respondents that use radio a few times a week or every day for news on politics and public affairs (61% in 2009). 35% answered that they ‘never’ use the radio for news. News source Radio Television Newspapers Internet Table 20: Frequency of media use for news about ‘government and politics’ Frequency ‘A few times a week’ / ‘A few times a month’ / ‘Never’ ‘Every day’ ‘A few times a year’ 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 57 52 23 13 21 35 38 34 19 12 42 54 24 23 28 17 49 0 6 3 91 Question: ‘How often do you get news about matters of government and politics?’ A total of 65% of Zimbabweans use radio (even if highly infrequently) for news about politics and public affairs (Table 20). The three most commonly used radio sources were, in descending order, for the total of radio use for public affairs-political news:18 ZBC Radio Zimbabwe – 35% VOA Studio 7 – 14% ZBC Power FM – 9% Television was the second most widely used source for news on politics and public affairs. A total of 34% said that they use this medium for their political-public affairs news a few times a week or every day (38% in 2009). 54% said that they never access television for these types of news. The most commonly used television stations-channels were, for the total of television use for public affairs-political news: ZBC TV – 24% SABC TV 1,2,3 – 18% ETV – 0.9% Newspapers constituted a further important source of news on politics-public affairs. A total of 23% reported the use of newspapers for politics-public affairs news a few times a week or every day. The corresponding percentage in the 2009 survey was 24%. This was manifested whilst the variety of newspapers available was increasing in Zimbabwe. Dire economic conditions, and specifically the scarcity of foreign currency (now also the Zimbabwe currency), may have contributed. The most widely used newspapers, were: The Herald – 17% The NewsDay – 7% 18 Respondents were asked: ‘Which radio station do you most commonly listen to for news on politics and public affairs?’ (or, ‘which television station do you most commonly watch …’, ‘which newspaper do you most commonly use …’, and ‘which internet news sites do you most commonly use …?’) [Q70A-D] 60