The amendments include a new section which authorises the ZMC to establish a Media Council headed by a chairperson and consisting of representatives from different sectors that will be nominated by: - an association of accredited journalists - an association of publishers - an association of advertisers - an association of mass media trainers - an association of churches - an association of trade unions - an association of womens’ groups - an association of youth. According to AIPPA, the various associations must “in the opinion of the Commission be fairly representative” of their respective sector. If any association fails or refuses to submit nominations the Commission will then appoint a person of their own choice. In the final analysis, therefore, government appointees will determine the composition of this Media Council. This creation of a Media Council is a parallel process that directly conflicts with and undermines the formation of the (voluntary) Media Council of Zimbabwe in June 2007 by the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe, comprising the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists and the Media Institute of Southern Africa. The Council was set up after wide consultation with media practitioners, media organisations and key stakeholders which included relevant government ministries and personnel. Another amendment to AIPPA concerns the accreditation of journalists. Section 83, which stated that “no person other than an accredited journalist shall practise as a journalist nor be employed as such or in any manner holding himself out as or pretend to be a journalist”, was scrapped. It is therefore no longer a criminal offence to practice journalism without an official accreditation, even though other restrictions remain in place. Amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act maintain the monopoly of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings over the airwaves in the provision of broadcast media services. In regard to commercial broadcasting, another amendment now allows for minimal foreign ownership and funding. Certain sections of POSA have also been amended. Appeals against the banning of a march, for example, are no longer decided by the executive but by a magistrate’s court. On the other hand, there is now a general ban on demonstrations outside Parliament, the courts and other public institutions. An addition to the Act includes submission of more detailed information before a meeting or march can be held. Names of the convenor and deputy convenor now have to be provided to the police. This allows them to arrest and charge individuals whereas before they charged organisations as a whole. In the 17th Amendment of the Constitution, lawmakers added a unique standard for measuring the legitimacy of freedoms and arguably that of expression, i.e. through the determination of whether the action/activity is of “national interest”. Outcomes of court cases now depend entirely on how the individual judge will interpret “the national interest”. SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: So This Is Democracy? 2008 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2 1.8 (2006 = 1.3) -257- Media Institute of Southern Africa