Rethinking ethical issues in African media

Abstract

The word ‘ethics’ comes from the Greek word ‘ethos’ which means character. Ethics are rules or norms of conduct ‘pertaining to individual character of a person or persons’. Debates on media ethics in African and, in particular, Zimbabwean academic and media circles have not been theoretically vigorous. In fact, the absence of an established practice of ethical culture has helped the nurturing of media practices where journalists wield enormous power but with minimum responsibility or accountability. This paper examines the various manifestations of ethical transgressions in the Zimbabwean media in the context of political polarization. The paper specifically focuses on the impact of some instances of ethical violations on the democratic role of the media and on the public. Conveniently sampled news articles published between 1998 and 2006 are analysed. The main argument of this paper is that the absence of a strong ethical culture in the Zimbabwean media has seriously compromised the informational role of the media. This is resulting in the erosion of the public's trust in the media.