Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
Government of Zimbabwe | |
Launch date | 1963 (as Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation) |
---|---|
Former names | Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation, and later Zimbabwe Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation |
Official website | http://www.zbc.co.zw |
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is the state-owned broadcaster in
History
Introduction of radio
Radio was first introduced in the then
Following the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953, the SRBS was renamed the Federal Broadcasting Service (FBS).[5] The CABS, still based in Lusaka, continued to use African languages as well as English.[6] In 1955, a Federal Commission of Enquiry into the organisation of broadcasting in the Federation proposed the creation of a new broadcasting organisation, to be called the "Rhodesia and Nyasaland Broadcasting Corporation", which was to be established in 1956.[7] However, it was not until 1958 that the FBS and CABS would be merged into the Federal Broadcasting Corporation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (FBC).[8]
When the Federation was dissolved in 1963, the FBC was disbanded, and each territory acquired its own broadcasting service, which in Southern Rhodesia was initially known as the Southern Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (SRBC).[9] This later became known as the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC).[10]
Introduction of television
Television was introduced on 14 November 1960, first in Salisbury, with transmissions in Bulawayo beginning seven months later.[11] It was only the second such service in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria,[12] and the first such service in Southern Africa, as South Africa did not introduce television until 1976.[13][14]
It was initially operated by a private company, Rhodesia Television (RTV) on behalf of the then FBC, with its major shareholder being South African companies, including the Argus Group of newspapers, through its subsidiary, the Rhodesian Printing and Publishing Company, and also served Northern Rhodesia until its independence as Zambia.[15] Other companies included Davenport and Meyer,[16] the latter of which operated LM Radio, based in Mozambique, then under Portuguese rule.[17]
Following the dissolution of the FBC in 1964, the Government of Southern Rhodesia attempted to take control of RTV through the RBC, whose chairman, J.M. Helliwell, announced that the RBC would acquire all shares in RTV, "at a price agreed upon by both parties".
However, the government's move was rejected by RTV's directors.
Unilateral Declaration of Independence
In November 1965, the white minority government of
On 1 January 1965, the RBC had ceased to relay the morning world news bulletin from the
The British Government, which had denounced UDI as illegal, began broadcasting BBC programmes into Rhodesia by building a radio relay station in Francistown, in the then Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.[32] The Rhodesian Government retaliated by clandestinely building a 400 000 watt transmitter nicknamed "Big Bertha", in order to jam the signal from the smaller BBC transmitter.[33] Programmes about Rhodesia were subjected to jamming, but other programmes were not affected.[34] In 1968, the BBC ceased broadcasting from Francistown, and the relay station was transferred to the Government of Botswana.[35]
Speaking at the opening of the new RBC Centre in Pocket Hill in 1970, President Clifford Dupont said that few other countries had been subject "to such a barrage of hostile propaganda over the air", and that the new centre would contribute to the RBC's very successful role "in combatting this insidious offensive".[36]
The RBC operated two main services, the English-language General Service (or National Network),
As armed opposition to white minority rule mounted in the 1970s, Africans in Rhodesia increasingly began to turn to
In order to counter this, the RBC installed an
Transition to independence
In 1979, following the adoption of a new constitution, Rhodesia was renamed Zimbabwe Rhodesia, and in common with other state institutions which were renamed, the state broadcaster was renamed the Zimbabwe Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation (ZRBC) under an amendment to the Broadcasting Act.[42] It also used the name "Voice of Zimbabwe Rhodesia" (VZR) on air.[43][44] In addition, the change of name saw the debut of Mandy Mundawarara, the country's first black television newsreader, whose father, Silas Mundawarara, had become Deputy Prime Minister in the government of Abel Muzorewa.[45]
However, the Muzorewa government did not gain international recognition, and under the terms of the
A number of other senior BBC staff were sent to the country to advise Lord Soames on election broadcasting, and also help the ZRBC with their preparations for independence.[49] In the run-up to elections being held in February 1980, the Governor's Information Adviser held discussions with the ZRBC, leading the Election Commissioner agreed to a scheme to ensure that all parties standing in the elections should have equal free time on the public media.[50]
Post-independence
Reorganisation of services
Following independence, radio services were reorganised, with three distinct networks being established: Radio One, the main English-language network, run by Africans but with some whites in key positions, Radio Two, combining the Harare and Radio Mthwakazi services and broadcasting in
The legacy of
The conversion to
By the end of the 1990s, ZBC's shortwave transmitters bought from Technology for Communications International in 1994 worth $40 million were now considered obsolete, triggering a parliamentary investigation that would culminate in the prosecution of a senior politician and ZBC officials responsible for sanctioning the purchase.[60]
ZBC planned to introduce a subscription television service as early as 1993, but due to government and funding issues, the project was scrapped in 2000.[61]
ZBC relaunched on 30 November 2001 following the signing of a new Broadcasting Act in April of the same year. The corporation was now divided into six strategic business units: Newsnet, Kidznet, Sportsnet, Radio Services, Production Services and Television Services.[62]
Local programming
At independence, 30 per cent of television programming was locally produced.[63] By late 1982, local programmes accounted for 40 per cent of output.[64] While some programming was in Shona and Ndebele, 80 per cent of programming was in English, of which most was imported, mainly from the US, Britain and Australia.[65] Despite this reliance on foreign content, in the 1980s, the locally produced drama The Mukadota Family became the most popular programme in the country.[66] Other locally produced programmes included the Shona language drama Gringo Ndiani?, the video music show Mutinhimira weMimhanzi, later known as Ezomgido, the talk show Madzinza e Zimbabwe, dealing with traditional culture, and Psalmody, a Sunday morning gospel music programme.[67]
Accusations of pro-government bias
As the 1957 Broadcasting Act remained in force, ZBC inherited RBC's state monopoly on broadcasting, remaining accountable to the country's Minister of Information.
