Journalists urged to report fairly

Sunday Mail Reporter

LOCAL journalists have been challenged to report news on the forthcoming harmonised elections in a manner that promotes the country’s image.

The call came from Mr Kayed Ma’ani, head of the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency (PICA) delegation, which is currently in the country to train local scribes on election coverage.

Addressing journalists from the country’s largest integrated media house, Zimpapers, who attended a two-day training workshop last week, Mr Ma’ani said it was prudent for scribes to tell good stories about their country, especially against the backdrop of continued vilification by the West.

The PICA delegation’s visit was made possible by the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, and the Palestinian Embassy.

Zimbabwe’s elections will be held on August 23.

“The main issue that Zimbabwe is seeking from this election is to promote its reputation and image in the face of the world,” he said.

“I also warn you against simplifying issues around elections because nothing happens without a purpose and I urge you to verify all your information.” Another member of the delegation, Engineer Abd Alfatah Najjar, said journalists should be wary of propagating fake news.

“Social and the digital media has turned everyone into a journalist, but not everything written there is correct.” Journalists, he said, had a critical role to inform citizens and ensure accountability and transparency from elected officials.

Palestinian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Tamer Almassri challenged the Palestinian delegation to publish stories in their country that call for the removal of illegal economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.

“I am sure that we will learn from our comrades from Zimbabwe, because the media here is very important,” said Amb Almassri.

“They have freedom of speech here, which enables them to compete with their counterparts in Africa.

“And their journalism is connected to the big international news houses.

“I want to say that we are not here just for training but we are also here to learn, share experiences, which is very important.”

Zimpapers chief executive officer Mr Pikirayi Deketeke said the training workshop came at an appropriate time.

“When I was looking at the plethora of expertise that is coming, I saw that they are really in the new areas that we, ourselves, are exploring,” said Mr Deketeke.

 “As new media, how do we make the designs for our publications more appealing to our readers?

“As you know very well that there is serious migration from print to digital platforms, but our print publications also have to look just as good to attract readers, not only with their content, but also with their look and theme.”

Zimpapers has 11 newspaper titles, four radio stations and one television station, as well as a social media presence that reaches over seven million people.

The delegation provided technical capacity-building training to journalists.