By Takura Zhangazha*
The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) recently
licensed six (6) new free to air national commercial television stations. This is a first since our national independence
in 1980 that this has been done at this magnitude and in this age of the
internet. It had previously been
conservatively done in the mid-1990s with the brief outsourcing of a second
channel from the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) to private players
such as Joy TV and Munhumutapa Broadcasting Corporation .
The full scale licensing of private television stations for
national broadcasting on their own designated frequencies is however as unprecedented as it has in some instances been viewed by key media stakeholders
as controversial. Not only based on real
and perceived inconsistencies within the enabling Broadcasting Services Act
(BSA) or its attendant licensing regulations which do not emphasize the
necessity of diversity in private media ownership. Especially as it applies to
cross/multi-media ownership frameworks where some newly licensed companies own
media across the print, radio and television spectrum. And examples of this type of media ownership are
best exemplified by Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp multi-media empire. Or even on social media with companies such
as for example Facebook that already owns a number of popular content and information platforms.
It is almost like a throwback media licensing regime
framework in Zimbabwe wherein the major
players in the print media as registered by the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC)
became the licensees of the of the commercial radio licenses.
What is however interesting to take note of, in the case Zimbabwe's new TV licenses, is that they are emblematic of at least two things.
Firstly, the licensing process itself has been couched in
the official policy of the government on the ‘ease of doing business’. While it may be considered a coincidence
since the Information and Media Panel of Inquiry (IMPI) report strongly recommended
that government considers the ‘media as a business’, this suits the ‘media for profit’
trajectory of not only the current government but also media owners. While the viability of the new TV
broadcasters is yet to be seen, it is fairly apparent that the assumption is
that they will compete on Zimbabwe’s relatively small media market primarily
for eyeballs that rake in the money. (Please do not ask why Nigeria either always
won the most on Big Brother Africa or why its still the only African country to
run its own domestic version of the same).
Media diversity or a multiplicity
of ethical journalistic content and diverse views is not high on the list of
priorities.
The second element is that of a relatively incremental approach
taken by government and accepted by some media stakeholders to media
reforms. And largely based more on a quantitative
approach than one that looks for the quality of free expression and media
freedom as a democratic imperative in Zimbabwe.
This was the case with the quantitative expansion of national and local
commercial radio stations. It will be the
case with the new television stations
though at greater expense to their owners. It however would no longer be easy
to argue that Zimbabwe has a state broadcasting monopoly. And the government would
be in a position to counter such an argument with not only quantitative examples
of what now obtains in the country but also citing media reform models of countries
from the global north. What
then becomes significant is that media stakeholders
have to ‘deal the hand that they have been dealt’ by the state. Not by way of imposition but also by way of
not having been alwys clear about the parameters of reform that they
required. In this case of the new
television stations, the medium becomes its own message and eventually
Zimbabweans will get used to them. Just
like they did with the radio stations.
Barring major policy changes on the part of government these
newly licensed television stations are now part of our fixed long term media
reality. No matter any controversies
raised about the licensing process. Colleagues in the content creation sectors of
the arts will probably view them as an opportunity to breakaway from ZBC’s
stringent and monopolistic contractual conditions. Political parties may see some of them as new
platforms to spread their messages to wider audiences beyond ZBC. Journalists/media professionals will look at
these developments as new employment opportunities for their profession (as
they did with the radio stations). While
non- governmental organizations will seek to spread their public interest
issues via these same said new platforms. Or sports associations leagues will relish income from selling TV rights.
In this a hegemonic reality is then created in which these television
stations become part of a ‘new normal’ in our broadcasting sector. And for sure, even if one were to argue that these
new TV stations cannot compete with social media, it is certain that they will
also attempt to occupy the same spaces.
But with the unique advantage of being permitted by the state to broadcast
as nationally as they can on designated easier for Zimbabweans to access frequencies. And on that one time status symbol called the television set.
*Takura Zhangazha writes here in his personal capacity
(takura-zhangazha.blogspot.com)
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