The pleasure of your company is requested at

‘I S O L A T I O N’

An exhibition of graphics by

Virginia Chihota

To be opened by

Cosmas Shiridzinomwa
Artist Painter, Lecturer and Dean of the Students at
Harare Polytechnic

on Tuesday, 16th October, 2012 at 5.30.p.m.

Previewing from noon the same day

Exhibition duration until 5th November, 2012

at
gallery delta
‘Robert Paul’s Old House’
110 Livingstone Avenue/Ninth Street
Greenwood Park, Harare
Telephone/Fax 792135

Exhibition runs from 13 October – 19 October 2012.

The Cycle, a photographic exhibition about water and sanitation in the city of Harare, by Davina Jogi.

Davina Jogi is a freelance photojournalist from Harare. She focuses on telling daily life stories about Zimbabwe that are often not covered by international media, and has worked with a variety of local and international newspapers, magazines and NGOs.

She was awarded the 2012 Media and Advocacy Grant from Market Photo Workshop for which she photographed a story about Harare’s water and sanitation challenges, entitled The Cycle.

The Media and Advocacy Photography Mentorship
The Media and Advocacy Photography Mentorship is solely aimed at the development of photographers with an interest in documenting societal issues that might often go unacknowledged in the mainstream media.  Davina Jogi is the first recipient of the award and her mentor for the project was Jonathan Torgovnik.

About the Market Photo Workshop
The Market Photo Workshop is a Johannesburg-based school of photography, gallery and resource centre for practicing photographers. Since its establishment in 1989, the school has played an integral role in the training and growth of photographers from South Africa and further afield.

For more information
Davina Jogi: www.davinajogi.com

Will some people never understand that beside the horrific pictures of starving children, child soldiers, tribal wars, ripped and mutilated bodies laying on streets, Africa has smiling faces and is a peace loving continent? I was watching “How Not to Write About Africa” by Binyavanga Wainaina. To a large extent African literature is full of some of the elements that were highlighted in the video clip. The amount of stereotyping of the continent leaves one wondering whether the African continent has anything interesting to write home about besides wars, and jungle life associated with the famous “Big Five” wild animals. Africa has been largely portrayed as a place of “hand-outs”, and a “dumping ground” of cheap and inferior goods from developed countries. I believe this video partly addresses this disgusting phenomenon.

I read a report carried in this week’s edition of the Sunday News on “civil societies” being part of the MDC’s 13th anniversary celebrations in Bulawayo.

It was in essence a reporter’s opinion veiled as a news item (but then that’s not new for Zimpaper scribes) and was very disapproving of these “civil societies” being part of the day’s proceedings. It is obvious these reporters don’t bat an eyelid about being Janus faced. We have hoards of fly-by-night jingoist CSOs who have openly come out breathing anti-MDC, anti-America rhetoric claiming Zanu PF allegiance. And indeed these have been reported by the same paper!

You even have a university students representative body that has come out blazing in support of Zanu PF at a time when every other student blames Zanu PF for murdering the UZ!

And this Sunday News story was written by a beneficiary of a US embassy journalism training programme!

Go figure.

Shoko Festival 2012 is live and kicking and Radio Active is audio blogging direct from the festival.

Get there now through 23 September.

And check out what Freedom of Expression means to ordinary Zimbabweans at the Festival here: http://soundcloud.com/tswarelo-mothobe

The growing media polarization between “pro-MDC” and “pro-ZANU-PF” camps has reached a toxic level as it is now difficult to distinguish journalists from political activists. The prevailing political situation in Zimbabwe has exacerbated the rivalry and the media is being used for political ends.

The Annual Media Stakeholders’ Conference 2012 was held in Harare yesterday at a time when the country is at a deadlock over the new constitution and the increasing uncertainty of whether there is going to be any constitution at all. The conference, which was hosted by the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ), brought together media practitioners and members of civil society from across the nation to take stock of media reforms, which have taken place so far under the coalition government operating the Global Peace Agreement (GPA). Article 19 of the GPA refers to a free and diverse media environment but not much has been done to address this as many journalists and media practitioners have been arrested and charged under Access Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).

According to a presentation by Andy Moyes of Media and Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ) the government has established the Zimbabwe Media Commission and since the establishment of the Commission the number of registered media organizations has risen to 65. However it should be noted that the Commission is still a government-controlled body as it still operates under the provisions of Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). The Zimbabwe Media Commission has recently come under attack from some sections of the media who view its establishment as an attempt to stifle media plurality, expression and press freedom. The same Commission has been criticized for lack of transparency in the awarding of licenses, which has resulted in a number of private radio stations crying foul. In what can be viewed as a deliberate move to stall reforms before elections no community radio station has been granted a license to operate to date.

Multiplicity does not necessarily mean the licensing of two radio stations can evidence diversity in content. The two stations, which came into operation recently after being granted commercial broadcasting licenses. One of the two radio station Star FM comes from a state run media house and the other one Zi FM is operated by a former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation news anchor who has denied strong links to the former ruling party ZANU PF.

The continued use of hate language, fabrication of stories, biased reporting and publication of highly opinionated stories is another sign of the high level of unethical practices which some journalists and media houses practice. To some extent the increased invasion of privacy especially by state media related to the Prime Minister’s private life has left many wondering if there are still any ethics being practiced in the media profession. The standard of journalism in Zimbabwe has deteriorated to that extent that the content being produced is now regarded as being unreliable.