Policy dialogues seeking to find remedies to save the news media - independent and public interest journalism in particular, have often been self-defeating.
The diagnosis of the challenges bedeviling the news media in the global south are critical of the media for the failure to evolve.
Fair enough, the news media sector needs to review their value proposition, innovate around the new funding models and integrate digital transformation and artificial intelligence in their reportage.
To which extent, there is credence in the criticism of the media particularly resistant to change.
What however has not been explored is the extent at which capital has increasingly been evading investment into journalism.
And this trend is global.
To put things into perspective, in a free market, journalism is supposed to mainly be funded through sales or subscriptions and advertising revenue. With the latter being the main source.
By professionally packaging news and information that normally holds power in all its manifestations accountable, the media has an audience ready to pay for this service and provide a ready market for advertisers.
This model has been shrinking, almost to an extent of outrightly pushing independent journalism into oblivion.
Not that there is no longer a demand for quality information. If anything, there is an increased market for credible information in this post truth era.
The model is failing owing to market forces that are hostile to public interests journalism.
Capital has been unkind to media that unsettles power or that expose the inadequacies of authority.
Without overemphasizing this point, there's an umbilical cord between capital and political authority.
Sometimes this nexus is brazen and plays out publicly yet in some instances the relationship is subtle and complex.
Whatever the case, over the years the impacts of this relationship have had an impact on the media sector more than any other.
Yet the media as a public good must survive.
Not necessarily as just a private enterprise - an evidently dying model, but as an integral cog of democracy.
The investment into journalism has to be viewed more in the context of the implementation of the rights to freedom of expression and access to information.
Perhaps more importantly as an agent of strengthening public accountability.
The exposures of corruption, as an example, benefit the public as much as the playing out of different ideologies assist citizens in making informed decisions.
While this may sound utopian and theoretical, the practical point that this submission seeks to emphasise is that media sustainability is a public good.
And that the public through policy interventions has to come to the party in investing in the survival of this critical sector.
For the media in Zimbabwe, there were some policy propositions that media stakeholders in their diversity put at the fore for the government to consider implementing in supporting the media.
In building up to the global commemorations of World Press Freedom Day, annually observed on May 3, Zimbabwean media stakeholders in partnership with JamiiAfrica and the International Media Support (IMS) engaged in policy dialogues on the steps towards sustaining public interests journalism.
In addition to drawing lessons from the JamiiAfrica citizens online based platform to enhance engagement between the citizens and government in fostering accountability, the policy dialogues concluded with some policy recommendations.
Among the proposed policy propositions, media stakeholders urged the government to by way of the ongoing reforms implement a converged fund for the media with mechanisms for support towards both private and public media.
Currently there are fragmented funds in varying legislation, an obtaining environment that has proved ineffective.
Media stakeholders also urged for a review of the current media tax regime for a converged framework that eases the fiscal pressures on the media.
In particular, the licensing regime must be reviewed taking cognisance of the how news is being produced and packaged in multiple formats.
A print and broadcast license, particularly webcasting should be merged in order for there to be a one-stop shop approach whose effect should be reduced administrative fees and bottlenecks.
The government was equally urged to provide incentives investment into the media sector and have outlined measures for the promotion of corporates that fund the media.
There should be a guiding framework for independent commissions, government departments and parastatals to evenly distribute advertising revenue across both the state and private media.
Media stakeholders called for there to be a framework for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) tax revenue to also support independent journalism, beyond just content creation.
Moreover, the government must lead the policy shift in the training of both trainee and mid-career journalists to be responsive to the evolving digital technologies.
In particular an adaptive artificial intelligence policy should be developed and implemented to ensure legacy media can harvest from the volumes of data that can be commercialised.
Partnerships between the local media and regional and international counterparts must not be overly regulated and restrictive measures in assessing donor funding should be relaxed.
Regulations of religious adverts should be reviewed in striking a balance between ethical considerations and the imperative need to harness funds from this sect.
Journalism must be protected and strengthening the standards thereof will restore credibility in the media.
The media sector should have a direct stake in how the Universal Service Fund (USF) is distributed with part of these public funds being channeled towards strengthening journalism.
Media organizations that embrace digital first strategies and transition print products online should get incentives from environmental friendly taxes as an example.
All these recommendations are hinged on there being a safe working environment for the media.
Independent media and investigative journalism must at all times be allowed to thrive.
Yes, the media has a lot of self-introspection to do. The writing is on the wall - evolve and adapt lest you die.
Yet the public, collectively or as represented in the legislature and executive arms of government must not allow for this imminent death of public interest journalism to die.
The policy propositions by media stakeholders as discussed in this submission provide some steps for the public to invest in the media. After all public interest media belongs with them.
*Nigel Nyamutumbu is a media development practitioner serving as the coordinator of a network of journalistic professional associations and media support organizations, the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ). MAZ and its partners JamiiAfrica and IMS coordinated a series of national media policy dialogues that build up towards the global World Press Freedom Day commemorations, annually observed on May 3. Nyamutumbu can be contacted on [email protected] or +263 772 501 557
