed choices, come election day. Media also play an essential role in providing a platform for political parties and candidates to communicate their messages to the electorate. The main focus of the report is to measure and assess the level of political pluralism in the media - whether political participants in an election have access to media on a non-discriminatory basis to present their messages to potential voters so that they have sufficient information to make informed choices. The report therefore examined whether news and current affairs coverage of political players and events is sufficient, free of bias, and in line with professional standards, so as not to undermine people’s political choices on voting day. To achieve this normative ideal, the media is required to follow specific guidelines in reporting, and even more so in election coverage, based on national and international standards of professional and ethical journalism. In Zimbabwe, obligations on the media and elections are contained in the Constitution, Electoral Act and other Statutory Instruments that regulate the conduct of the media during elections. 1.2 Media landscape 1.2.1 Broadcasters Broadcast media is widely acknowledged to have a greater influence on public opinion because of the wider reach it has compared to other media. It is officially recognised that the airwaves are a public resource, with Zimbabwe placing licensing requirements that seek to regulate the airwaves.1 State Broadcasters In Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is the nation’s public broadcaster, as defined by the Broadcasting Services Act. The ZBC operates one television channel (ZTV) and five radio stations, SFM, Radio Zimbabwe, Power FM, National FM and Radio Khulumani. Private Commercial Radio Stations Zimbabwe has two national commercial radio stations (ZiFM and Star FM). The two stations are owned by AB Communications and Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers) respectively. Local Commercial Stations There are eight local commercial radio stations in Zimbabwe; these are situated in seven of the country’s 10 provinces. Local commercial radio stations transmit within a 40 km radius. Below is a list of the local commercial stations. Local Commercial Station Area of Transmission 98.4FM Gweru Breeze FM Victoria Falls Capitalk FM Harare Diamond FM Mutare Hevoi FM Masvingo Nyaminyami FM Kariba Skyz FM Bulawayo Ya FM Zvishavane 1 Broadcasting Services Act (Chapter 12:06) 2 BASELINE STUDY ON ELECTION REPORTING IN ZIMBABWE’S MAINSTREAM MEDIA • FIRST QUARTER 2018 Radio listenership in Zimbabwe Total listeners across the country is estimated at over 9 million. ZBC’s Radio Zimbabwe is estimated by the Zimbabwe All Media Products (ZAMPS)2 survey to have the highest percentage share of the national audience at 43%. The other stations’