THE media has been challenged to write balanced stories to allow voters to make informed choices ahead of forthcoming harmonised elections. Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) vice chairperson, Jasper Maposa, made the remarks during a media and election reporting training on Monday in Kariba.
“The media provides a platform for debate among candidates by allowing candidates to communicate their messages to the electorate, and reporting on campaigning developments,” Maposa said.
“By providing such a platform for public debate, scrutiny and informing the public of the policies of candidates and political parties, the media enables voters to judge for themselves and make informed decisions when they cast their votes or ballots.”
He said the forthcoming elections are a test of independent and responsible media that promotes a peaceful electoral process.
“The media as the fourth estate is expected to provide a communication platform between the contestants and the voters. By providing such a platform for public debate, scrutiny and informing the public of the policies of candidates and political parties, the media enables voters to judge for themselves and make informed decisions when they cast their votes or ballots,” Maposa said.
The commission has already launched an Elections Reporting and Peace Journalism Manual whose major objective is to capacitate media practitioners with the necessary knowledge skills on how to report the elections story. ZMC aims to train at least 1 000 journalists countrywide on election reporting.
Source Newsday
