highlighted by Reporters without Borders, three journalists working for the weekly Network Guardian, Blessed Mhlanga, James Muonwa, and Wycliff Nyarota, appeared in court in Kwekwe, Midlands province on February 18 charged with “publishing false news” in an article that appeared on March 26, 2006, immediately where after charges against the journalists were first brought by the government. The judge set the date for their trial as April 15, 2008.90 The government’s determination to ensure that there is no independent daily press is exemplified by the case of the Daily News, Zimbabwe’s only independent newspaper, which was shut down by the government in 2003. Despite claims by the government that it would consider the paper’s reapplication for accreditation under the new laws, the government has stalled, and at this writing the paper’s application has yet to be heard by the courts even though the paper had submitted a fresh application to the MIC.91 The importance of an independent print media can not be underestimated given the partisan and negative nature of political reporting in the state-run Herald newspaper, and the reluctance of the paper to objectively present the views of the opposition. MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa informed Human Rights Watch, “We took our adverts to the Herald a week ago, and they are dillydallying saying that they have to speak to their bosses. They still haven’t come back to us.” 92 Unequal Access of the Opposition to the Media The lack of diverse media information in Zimbabwe underlines the need for more equal and fair coverage of the elections on the part of public broadcasters. But, as in past elections this has not been the case for the 2008 contest. The opposition continues to have little or no access to the state broadcast media. Section 16 C (d) on access to public broadcasting media of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act as amended (by the Electoral Laws Amendment Act, 2007) calls for “a fair and balanced allocation of time between each political party and independent 90 Reporters sans Frontieres, “Zimbabwe: Government Steps up Hounding of Independent Press Ahead of Presidential Elections.” 91 “Daily News Set to Bounce Back,” Zimbabwe Standard, February 17, 2008. 92 Human Rights Watch interview with Nelson Chamisa, February 21, 2008. 33 Human Rights Watch March 2008