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Emmanuel Ndlovu
WORLD Press Freedom Day is a remarkable moment for media practitioners across the globe.
It came into being after the Windhoek Declaration of 1991 in Namibia, a statement by African journalists on the challenges they faced in conducting their duties on the continent.
Last week, Bulawayo journalists joined the rest of the world in commemorating this significant day. The commemorations delved much on what press freedom entailed while identifying challenges faced by local media practitioners in their quest to seek and impart information.
There was also a call for the opening up of the airwaves to community radio stations as these are said to be pivotal in facilitating development in communities while opening the democratic space for people at grassroots levels to participate in issues of governance.
A media scholar who was a facilitator at a discussion on the state of the media sparked a serious debate when he referred to issues covered by tabloids as trivial.
Looking at the content of most mainstream papers, it is evident that they have also embraced tabloidisation.
The argument was that journalists are now dumping “serious” news for social issues perceived to be less important. He cited an example of domestic violence issues as one of the many so-called trivial stories that tabloids thrive on.
This view is probably premised on arguments by a number of journalism scholars who purport that due to tabloidisation, most media organisations are reaching for the lowest-point type of stories while shunning serious issues whether by omission or commission.
It is also argued that tabloidisation short-changed citizens by bombarding them with information deemed to be of less value while neglecting “bread and butter” issues about public affairs and governance.
Serious news is said to encompass issues to do with development, economic empowerment and democracy among others.
Trivial matters are said to involve sensationalised stories that dig on issues of celebrities, sex, scandals and human interest meant to amuse members of the public.
To say they are trivia is, to a certain extent, a misconception that has been held over a long time. The view is subject to debate because these issues are equally significant.
Some of the trivialities are social bugs that have bedevilled the society and led to serious decadence of the social fibre. A number of questions can be raised to challenge this derogatory view of tabloids and their role in society.
How trivial are the issues they tackle and to whom are they insignificant?
What measuring yardsticks are used to gauge whether or not an issue is a serious one.
We live in a period where technology is advancing on a daily basis and at an unprecedented pace.
This has however brought about a number of problems to society as these advancements encourage promiscuity and sexual immorality.
Therefore these are quite pertinent issues that tabloids bring to public attention in this era where the HIV/Aids pandemic is wrecking communities and leaving children orphaned.
So, how trivial are they?
Promiscuity is a major driver of domestic violence in society.
Tabloids have written numerous stories on domestic violence, another issue that has become a social cancer threatening the existence of the family institution.
Peace and tranquility in communities is also threatened.
Moreover, domestic violence continues to leave many families and communities with terrible emotional wounds. Women and children seem to be the major victims in these.
We have read quite a number of cases about child abuse and men raping young girls and boys. The media has gone a long way in exposing to the world how perverted some members of our society have become.
So how can some people purport that these matters are trivial when they are tearing society apart?
Due to media coverage on these perceived trivial issues, a number of feminists and civic organisations such as Musasa Project have increased efforts to educate people about behaviour change and negative effects of gender-based violence in society.
This has also spurred police to fight these problems at grassroots level through community relations officers.
The church, which over the years has been lying low, has also stepped in as seen in messages coming from the pulpit.
This in itself shows that these matters are no longer inconsequential as some media analysts believe.
Some of the so-called trivial issues brought up by tabloids need to be first addressed to pave way for the smooth implementation of government policies.
National development will be impossible to attain if communities are torn apart by immoralities and domestic violence.
If the society at large continues to view them as insignificant, these issues may hinder community and national development.
How can women from across all sections of society embrace the women empowerment initiatives if they continue to be victimised on a daily basis by their male counterparts?
Thus, the stories covered by tabloids have great significance because they help identify social ills and evils that have to be gotten rid of.
Online Reporter