Press and politics in Zimbabwe

• Published in: African studies quarterly Vol. 7; no. 2-3
• Main Author: Mukasa, Stanford G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Center for African Studies 22.09.2003
• Subjects: Analysis; Authoritarianism (Political Ideology); Colonialism; Decolonization; Freedom of Speech; Freedom of the press; Laws, regulations and rules; News Media; Political aspects; Political History; Political Ideologies; Post Cold War Period; Press; Press and politics; Social aspects; Zimbabwe; Zimbabwe
• ISSN: 2152-2448; 1093-2658; 2152-2448

This paper provides a historical background to the development of the press in Zimbabwe & identifies the political, social & economic interventions that have shaped the editorial policies & directions of the press. The development of the press in Zimbabwe press, the paper suggests, can be categorized into three eras: colonial/nationalist (pre-1980); transitional (1980-1990) & post-transitional (1990- present). During each era, the press exhibited editorial policies & practices that reflected the ideological & socio-political environment of the country. In the colonial era, the press mirrored the settler-colonial ideology of the state & social polarization along racial lines. Its successor in the post-colonial transitional era depicted the revolutionary fervor of the emergent black political regime whose stated ideology of socialism regimented Zimbabweans under an authoritarian state. In a dramatic reversal from the nationalist campaign promises for a free press & free expression in an independent Zimbabwe, during this period the press was coerced to support the government. In this environment the message has been: You are either with us or against us. However a number of developments in the mid & late-1980s ushered in the post-transitional era. The end of the Cold War & the subsequent abandonment of a socialist rhetoric in favor of (at least on paper) a market economy & free enterprise by the Zimbabwe government, has given rise to a new generation, albeit a minority, of more assertive, independent publications & journalists. 10 References. Adapted from the source document.