Impact of Covid 19 on Media Sustainability https://zimbabwe.misa.org leave, a freeze on annual pay increases and “flexible working hours, on a no work no pay basis, to match the reduced demand.” Another major survey of more than 1 300 frontline journalists in 77 countries at the end of April by the International Federation of Journalists of Journalists found 65% of those surveyed replied “Yes” to the question, “Have your pay, job security and/or working conditions been negatively affected by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic?” and that around 7% of those surveyed had lost their jobs; around 38% had lost income.63 In Botswana the staff of the Guardian group with Mmegi had been on half salaries for a couple of months. 57 The Botswana Gazette told staff that from the end of August until the end of November salaries would be reduced by 70%.58 Also, “the Botswana Media and Allied Workers Union (BOMAWU) has condemned some media houses for using the COVID-19 pandemic to cut salaries of employees without consultation” and to begin retrenching workers.59 The Lesotho Times announced staff salaries would be cut by 20% for two months.60 At the start of Zimbabwe’s hard lockdown in March, Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), publisher of NewsDay, the Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard, announced a 50% pay cut for all staff and some staffers were sent on leave.61 Global financial impact A survey of a diverse sample of 1 406 Englishlang uage respondents involved in news production from all over the world found that 17% “‘with knowledge of their news organizations’ financial losses” reported that revenue had fallen by more than three-quarters since the start of the pandemic and 43% said revenue had dropped by more than half. Almost 90% reported job losses, salary cuts and/or outlet closures. Seven percent reported closure of print editions and 11% reduced print runs.62 Impact on individual journalists The ICFJ survey results on the effect of the pandemic and how it has been covered on journalists themselves is worth quoting in full. Our survey paints an unsettling picture of burntout journalists in the grip of a mental health crisis, who are increasingly living in fear of unemployment. These are journalists who are exposed to great risk by neglectful employers who have failed to provide essential safety equipment, while coming under attack from politicians and others seeking to chill critical reporting. Our data also points to significant gaps in support on offer to those covering the pandemic and seeking to hold governments to account for their responses to the crisis. These range from mental health support and protection from physical burnout, to urgent training and development needs, and help for employees trying to balance intense (often home- based) work with child care and home- schooling responsibilities. While there are some reasons for optimism as outlined below, unless these gaps in support are addressed, the 57. Konopo, Botswana INK media. 58. Rudolf Olsen, “Letter to Staff, Botswana Gazette MD,” 2020. 59. BOMAWU, “Botswana Media and Allied Workers Union | Facebook,” n.d, https://www.facebook.com/BOMAWU1/. 60. Chido Musodza, “SADC Governments Should Cushion Media against COVID-19 Threats,” MISA Zimbabwe (blog), June 23, 2020, https://zimbabwe.misa.org/2020/06/23/sadc-govts-should-cushion-media-against- covid-19-threats/. 61. Musodza. 62. Julie Posetti, Emily Bell, and Pete Brown, “Journalism and the Pandemic - A Global Snapshot of Impacts” (ICFJ and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, October 2020), https://www.icfj.org/sites/default/files/2020- 10/Journalism%20and%20the%20Pandemic%20 Project%20Report%201%202020_FINAL.pdf. 63. IFJ, “Exposed: The Crisis Facing Journalism in the Face of Covid-19 / IFJ,” International Federation of Journalists, April 30, 2020, https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press- releases/article/exposed-the-crisis-facing-journalism-in-the-face-ofcovid-19.html. 16