constantly denigrating the opposition. However, ZESN believes that the proper
solution to the problem of media bias is to widen the market of broadcasters.
Plurality and competition in the media will eventually even out the biases held by
the different media organisations. The voting public will be able to get a better
picture by listening to the varied accounts broadcast by different media
organisations compared to having to rely on one broadcaster.
In this regard it is regrettable that a decade after the Supreme Court struck down
the monopoly of the state broadcaster (ZBC) in the Capital Radio case, reforms
to allow private broadcasters have been slow and ineffective.
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ZESN therefore recommends that the licensing authorities speed
up the authorisation process to enable more broadcasters to
participate well before the elections are called.
QUALITATIVE ASPECTS OF FAIRNESS AND BALANCE
The Bill highlights the quantitative aspects of fairness and balance – i.e.
prominence and time-allocation but falls short in dealing with the qualitative
aspects of broadcasting and publishing – such as the balance between negative
and positive stories and opinions. There is a need to provide specific definition of
and guidance on what constitutes “fair and balanced coverage” because equal
time and space allocation alone cannot be sufficient.
In this regard it is notable that coverage of a party may be extensive and equal to
that of other parties but if such coverage only focuses on the negatives it would
be unfair and unbalanced. Thus it is not just the quantitative aspects of coverage
that are relevant for consideration in determining fairness and balance of
coverage but also the qualitative aspects.
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ZESN recommends that the law and regulations specify in clear
terms the requirement for qualitative fairness and balance, beyond
the quantitative considerations.
OMISSION OF GENDER
Whilst the Bill commendably prohibits the use of hate speech and any language
that incites violence or encourages racial, ethnic or religious prejudice or hatred,
there is a glaring omission in the list of indices of prejudice or hatred in that
‘gender’ is not specifically stated. Yet women are routinely subjected to physical
and verbal violence – politically-motivated rape and verbal denigration being
common acts committed against women. Given the high levels of prejudice
suffered by women politicians or public figures in a terrain that generally maledominated, it is imperative that ‘gender’ should be expressly stated in that
provision.
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ZESN recommends that gender should be added to the list of
indices around which hate speech and violence is specifically
prohibited.
LACK OF CLEAR SANCTIONS FOR BREACH
A framework for monitoring the media to ensure that the law is observed is
essential otherwise the rules would be inconsequential. In exercising the
monitoring function, the Commission is entitled to assistance from the Zimbabwe
Media Commission and the Broadcasting Services Authority. The law also keeps
open the door to private participants wishing to carry out similar functions. This
preserves the role of such organisations like the Media Monitoring Project Trust
(MMPZ) which have played a key role in exposing the media biases.
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