Brian Rungano Temba
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana has reminded media practitioners on the role objective journalism plays in a democracy.
Speaking before a Parliamentary Committee on Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services this week, Mr Mangwana said there is need to preserve the distinction between public interest journalism and activism.
“An argument on social media recently was that Journalists have turned activists, some say a journalist must be an activist, I differ with that view.
If you become an activist you have taken a polarised view. How fair will be your reportage?” asked Mr Mangwana.
In recent days, there has been conflation by some media practitioners who in some instances can be mistaken for media liaison officers for foreign capitals or opposition parties.
Mr Mangwana urged parliament to stay abreast with developments in the dynamic media sector.
“The sector is highly competitive and needs good technology as it has become transnational and borderless.
Zimeye is based in Leeds, NewZim.com is based in UK, i dont think they are paying taxes and they compete with those that are based locally,” said Perm Sec Mangwana.
Mr Mangwana rallied stakeholders to think around ways running costs in media can be kept low, so as to free funds to increase salaries.
He bemoaned the low salaries being received by journalists, saying such scenarios compromise the quality of news.
The Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services has been among the leaders of reform, with deliberate policies that are updating processes to match the needs of the 21st century.
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