African media is surrogate opposition - Prof Tawana Kupe

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Due to the lack of a strong and united political opposition, the media in Africa, at least those that are critical of government policies, becomes a powerful force called a surrogate opposition, Prof Tawana Kupe, dean of faculty of humanities at Wits University, said this week in Johannesburg. 11 Mar 2011 10:29

Media freedom, self-regulation: the Ghanaian experience

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Until 1992, journalists and editors in Ghana, and the independent media in general, have suffered a lot at the hands of undemocratic regimes, which cracked down on critical reporting and imposed strict restrictions limiting media freedom. As a new, liberal constitution was being written in 1992, media activists came out guns blazing, demanding that media suffering end and reporting become free. [view twitterfall] 10 Mar 2011 10:06

Applications invited for UN journalism fellowships

[Carole Kimutai] The Dag Hammarskjöld Scholarship Fund for Journalists is now accepting applications from professional journalists from developing countries for its 2011 Fellowship Program. The application deadline is 6 April 2011. 10 Mar 2011 08:19

African media and the self-regulation dilemma

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] As the independent media in Africa is engaged in a fierce battle against repressive and not-so-democratic governments keen to sweep their corrupt wrongdoings under the carpet, the issue of self-regulation has become almost like a daily bread in many parts of the continent. [view twitterfall] 10 Mar 2011 08:07

Right of access to information hampered by govts - media conference

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] The right of access to information is being hampered in many parts of the world, especially in Africa, by government officials wary of journalists' desire to 'embarrass' them, and the state's 'insincere' reason of hiding behind the issue of national security. This emerged today, Wednesday, 9 March 2011, at the Regulations and Rights media conference at Wits University in Johannesburg. [view twitterfall] 9 Mar 2011 13:17

ZMC pushes for creation of statutory media complaints body

[Staff reporter] The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) has begun the process of setting up a media complaints council to regulate journalists against unethical conduct, but critics charge the law under which such a body is being created will discredit the institution. 22 Feb 2011 07:52

U2360° broadcast live from Cape Town

U2's Cape Town concert scheduled for today, Friday 18 February 2011, will be broadcast live on Highveld and KFM in South Africa, alongside a live stream on DStv.com, throughout Africa. 18 Feb 2011 08:18

Research Bureau International wins Zim media survey tender

[Dumisani Ndlela] Research Bureau International has won the tender to conduct the All Media and Products Survey (ZAMPS) over a two-year period from 2011 to 2012 after a unanimous decision by the Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation (ZARF) board on Monday, 17 January 2011. 21 Jan 2011 11:50

Zimbabwe hikes media fees under draconian media law

NEW YORK: Zimbabwe's power-sharing government should repeal the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists said late last week after a late 2010 amendment to the legislation hiked mandatory registration and accreditation fees for the press working in the country by as much as 400%. 17 Jan 2011 10:10

[2011 trends] Zimbabwe: Brute force to silence the media

[Wilf Mbanga] One of the first casualties in the onslaught against democracy is always the media. Elections, a key cornerstone of democracy, have been characterised in Africa generally, and in Zimbabwe in particular, by massive election fraud, voting irregularities, vote buying, voter and opposition party intimidation, bogus voter registration, rigged polling stations, corrupt election commissioners and so on. 12 Jan 2011 11:32

WAN-IFRA raises press freedom concerns in Zim

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum have addressed a letter to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe protesting against the latest series of journalist arrests in Zimbabwe and condemning the increasing climate of intimidation for the country's critical media. 22 Nov 2010 08:24

Zim: Multichoice forced to broadcast ZTV for free

[Dumisani Ndlela] Multichoice Zimbabwe has been forced to allow free viewing of the country's state-owned broadcasting channel, ZBC TV 1, as election fever grips the country after a fall-out between principals in the inclusive government. 19 Oct 2010 10:56

CNN enlists top journalism students for iReport initiative

ATLANTA, US: CNN has announced the launch of a new initiative for journalism students, called CNN iReport University, linked to iReport, the network's user-generated news community. 16 Sep 2010 10:35

Zim newspaper readership slumps, TV viewership grows

[Dumisani Ndlela] Newspaper readership slumped across the board during the second quarter (Q2) of the year, largely reflecting a liquidity crunch triggered by the dollarisation of the country's economy last year, according to the 2010 Zimbabwe All Media Products and Services Survey (ZAMPS). 21 Jul 2010 10:00