so enables them to get news since “news is found everywhere one looks at”,; whereas six per cent indicated that they do not follow the news. Table 4: Rationale for Pursuing News38 Table 4: Rationale for pursuing news [37] Don’t know Other I don’t follow news Because news is everywhere I look Out of habit – it’s part of my routine To pass the time when I’m… Because it allows me to form opinions on important issues Because it provides some fun and entertainment Because it provides some fun and entertainment To be knowledgeable for my job/work/studies Because I feel it’s important to keep informed about… To get different perspectives on what’s happening For information about daily life To know what’s going on in my province To know what’s going on in my local area To know what’s going on across Zimbabwe 2 1 65 3 4 5 6 6 12 13 15 15 20 23 25 To know what’s going on around the world 56 59 Source: Fieldwork Survey Figure 20: Sources of news [38] Figure 19: Sources survey of news39 Source: Fieldwork 38 Question: People might have different reasons for following news, what are your reasons? 24 Source: Fieldwork survey Source: Fieldwork Survey 4.3 Locating the media audiences – online and offline access to media At the start of 2023, Global Digital Insights reported that in Zimbabwe, 5.74 million Zimbabweans were internet users. At the same time, internet penetration was 34.8% per cent. 40 Moreover, 14.08 million cellular mobile connections were active, influencing the social media environment in Zimbabwe in 2023. If this figure is anything to go by, 85.4% of 27 Zimbabwe’s population has mobile devices to access communication material. However,