Media freedom significantly improved
THE media is making considerable gains in terms of fundamental freedoms and operating freely under the country’s Second Republic compared to the past, said media, political analyst and international relations guru, Dr Alexander Rusero.
Zimbabwe will today join the rest of the world in commemorating World Press Freedom Day — which was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1993 — following the recommendation by the UNESCO General Conference.
Since then, May 3, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day.
The Theme of World Press Freedom Day 2024 is: “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis”
In an interview, media, political analyst and international relations expert, Dr Alexander Rusero said Zimbabwe has gone past the worst in terms of media freedom.
Dr Rusero who is also Zimpapers board member and lecturer at Africa University, said in the past, the country never imagined the scrapping of draconian legislative pieces like Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and Public Order Security
Act (POSA).
“Media freedom in Zimbabwe has been a case of sheer endurance and a gradual process. We have had our own worst forms of media abuse, but we have successfully wobbled out of that.
“Precisely under the President Mnangagwa-led Government, media reforms and media freedom are proving to be close to his heart. We never imagined that draconian legislative pieces such as AIPPA and POSA will one day be scrapped.
“We never imagined a time when the State and the Press will cordially work together without conspiracies of viewing the other as an enemy,” said Dr Rusero.
Dr Rusero said a lot still needs to be done with regards to the safety of journalists, deep fakes, fake news, misinformation and disinformation characteristics, mostly of the online outlets and the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence.
“This is where we are as Zimbabwe, where the Press is making considerable gains in terms of fundamental freedoms and operating freely. A lot still needs to be done with regards to the safety of journalists, deep fakes, fake news, misinformation and disinformation characteristics, mostly the online outlets and the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence, but I must say we are better off today in terms of Press freedom than we were prior 2017,” he said.