The Media and Politics in Zimbabwe: Turning Left while Indicating Right

Abstract

This commentary debates the disjuncture between Mugabe's and the Zimbabwe African Union (ZANU) Patriotic Front's (PF) Marxist ideology and actual policies with regard to public service media. The first part examines the implications of referring to ruling party officials as “Comrades” in public news media, even though ZANU has been openly implementing Western-backed market reforms since 1991. The contradictions surrounding the use of “Comrade” in national media are indicative of ZANU PF's radical agenda, which remains unfulfilled decades after independence. The second part illustrates the ways in which ZANU's Marxist-inspired media policies have resulted in a narrowly defined national news space. Looking ahead, the post—August 2008 political arrangement offers a good opportunity to genuinely democratize the country's media.

Keywords

African politics Mugabe Comrade ZANU news Zimbabwe television

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