24 September 2015
Theme: Media Professionalism and Sustainability: Defending Zimbabwe’s Fourth Estate
Zimbabwean media practitioners, inclusive of journalists and media organizations, having met to discuss media professionalism and sustainability in order to defend the integrity of Zimbabwe’s fourth estate, that is the media, resolved to act concertedly in pursuit and support of the following values, principles and actions:
A. Values and Principles
i. Hereby reaffirm our support for the democratic value of media self regulation as a cornerstone in the realization of media professionalism, public accountability, ethical conduct and the furthering of freedom of expression and access to information in Zimbabwe.
ii. Resolve further that criminalization of freedom of expression and the media in the course of undertaking its professional work is anathema to the media’s public accountability, professionalism and ethical conduct.
B. Recommendations on the Way Forward
i. Media Self Regulation: Taking into account the tremendous work that has been done by the media profession in establishing a media code of conduct and that this work must be continued, recognizing that any re-definitions of media self regulation must be inherently democratic and are work in progress, hereby resolve to continue to support the independence and work of the VMCZ. This does not preclude continued engagement with government, Parliament, the Zimbabwe Media Commission on a democratic media law reform agenda.
ii. Media Sustainability: There must be establishment of a better and conducive operational environment for all media stakeholders in relation to continuity and sustainability. Such an environment can only be established by greater, transparent and candid interaction between government, media owners, journalist unions and media organizations. This should include the establishment of a National Employment Council for journalists and media workers. Such action must be actively promoted and implemented with urgency if the media is to be safeguarded from unethical conduct.
iii. Gender and the Media- to continue to actively promote gender equality in media reportage of men and women in relation to quantitative and qualitative sourcing, representation in content and media structures.
iv. Media Training- to pursue greater clarity into the challenges that are currently confronting media training institutions, through JAMTAZ, media houses with regard to the quality and contextual considerations around key training needs of the media profession. This would include pursuing greater interaction between media training institutions and media houses on these training needs. All of this review of training must also take into account the key professional best interests of the students themselves including fair treatment during media related attachments
v. New Media and its Impact on Ethics and Professionalism-that there be concerted efforts on the part of news based digital media practitioners and media companies (bloggers) to establish a voluntary code of conduct that addresses issues of ethics and professional conduct in the realm of the internet.
vi. Media and the New Constitution- that the media actively promotes public knowledge and access to the new constitution in the best democratic public interest while simultaneously safeguarding the rights to freedom of expression, media freedom, the right to privacy and access to information as outlined in sections 57, 61, 62 of the Bill of Rights.
Jameson Hotel,
Harare
Zimbabwe
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