At PBS MediaShift, Mark Glaser takes a look at
the harsh realities facing internet, broadcast, and print journalists in
Zimbabwe. The African nation has been under the
rule of President Robert Mugabe since its independence
in 1980. Mark says,
The government has stifled the media, either
blocking, shutting or surreptitiously taking over
newspapers there for the past few years. I had an
email exchange with freelance Zimbabwean reporter
Frank Chikowore, who talks about being jailed in 2005
for filming police beating street vendors, and asks
for Western media outlets to help employ journalists
there.
Here’s a clip from Mark’s interview with Frank Chikowore, a freelance journalist
in Zimbabwe:
“Unfortunately blogging is still very
unpopular in Zimbabwe and most African countries. Of
course the use of the Internet has enabled journalists
to transmit their news and information to their
readers and listeners but the cost of doing so is very
[high] considering that several journalists are not
gainfully employed and they live by the grace of God.In fact, journalists have been reduced to beggars in
Zimbabwe. Journalists now use pseudonyms as the
government continues with its onslaught against
independent journalists. The cost of registering as a
foreign correspondent has become inhibitive for
journalists to register — hence they prefer using
pseudonyms.”
