Covid-19 impact on journalism

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Chronicle Reporter
JOURNALISTS in the country have not been spared from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which has forced them to be innovative when it comes to news gathering.

Following the outbreak of Covid-19 last year, reporters found themselves working in an environment with limited options. Journalists have now been forced to come up with innovative ways to gather and report stories.

Nqobile Tshili a news reporter at Chronicle said he has to re-align his work style to ensure that he continues to produce quality content even during the Covid period.

“Covid is a pandemic that has turned the world upside down. It has caused so much disruptions to communities and professions, journalism included. Covid has demanded that the workplace be decongested and newsrooms have not been spared. For instance, Zimpapers, my employer, has implemented a rotational work from office or home policy where we go for a week working from the office and another week working from home. This is one of the biggest challenges that comes along with Covid-19 disruption to the journalism profession.

“The rotational system has its own limitations such as no access to phones to call sources that might not be reachable on WhatsApp platforms. But the long and short of it is that some sources have also accepted that the world has changed and have accepted that we can communicate using platforms such WhatsApp. I have not been restricted in terms of movement, largely due to the fact that we are considered frontline workers. We still have to travel the breath of the country to cover stories and the company provides us with transport.

While doing stories, we also have to observe Covid-19 prevention measures as we are not immune to exposure,” he said.

Tshili said while the pandemic had brought with it several challenges, it had also helped with a new line of content. He said he was now focusing on topical issues which had arisen because of the virus and issues that had high impact on people.

Tshili said he remains truthful in reporting in order to maintain trust of sources and readers

“On the other hand, the pandemic has not really negatively impacted on my news gathering as the pandemic is an ever unfolding story. I remember before the country recorded a case, we were writing about awareness campaigns and state of preparedness in handling Covid-19 cases, we moved to reporting about first Covid-19 cases and we are now writing on the vaccination programme. So in essence, Covid-19 has changed the global news agenda where we see stories on the pandemic dominating politics, economics, social matters and importantly health.

“That is what informs my news gathering, to tell stories on how the pandemic has affected various sectors of our society. The pandemic and the challenges it presents demands that as a journalist I have to be innovative and relevant to people’s daily challenges and how they have innovated around Covid-19. The pandemic has seen an increase in GBV cases, globally so those stories have to be told, it has increased social inequalities, the digital divide is exposed especially when looking at educational issues, so as a member of the fourth estate, I’m duty bound to tell all these stories and also try to bring solutions where necessary,” he said.

Sunday News senior reporter Robin Muchetu said the work of journalists is very interactive and requires one to meet different people be it at events or going into the community. She said this was now impossible as gatherings had been banned.

“I personally enjoy writing people stories which require me to go to the ground but because of Covid-19 restrictions and fear of contracting the virus I can’t go there readily. People are also sceptical of having journalists in their homes as they say we travel a lot and are likely to contract the virus and bring it into their homes. As a journalist you pick up the best story by going to the ground, witnessing the situation and capturing emotions. We are very much limited when it comes to how far we can execute our duties. Working from home has a lot of restrictions and challenges.

“We now have to contact our sources through social media platforms such as WhatsApp. Some people have not warmed up to the idea of officially communicating on WhatsApp, some prefer face to face interviews out of fear that the information they send in the form of voice notes will be passed from one platform to another,” she said.

Muchetu said working from home has unique challenges especially for women. She said generally women were care givers and also mothers and those roles sometimes conflict with work when one is at home. Muchetu said she was now making use of online tools to gather stories and talk to sources such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter.

She said in order to adapt to the new normal she was not allowing distance caused by restricted movement to deter her from telling stories about communities. Muchetu said where possible sources assist her with pictures for her story.

“I’m not allowing distance to be a barrier. I ask sources to take pictures for me. I am now able to use multi media to report my stories such as posting videos on our YouTube channel and audios in order to cater for everyone including those who can’t get the actual copy of the paper. Before the pandemic I was mainly writing stories that were being published in the paper,” she said.

Newsday entertainment reporter, Sharon Sibindi said with events banned it had become difficult to get stories, especially for the entertainment section.

“Entertainment isn’t only about music. We have to go and see crafts displayed by people, paintings, exhibitions, we have to attend poetry slams, theatre, fashion shows, book launches. We used to cover such events but now they are not there. Our reporting is now limited.

“We talk to artists through social media but some are not producing content because of the pandemic. I talk to artists through calls or social medial platforms in order to keep in touch with them and get new developments. Some of the artists use virtual platforms to perform and we can report on them. There is a lot of talent out there which is not being showcased online so if events are banned it’s difficult to capture this talent,” she said.

Daily News Bulawayo Bureau Chief, Jeffrey Muvundusi said one of the duties of a journalist was to give a voice to the voiceless and one of the best ways to do this was to go to the ground and gather news from the affected communities.

Muvundusi said this had become difficult because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There are a lot of great stories in remote communities which are missing out because of restricted movement. Due to the pandemic it’s now difficult to constantly travel across districts hunting for stories as our safety as reporters also matters.

“You will realise that most stories are now being written on a “he said, she said basis” rather than capturing the affected people telling their own story. When we used to move around communities unrestricted, we were able to capture some outstanding issues of service delivery and we would lobby relevant authorities,” he said.

Bulawayo-based freelance reporter, Loveness Nyathi said she usually writes articles for an online publication, Amakhosi Media, which requires her to produce digital content such as videos and audios. She said it was now difficult for her to gather this content with travelling restricted.

“As a freelance journalist I have to use my own resources and means to gather stories. Now most meetings and events are being conducted virtually and not physically because of the pandemic.

“Data is expensive which has made it difficult for me to cover some of the events in order to get stories,” she said.

“Online publications require digital content such as videos and audios and with restricted movement, it’s difficult to gather the relevant content. I usually get some of my stories by travelling across districts and towns but that’s difficult now. This is a difficult time for us too as journalists.” — @DubeMatutu