Source: Media Monitors
The events in the seven days beginning 1 July 2016, starting with the protests in the border town of Beitbridge have been momentous in the history of Zimbabwe. The reportage of these events show that there is no one story on Zimbabwe, but several stories, told from various perspectives, and the citizen is found in the middle, battling to decipher the truth. These narratives presented by the traditional media houses, social and alternative (mainly online) media as well as official statements make truth a tenuous concept, as facts are sometimes lost in a sometimes-tinted view of the world. Questions that arise include, after all the stories have been told, does the world have a clear idea of the current crisis in Zimbabwe, its root causes, possible impact, key players and what the possible resolution will look like? Do we have a clear idea of what the Zimbabwean story is? What is the role of the media in all this?
Professional journalism is called upon to be truthful, fair, accurate and balanced, playing a critical role in informing the public and promoting public accountability, two critical preconditions for democracy. For the media in any country to adequately fulfil its role to promote access to information for the public, and deepen public participation in governance, the moral imperative to provide a fair, accurate, balanced and complete story is critical. These expectations are not placed on social and alternative media, however as the events of the week (1 – 7 July) unfolded, non-traditional alternative sources of news and information (social and online) its role more than any other time to present that story which would have remained untold in their absence was critical.
In its analysis of the presentation of the “story of protest”, Media Monitors looked at how the different media presented a story that allows people to make sense of what was and continues to happen. While the current situation has its roots in protracted challenges in the economic and political spheres, events in the last week reflected heightening tensions. On the 1st of July many people were confronted with images of a burning building mostly on Whatsapp which speculated that this was happening in Beitbridge. However, these speculations were later confirmed by mainstream media reports on events.
Source: Media Monitors