 The ZBC runs Zimbabwe’s only television and radio stations. The ZBC was initially conceived as a public broadcaster but is tightly controlled by Mugabe’s government, which has the final say on senior editorial and managerial appointments.
 The government often uses the ZBC as a propaganda mouthpiece while the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says the state broadcaster has imposed a blackout on its leader Morgan Tsvangirai ahead of the run-off presidential election – a charge the broadcaster denies.
 Zimbabwe holds a second presidential election on June 27 after electoral authorities said Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in March but failed to garner more than 50 percent of the vote required to takeover the presidency.
 There are three other radio stations run by exiled Zimbabwean journalists and broadcasting into Zimbabwe from outside the country. But these do not have the same wide reach as the ZBC while Mugabe’s government has frequently jammed the foreign-based stations.
 In addition to controlling the airwaves, Mugabe’s government also runs the country’s largest newspaper empire after closing down four independent papers including the Daily News that was Zimbabwe’s largest circulating paper when it was shut down in 2003. – ZimOnline
Post published in: News