Those white journalists remaining came under pressure not to give coverage to certain topics that detracted from the new state's socialist outlook, including unrest in
The ZBC was also accused of giving more emphasis to the role of Mugabe's
During the 2002 presidential elections, the nightly news bulletin Newshour gave extensive coverage to the rallies of the ruling party, amounting to a quarter of airtime.[78] In 2003, a study conducted by the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ) in 2003 showed that one of the propaganda jingles, Rambai Makashinga or "Continue Persevering", was being played 288 times a day on the four ZBC radio stations, and 72 times a day on ZBC television.[79] In 2008, it found that 90 per cent of the ZBC's bulletins during the March elections were devoted to positive coverage of ZANU-PF, while in both the March and June elections, it dedicated 200 hours of coverage to ZANU-PF but just over 16 to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), most of which was negative.[80]
In 2015, Freedom House described ZBC coverage as overwhelmingly favouring ZANU-PF.[81]
Radio
ZBC has six radio networks, which are;
- National FM - broadcasting news and current affairs in various indigenous languages,[82]
- Radio Zimbabwe - broadcasts only in Shona and Ndebele,[83]
- Power Fm (formerly Radio 3 / 3FM) - broadcasting pop music,[84]
- Classic 263 (formerly Spot FM or SFM) - carrying sports, news and current affairs[85]
- Khulumani FM - station designed for the metropolitan province of Bulawayo and Matabeleland region[86]
- 95.8 Central Radio - broadcasting for Gweru.[87]
Local radio stations run hourly news bulletins which range from two minutes to the longest being a ten-minute bulletin on weekends and holidays. Presenters include, Admire Mhungu, Innocent Manyenga, Memory Chamisa and Keith Mawoyo.
On the national languages desk readers include Nqobile Malinga, Patience Machokoto, Taboka Ncube, Faith Nare, Lucy Ngosolo and Caroline Sithole. Bulletins come out live on Classic 263 at 7 am, 8 am, 1 pm, 6 pm and 8 pm and running from Monday to Friday. The anchors are Nomalanga Vuma, Theophilus Chuma, Ian Zvoma, Butler Nhepure and Jonathan Marerwa.
Television
ZBC's television service now consists of a single channel, known as ZBC TV. The ZBC re-established a second TV channel of its own, Channel 2, in April 2010,[88] but this station was decommissioned in August 2015.[89] On 28 April 2022, ZBC launched Zimbabwe's first youth-oriented television channel, Jive TV.[90]
News bulletins include the morning Good Morning Zimbabwe, produced by Admire Mhungu, lunchtime news, Nhau Indaba and News Hour.[91] Rumbidzai Takawira, the anchor, is usually the host of News Hour.
Battle of the Chefs is one of the first food-related reality TV shows to air on ZBC.
See also
- Media of Zimbabwe
- Communications in Zimbabwe
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- ^ National FM
- ^ Radio Zimbabwe
- ^ Power FM
- ^ Classic 263
- ^ "Khulumani FM". Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Central Radio". Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ Zimbabwe: ZBC to Launch Channel Two, The Herald, 13 April 2010
- Daily News, 12 August 2015
- ^ "ZBC launches music channel". The Herald. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ ZBC-TV Programme Line Up