Of note in the week is the extent to which the Zimbabwe Independent (March 16) relied on unconfirmed reports for its front-page stories. Although it is generally accepted that the privately owned media is severely handicapped when trying to access information from government and the public due to the politically intolerant climate, in the interests of the public, of fairness and of its own credibility, the media have an obligation to seek and publish comment from opposing sides. In The Zimbab...read more
Of note in the week is the extent to which the Zimbabwe Independent (March 16) relied on unconfirmed reports for its front-page stories. Although it is generally accepted that the privately owned media is severely handicapped when trying to access information from government and the public due to the politically intolerant climate, in the interests of the public, of fairness and of its own credibility, the media have an obligation to seek and publish comment from opposing sides. In The Zimbabwe Independent's stories however, there was no indication that the reporters had tried to access comment from
the government, Zanu PF, Department of Information or the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.