dyton mupawaendaThe Herald, October 2, 1992
ZIMBABWE Newspapers group should not be swayed from its mature and serious approach to covering news simply because of the style being adopted by other publications, the Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunications, Cde David Karimanzira, said yesterday after a familiarisation tour of Herald House.
Herald House in Harare houses, The Herald, The Sunday Mail and Kwayedza, which are part of the Zimpapers stable.
Other newspapers owned by the company include the Chronicle, the Sunday News and The Manica Post.
Cde Karimanzira was appointed to the post of Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunications in July this year and the visit to Herald House was part of a familiarisation process that he hopes will see him also visiting operations at Modus Publications, the owners of The Financial Gazette, The Weekend Gazette, The Sunday Times and The Daily Gazette.
The idea is to provide him with an opportunity to appreciate the operations of the media in Zimbabwe.
“Your papers have enjoyed quality reporting through their creativity and objective reporting and that should be maintained,” the minister noted after his tour.
Newspapers, he observed, should try to give the correct information “and quote their sources in order to give their stories authenticity. Zimbabwe upholds the right to freedom of the Press and will not interfere . . .”
Zimpapers Group Editor-in-Chief Tommy Sithole, in briefing the minister, expressed reservations over the system that forces newsmen to submit in writing questions to Government ministers before the ministers respond to them.
The system, Sithole noted, only served to shield ministers from journalists. The system was a stumbling block as it took long for ministers to respond to written questions.
Faced with such a predicament, reporters could only speculate rather than delay publication of their stories.
In some cases, this had resulted in publication of half-baked stories, “We feel it is a wrong system which only serves to shield ministers from reporters and it (the system), should be reviewed.”
Zimpapers group managing director, Cde Davies Midzi, expressed concern at the continued controlled prices for the group’s newspapers against the background of escalating costs of such products as newsprint and ink, among other inputs.
The minister said he would look into the issues raised. The minister said the presence of publications that were critical of the Government confirmed the existence of freedom of the Press in Zimbabwe.
On arrival at Herald House yesterday morning, the minister, who was accompanied by the Acting Director of Information, Cde Everson Chikwanha, was met by Cde Midzi, Cde Sithole and Zimpapers Harare branch senior general manager Cde Lovewell Mazarura.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
Editorial policies are key guidelines that dictate the operations of newspapers.
Credibility is one of the key pillars that anchor any successful business. Newspapers under the Zimpapers stable have maintained their lead in the market because they have managed to uphold their authority as the major source of credible news.
The Herald, which is the flagship newspaper for the group and the leading daily publication in the country, has continued to ward off competition to maintain its lead through consistently producing well researched and balanced stories.
This culture has been maintained at the newspaper throughout the 131 of its existence, which is being marked this month.
Online Reporter