Newsmaking practices and professionalism in the Zimbabwean press

Mabweazara, H. M. (2011) Newsmaking practices and professionalism in the Zimbabwean press. Journalism Practice, 5(1), pp. 100-117. (doi: 10.1080/17512786.2010.493331)

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Abstract

This article examines newsmaking practices and professional cultures in the Zimbabwean press. It explores the extent to which journalists make independent professional choices in the context of organisational, occupational, and wider contextual demands that shape and promote specific newsmaking cultures. The paper argues that the country's polarised political terrain and journalists' struggles for economic survival in the context of a severe economic crisis have spawned practices that provide context for (re)examining the relevance of the predominant Anglo-American epistemological imperatives of journalism in Africa. Thus, while on the surface daily journalistic practices in the Zimbabwean press typify the prevalent and somewhat universal professional normative ideals such as balance, impartiality and fairness, a deeper analysis reveals discrepancies that counter these established ideals. To this end, the claim that professional journalists subscribe to the generic normative ideals of objectivity and associated journalistic notions perhaps generalises what in fact are differentiated newsmaking cultures.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Mabweazara, Dr Hayes
Authors: Mabweazara, H. M.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
Journal Name:Journalism Practice
Publisher:Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
ISSN:1751-2786
ISSN (Online):1751-2794
Published Online:04 September 2010

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