In the same year 35 stories were recorded across both the private and government owned media which, could however not be classified as positive or negative coverage. This however shows the frequency with which LGBTI issues are of interest in public sphere. Fifteen stories were recorded by GALZ during their media monitoring covering LGBTI issues objectively, on average translating to at least a story a month. All the recorded positive stories were in the privately owned media, characterized by headlines such as ‘GALZ wins case against cops’ (Newsday, 21 January 2014) or ‘Gays and lesbians also love God’ (Daily News, May 2014). It is concerning to note that in the same year 2014, 23 stories were recorded covering LGBTI persons in unfavorable light, and 9 of the stories were covered by the Government owned media houses. Sensationalist headlines were all too common like, ‘Gay Shemale causes stir in court’ (The Chronicle, 22 January 2014), ‘GALZ fronting an intolerable cause’ (The Herald 27 February 2014) or ‘Residents bay for cross dressing gay guy’s blood’ (Sunday News 8 June 2014). While the media offers an opportunity for advancing the LGBTI cause, it is also critical to remember that it would be impractical to expect full favourable coverage. Some stories or news items are reported accurately as observed and even with the highest possible objectivity, they may still be unfavourable. An analysis of the state of human rights violations against LGBTI persons in Zimbabwe (2011-2017) 38