Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This comparative case study interrogates how Zimbabwe’s independent press reported on ZANU-PF factionalism in the period from 2014 to 2017. It focuses on two dailies, Daily News and NewsDay. These were Zimbabwe’s only privately owned newspapers at the time. The other daily newspapers were The Herald and Chronicle, whose editorial was controlled by the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) government of Robert Mugabe. Whereas scholarship on ZANU-PF factionalism and the press is still burgeoning, little has been studied about how the independent press reported on Mugabe’s succession. The study is guided by framing theory. Data were gathered through archival research and in-depth face-to-face interviews with purposively selected journalists at Daily News and NewsDay who published stories on Mugabe’s succession. Findings reveal that rival ZANU-PF factions captured bribed journalists and influenced how they reported on Mugabe’s succession. Journalism grew “factionalized” (biased) as reporters became agents of the rival ZANU-PF factions. This disabled the newspapers from playing their informative and educative roles effectively. The factionalized reports left Zimbabweans ill-informed about developments in the governing party.
Source: Journalism and Media
Author: Takunda Maodza
Institution: Walter Sisulu University
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,207
Funder: Walter Sisulu University
OpenAlex ID: W4410028484