Supporting self-regulation in Zimbabwe
Journalism in Zimbabwe has been hit by the political crisis and has lost much of the professionalism that marked the country’s newsrooms a decade ago. A majority of the senior journalists and leading editors are in exile and the news desks are dominated by less experienced colleagues. Lack of experience paired with severe media suppression has resulted in low quality journalism.
Fojo’s partner the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) was set up in 2007 to make a difference. The VMCZ offers the Zimbabwe media houses hands on training in journalism with the ambition to support balanced, accurate and impartial reporting.
The VMCZ is a self-regulatory body for the media set up by the local media itself. The council finds inspiration in similar institutions in Southern Africa and elsewhere.
Fojo is an institutional partner to the VMCZ supporting the secretariat in its advocacy work and by building training capacity in the country. The partnership includes in-house training at several media houses as well as workshops for the media and the public.
