Journalism and Media Studies Publications

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Journalism and Media Studies Publications

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    Freelance journalism in Zimbabwe: Challenges and opportunities
    (Journalism, 2024) Tshuma, L.; Ndlovu, M.; Dhladhla, Z.N.
    In Zimbabwe, the comatose economy has had an impact on the media industry. Since 2000, media houses have been shutting down due to lack of financial support or poor business environment. For some news organisations, they have been retrenching their staff as a cost cutting measure. This has also led to retrenched journalists to write for other publications as freelance journalists. This study examines the state of freelance journalism in Zimbabwe. It aims to assess their role and contribution to the media industry, challenges they face, and also the survival strategies they are adopting. This qualitative study is informed by Bourdieu’s field theory. It used in-depth interviews while thematic analysis was employed in analyzing data. Findings demonstrates that freelance journalists are contributing to the growth of media industry in Zimbabwe by writing on specialised beats like science reporting. Besides such contributions, findings further demonstrated that freelance journalism is seen as ‘curse’ as journalists are easily harassed by the state agents who rarely recognizes someone not working for an established organisation.
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    Entangled memories: Nehanda statue, Gukurahundi plaques and the politics of memory in Zimbabwe
    (Routledge, 2022-08-23) Ndlovu, M.; Tshuma, A.B.
    This article examines the on-going memorialization practices of Mbuya Nehanda and Gukurahundi that are performed and contested in various discursive spaces in Zimbabwe. It analyses the media discourses surrounding two seminal commemorative events that occurred concurrently on 25 May 2021. Firstly, the government unveiled a statue of Nehanda, a liberation heroine, in the capital, Harare. On the same day, the Gukurahundi survivors erected a memorial plaque at Bhalagwe to commemorate the victims of a genocide that was orchestrated by the government in Matabeleland between 1983 and 1987. Drawing upon Rothberg’s concept of multidirectional memory, we explore how these different histories are intertwined and entangled in public spaces as various mnemonic communities seek to assert and endorse their narratives of the past. Findings from on our analysis of news media reports demonstrate the entanglements, synergies and interconnectedness of Nehanda and Gukurahundi histories in various ways. On the one hand, Nehanda and Gukurahundi memories represent histories of victimization and injustices. On the other hand, they demonstrate the divergences and contestations surrounding national memory and identity politics.
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    The Framing of Devolution of Power Debates in the Newsday (Southern Edition) During Zimbabwe’s Constitution Making Process
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2021-07-12) Tshuma, B.B.
    Journalists are unable to provide reports that are entirely true and objective as they deploy rhetorical strategies aimed “at persuading others to adopt [their] same point of view” (Thomson 1996 cited in Richardson [2007]. Analysing Newspapers: An Approach from Critical Discourse Analysis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 65). Using one of Zimbabwe’s leading daily newspapers, NewsDay (Southern Edition), this article analysed the framing of the contentious issue of devolution of power provided in the country’s constitution drafted in 2012. The underlying assumption being that understanding how the issue of devolution was framed “is of vital importance to how the public and policy makers will respond to this kind of governance” (Agwu and Amu [2013]. “Framing of Climate Change News in Four National Daily Newspapers in Southern Nigeria.” International Conference on Climate Change Effects, 1–8, Impact World 2013, Potsdam, 1). The paper used discourse analysis to analyse the 10 purposively selected stories published between June 2010 and July 2012. Positioned within qualitative approach, the paper concludes that the NewsDay Southern Edition actively participated in the debates on devolution as a political actor through various techniques such as argumentation and rhetoric, thereby putting it on the public agenda. In particular, the publication pursued a pro-devolution agenda to galvanise readers to embrace this administrative framework as the best available model in the place of a unitary system, which was blamed for stifling development and democracy.
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    The Fifth Estate: Analyzing Climate Change Punditry in the Zimbabwean Newspaper Columns
    (Taylor and Francis, 2020-12-08) Ndhlovu, M.P.
    Media and climate change scholarship in Zimbabwe has mainly focused on news stories. However, news stories are dependent on news values, which science, including climate change, performs badly against. Besides, news stories are written by journalists, some with limited understanding of science, resulting in misrepresentation of climate change. However, unlike previous studies, this article uses qualitative content analysis and rhetoric analysis to interrogate arguments on climate change advanced by newspaper columnists – also referred to as pundits. This article analyzes columns written by Jeffrey Gogo (The Herald) and Peter Makwanya (NewsDay) from 2017 to 2018 to assess the rhetorical and argumentative techniques they use to argue their positions on climate change. It concludes that the two columnists use their proximity to the news media and their knowledge of science communication to argue for urgent climate change action. Such arguments demonstrate the fifth estate function of columnists in not only holding to account power holders and scientists but also highlighting the shortcomings of the news media.
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    Digital Technologies and the Changing Journalism Cultures in Zimbabwe: Examining the Lived Experiences of Journalists Covering the COVID-19 Pandemic
    (Digital Journalism, 2022) Ndlovu, M.; Sibanda, M.N.
    New Information and Communication Technologies (NICTs) are transforming newsmaking practices and journalistic cultures across the globe. Although factors such as lack of Internet access and prohibitive costs are constraining the adoption of these interactive digital technologies in most African countries, journalists are creatively appropriating these digital tools in their everyday professional work. Informed by the concept of journalism culture and the social constructionist approach to technology, this article examines the lived experiences of Zimbabwean journalists covering the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Drawing upon the first-hand accounts of 21 journalists covering this pandemic, this study explores the adoption and appropriation of digital technologies in their newsmaking practices. Despite challenges of resources such as finances, internet access and lack of protective gear, Zimbabwean journalists increasingly relied on interactive digital tools such as WhatsApp and Twitter to generate story ideas, conduct diary meetings, and for virtual sourcing.