Media Commission commends journalists for vote coverage

THE Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) yesterday applauded the media for competently, fairly and impartially covering the August general elections, which created a peaceful electoral atmosphere in the country.

ZMC chairperson, Prof Ruby Magosvongwe also patted the media on the back for working well with other electoral stakeholders such as political parties, monitoring bodies and organisations, and police.

“Let me applaud the role the media sector played during the 2023 edition of our national elections. Yes, there were some incidences that warranted attention, but the overall performance was commendable,” she said.

“The level of polarisation that used to characterise our media in the past elections was not that visible. This is commendable as the media should not be seen to be dividing us as Zimbabweans, but should be seen to be championing the national aspirations of Zimbabweans,” she added.

In its 2023 Strategic Plan of Action, despite budgetary constraints, the ZMC came up with an Elections Reporting and Peace Building Manual to equip media practitioners with the necessary knowledge and skills for reporting elections.

The manual was produced with the support of UNESCO, and the UNDP. Over 2 000 copies were distributed to journalists and media houses.

It also trained nearly 1 000 media practitioners, distributed 2 000 press jackets for local and foreign journalists, and organised a national media indaba where media practitioners signed a pledge to maintain professional standards in their coverage of the poll.

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