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Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
Broadcasting regulations covering protection of children from sexual and violent content, prohibition of hate speech, provision of fair coverage to political groups during elections and penalties for broadcasters that breach the rules, among others, have been gazetted by the Government.
Media houses should provide fair coverage to all contesting parties.
The regulations also set out guidelines for advertisements and infomercials and compliance with the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act.
The regulations are contained in Statutory Instrument 148 of 2023 cited as Broadcasting Services (Code of Conduct for Broadcasters) Regulations, 2023.
They were gazetted by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa in terms of Section 24 of the Broadcasting Services Act after consultation with the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe.
On children’s programming, the regulations say every broadcasting services licence-holder shall, among other provisions, broadcast children’s programmes that reflect the moral standards and values of Zimbabweans, not broadcast material which may be harmful or might seriously impair their mental or moral development, and ensure that programming for children does not contain frightening or excessive special effects.
Broadcasters should also not broadcast offensive language in programmes designed for children, not broadcast programmes that depict suicide favourably or present suicide as a means of achieving a desired result, and avoid programmes that portray any dangerous or harmful behaviour easy children.
Broadcasters should also respect the privacy, dignity and reputation of persons and also respect Zimbabwe’s cultural values and norms and shall not, “not broadcast offensive language, including profanity, indecent speech and blasphemy taking into account any ethnic, linguistic, religious, traditional and or social differences prevailing in the community or country”.
The regulations also bar broadcasters from broadcasting material which, judged within context, contains a scene or scenes of pornography, bestiality, explicit sexual conduct, explicit extreme violence or the explicit effects arising from that.
“Every broadcasting service licensee shall put programme classifications, labels or warnings on every programme to ensure that audiences are provided with adequate information or advisory assistance which must include guidelines as to age, where such broadcasts contain violence, sex, nudity and or offensive language, guidelines which must be visible on the screen,” reads part of the regulations.
In terms of news and current affairs, the regulations say broadcasters shall adequately inform the Zimbabwean public on current and topical matters of the day, ensure that news and current affairs constitute not less than three hours of a station’s daily programming for a licensee whose programming schedule is not made up of news only, and provide fair, factual, accurate, balanced and impartial views.
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