Abstract
The closure of The Daily News, Zimbabwe’s only ‘independent’ newspaper in 2003 attracted both local and worldwide condemnation as the height of the Zimbabwe government’s intolerance of diverse viewpoints. This paper critically analyses the circumstances surrounding the closure of The Daily News and argues that to a great degree, and in various ways, the paper contributed to its own closure, not least because of the hidden motives and ineptitude of its management. Despite immense contribution to opening up the democratic space in Zimbabwe, The Daily News had, right from the beginning, inherent problems that conspired with the political environment leading to its closure in 2003. The paper also argues that foreign ownership and foreign funding of media in developing countries can lead to the erosion of the necessary legitimacy that these media need to compete on the local market. It argues that while the independent press has undoubtedly played a crucial role in the democratisation process, they have failed to temper their newfound freedom with responsibility.
Highlights
On 12 September 2003, police in Harare stormed the offices of The Daily News and shut the newspaper down, acting on a Supreme Court ruling issued the previous day declaring that The Daily News was operating ‘outside the law’
In the final analysis, it can be argued that The Daily News did a lot to contribute towards its own closure, not least through the hidden motives and ineptitude of its management
It is undoubted that The Daily News made immense contribution towards the opening up of democratic space in Zimbabwe
Summary
On 12 September 2003, police in Harare stormed the offices of The Daily News and shut the newspaper down, acting on a Supreme Court ruling issued the previous day declaring that The Daily News was operating ‘outside the law’. The paper argues that while both global media and global civil society have played a major role in adding pressure on the ZANU PF government, they tended to make some significant omissions in their treatment of the closure of The Daily News, in the interest of magnifying the crisis to the world. The subject of the closure of The Daily News raises important theoretical questions regarding press freedom and the role of the ‘independent’ media in the democratisation process in Zimbabwe. It raises questions about foreign ownership and foreign funding of the media as well as responsible and accountable journalism which have wider implications for the rest of the African continent. Is Zimbabwe’s daily newspaper market already saturated as it currently is? Economic imperatives notwithstanding, the arrival of The Daily News proved beyond doubt that there was a voracious appetite for alternative information in a sector dominated by the government-controlled media
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