WAY FORWARD The way forward 1. What were the developments in the media environment in the last two /three years? Positive developments • Increasing engagement of civil society in media legislation campaigns and civil society demands for constitutional media freedom and access to information • Self-regulation has been strengthened by VMCZ • Reforms at the VMCZ have resulted in a more representative board • Interaction between parliament and civil society, e.g. training of Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communication on media issues • A marked increase in print media products on the market • Women have been promoted into decision making posts Negative developments • Legal framework for freedom of expression and the media remains unchanged • Harassment of media activists and journalists persists • Self-censorship in the media based on fear • Increase in criminal defamation cases • The illegitimate appointment of the boards of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and Zimpapers • Controversy over allocation of radio licences • Government’s failure/refusal to transform ZBC into being a truly public broadcaster • Unwillingness to license community radios • The planned statutory Media Council could weaken self-regulation • Threats of the Zimbabwe Media Commission to ban foreign based publications that also target the Zimbabwean market • Lowering of professional standards in reporting • Level of corruption in the media has gone up 60 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZIMBABWE 2012