Discourse on freedom of expression and media freedom in Zimbabwe has often focused on the legal operating environment negating the increasing need to shift the focus to the pressing issue of media viability.
Focus should also shift to situations of survival where journalists are forced to choose between a story and securing their next meal.
The 2026 African Media Barometer (AMB) report for Zimbabwe paints a sobering picture of a media landscape crippled by economic fragility, pervasive ethical decay and a devastating collapse of public trust.
This is despite that the constitution and national laws, in theory, promote media freedom.
As a journalist navigating this treacherous terrain, the findings of the AMB report resonate with an uncomfortable truth and accuracy.
The report reveals a profession on the brink!
Fundamental principles of journalism are being sacrificed on the altar of economic survival necessitating urgent intervention to save the media in Zimbabwe.
At the heart of Zimbabwe's media crisis is a catastrophic decline in remuneration and working conditions.
The AMB report lays bare the grim financial realities facing media practitioners today. The latest example is that of ZTN, where staff’s working hours have been reduced by at least 25%.
Journalists' salaries remain woefully inadequate and have continued to worsen amid the country's ongoing economic decline and the persistent disruption of traditional media business models.
Media houses across the board are struggling to pay even basic wages.
Few media institutions implement regular salary increases, leaving practitioners highly exposed to the nation's inflation and currency instability.
To compound the crisis, the government, which serves as the sector’s largest advertiser and subscriber, frequently delays payments for its services.
In an uncertain economy like ours, these delayed payments lose their real value long before settlement, severely reducing the operating capacity of media houses and deepening institutional cash-flow constraints.
The cumulative effect is a sharp rise in job insecurity within the contracting sector.
Newsrooms are operating with fewer staff and tighter budgets, leading to a growing dependence on casual and freelance labour, particularly in smaller media outlets.
Journalists are subjected to grueling long working hours with limited labor protections. The absence of strong collective bargaining structures further weakens our negotiating power against media owners.
This extreme economic precarity is not just a welfare issue. It is the primary driver of a deep-seated ethical crisis that is systematically destroying public trust in the media.
Low remuneration and weak institutional safeguards have cultivated a fertile ground for “brown envelope journalism,” a practice where reporters accept money, gifts, vehicles or other inducements from political and business actors.
Alarmingly, the AMB report notes that such unethical practices have become increasingly normalised and are frequently overlooked as ethical violations within the profession.
The consequences of this corruption are severe.
Political and commercial interests now exert significant influence over editorial decision-making.
In smaller and commercially driven media houses, business interests frequently override editorial judgment, with journalists expected to maintain favourable relationships with advertisers rather than holding them accountable.
For instance, the report highlights cases where media owners and journalists have actively stood for public office, creating glaring conflicts of interest that regulatory bodies like the Zimbabwe Media Commission have failed to effectively curb.
This ethical rot occasionally spills into the public domain, severely damaging the credibility of the entire profession.
The report cites a recent sting operation by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) at the Harare magistrates court, which exposed journalists allegedly soliciting money in exchange for withholding the publication of damaging allegations.
When corruption meets political pressure, the result is widespread self-censorship.
Journalists routinely avoid reporting on sensitive topics, powerful political actors and major advertisers to protect their employment and safeguard the survival of their media outlets.
Consequently, reporting is frequently filtered through political lenses, blurring the critical distinction between objective hard news and partisan opinion.
As polarisation is normalised, the public is left with a media ecosystem that underrepresents their everyday realities and prioritises elite-driven narratives.
Beyond the financial and ethical rot, journalists continue to navigate perilous working conditions.
While arbitrary physical arrests may have decreased slightly from previous eras, pressure has morphed into psychological and legal intimidation.
Threats of defamation suits against journalists have reached alarming levels, creating a chilling effect on investigative reporting.
Furthermore, newsroom safety remains insufficiently addressed.
Sexual harassment and sextortion are persistent and underreported. This poses deeply concerning challenges that particularly affect young women journalists and interns keen to enter the profession.
What is critical about the AMB 2026 report is that it does not merely diagnose the illness. It provides a comprehensive, expert-driven roadmap to rehabilitate journalism and the media in Zimbabwe.
If we are to restore public trust and the dignity of the profession, several urgent actions must be taken by the State, media owners and civil society.
For decades now, there have been calls for the establishment of a National Employment Council (NEC) for journalists.
There sometimes seems to be progress towards this, but without warning, the process stalls again.
A dedicated NEC will help combat the economic precarity fueling corruption.
A national employment council would enforce minimum baseline salaries, regulate working hours and guarantee the welfare of media practitioners.
Furthermore, unions representing journalists must be revitalised to strengthen collective bargaining frameworks, ensuring that journalists are no longer forced to accept starvation wages.
Media houses must transform their internal cultures.
There must be zero tolerance for sexual harassment, accompanied by independent, enforceable legal support for victims to end the seeming culture of impunity.
Media houses must also actively promote diversity, gender equity, and disability inclusion within their newsrooms and leadership structures.
To decouple editorial independence from state financial pressure, absolute transparency in how state advertising and public funds are allocated is a must.
The government must publicly report on the collection and disbursement of the Universal Service Fund and other digital taxes, ensuring that media subsidies are distributed fairly and not used as a tool for political patronage.
As the media landscape digitises, the sector must proactively develop industry-led, rights-based governance guidelines for the ethical use of artificial intelligence and digital tools in news production.
Finally, the state must support a transition toward effective co-regulation models, reforming broadcasting and digital legislation to genuinely align with the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and media freedom.
Regulatory bodies must be insulated from executive ministerial interference to ensure licensing and oversight serve the public interest and not partisan agendas.
A democracy cannot function in the dark and it certainly cannot be illuminated by a media that is too poor, too compromised and too frightened to strike a match.
It is time to pay journalists what they are worth, protect them from harassment and demand the ethical rigour that the Zimbabwean public rightfully deserves.
The African Media Barometer was produced by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) with support from DW Akademie.
- Nqaba Matshazi is fundraising and regional campaigns coordinator at Misa.