Reflections on the media coverage of the Anglican Church management conflict in Zimbabwe.

Abstract

This paper explored the different views and dimensions that emerged during the conflict for leadership in the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe between the year 2000 and 2013. It is not disputed that the media act as a watchdog of the society, but in the Anglican conflict it is a mystery as to whose dog the media was as evidenced by a close analysis of the comments they wrote. While it is evident and undoubtedly clear that the religious conflicts for leadership dates back to the biblical days, it is still worthwhile to expound on whether the old motivations for leadership are the same as those obtaining in the Anglican conflict. An analysis is thus essential so as to draw parallels between the ancient church leadership squabbles and the contemporary Anglican crisis. Relying mainly on newspaper documentary evidence, this paper explored the media’s neutrality and role in the Anglican management conflict. The results showed that the media are active agenda setters who frame issues in a certain manner while ignoring or censoring other dimensions. From the perspectives of the public it was noted that the congregation got aligned to different media organizations, which shared their views in the unfolding disagreements. The old theories of succession and the spirit of schism slid back into place in a very glaring way; with power, priestly preeminence and prophetic authority taking the centre stage in the conflict in an interesting way.