Daily News promises to come back with a bang
in [Physics]
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From: as on 28 May 2010 14:48 Daily News promises to come back with a bang By Tichaona Sibanda 27 May 2010 The Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe group (ANZ), publishers of the Daily News, promised the newspaper will come back onto the market with a bang. The Daily News is one of four daily newspapers granted a licence to operate by the Zimbabwe Media Commission, which was set up by the inclusive government to implement media reforms. Among the publications approved on Wednesday was Newsday, to be published by Alpha Media Holdings and which promises to hit the streets in 10 days time, according to its chief executive officer Ralph Khumalo. The other papers are The Mail owned by ZANU PF youth organisation, Footlink Ventures, The Daily Gazette by Modus Media, which runs the Financial Gazette and The Worker, a weekly publication run by the trade union body the ZCTU. Jethro Goko a director of ANZ, told SW Radio Africa on Thursday; �Now that we�ve an operating licence, we�ll concretely begin to move ahead with plans to re-launch the paper.� �The Daily News is an established brand in Zimbabwe and we are hugely confident we will come back with a bang. It will take us time before we hit the streets, but rest assured we will be back,� Goko said. He added; �We are not worried about those already playing in the market or those who intend to come into the market next week. It�s never who starts the race, its how people finish the race that�s very important.� NewsDay will launch its first edition early next month. AMH chief executive Raphael Khumalo told their online version of the paper that NewsDay would strive to provide balanced news to Zimbabweans and �tell it as it is.� �We are excited. We are ready. We think in 10 days� time we should be able to be on the streets. Obviously, these are exciting developments,� Khumalo said. By granting these media outlets licences to operate, the ZMC has set in motion a domino effect that could see independent papers break the government�s hold on the media. Since 2000 the former ruling party has forcibly closed several independent newspapers and the country�s first independent radio station. Local journalists have been forced into exile or been tortured, arrested, routinely harassed and some have just disappeared. Journalist and writer Wonder Guchu said while some form of media freedom may be on the horizon, the biggest challenge facing the newcomers is survival. �Obviously these are exciting times to all those in the media fratenity and it will bring with it stiff competition. In terms of news content, I�m sure we will be reading quality and well balanced stories unlike the current trend we see from some newspapers,� Guchu said. But the biggest question, according to Guchu, is whether the new dailies will stand the test of time in a very limited market with few advertisers, due to Zimbabwe�s economic collapse. �This is where good journalism and editorial policy will come into play. Advertisers will look at the wide distribution of a paper and its editorial slant, before deciding to jump onboard,� Guchu added. While the ZMC was set up to spearhead media reforms, including the licensing of new press, there has been no movement on the issue of independent radio and TV outlets, which fall under the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. Deputy Information Minister Jameson Timba has said an assessment done by the ministry showed that there was room for 31 radio licences in urban areas and 60 country-based licences. He added that there was also the capacity for an additional two FM stations. There are no independent broadcasters in Zimbabwe and the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) runs the country�s television and radio stations, all tightly controlled by Robert Mugabe�s ZANU PF. Although new newspapers will be welcomed by Zimbabweans there is an urgent need for independent broadcasters, including community radio stations. It is radio that has the capacity to provide information across the country, whereas the uptake of newspapers is often limited, due to cost. Additionally real media freedom can only be achieved when the draconian media laws have been removed. Local journalists are still subject to severe restrictions because of AIPPA, which prescribes heavy fines or jail for journalists who publish stories on �protected information or news likely to cause alarm and despondency. There is concern that journalists may end up self-censoring, to avoid trouble with the authorities. The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists and other media bodies are advocating a Voluntary Media Complaints Council, which would see the media regulating itself, rather than being regulated by the government, as the case is now. SW Radio Africa News
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