Strategies for Internet Technology and Digital Rights Reporting https://zimbabwe.misa.org mainstream/mass media’s crucial role in educating, influencing and informing publics, the regional study assesses how media practitioners and journalists have covered (or can better cover) internet, technology and digital rights issues in ways that enhance the digital literacy of citizens. In particular, the study assesses the obstacles that media practitioners and journalists face in covering internet, technology and digital rights issues and proposes strategies and models that can be adopted to bridge the gaps. Apart from resource constraints, issues such as framing, editorial disinterest, media ownership can be complicating factors for internet, technology and digital rights reporting. These complicating factors necessitate multi-pronged interventions to entrench internet, technology and digital rights reporting as a ‘specialised beat’ in mainstream media. Aims of the Study • To provide a baseline which highlights the gaps and challenges impacting media reporting on internet, technology and digital rights issues. • To provide a needs assessment for improving the quality (and frequency) of media reporting on internet, technology and digital rights issues. • To provide an advocacy tool to inform the necessary interventions that can capacitate the media industry and its practitioners for reporting on ICT developments and digital rights. Methodology This paper is informed by qualitative data gathered through an online survey that was administered via surveymonkey.com. Participation in the online survey was requested via WhatsApp, Facebook and email. The survey comprised of 10 questions which invited 30 Southern Africa journalists to reflect on factors such as (i) capacity/skills; (ii) interest/preparedness; (iii) knowledge and attitudes of journalists to covering internet, technology and digital rights as well as (iv) the challenges and (v) possible solutions to improving reportage. Questions were designed to prompt journalists to reflect on mainstream media’s effectiveness in reporting on internet, technology and digital rights within the region. The paper used specialised journalism as a conceptual framework or lens to engage on the question of how media reporting on internet, technology and digital rights can be promoted. Literature review of studies on specialised journalism beats such as science journalism, investigative journalism and climate change journalism was conducted. Through the literature review, the study gleaned insights that illuminated some of the challenges that are encountered in specialised journalism. These insights provide a reliable yardstick for assessing the level of difficulty in adopting internet, technology and digital rights reporting as a specialised beat. More importantly, the study also relied on empirical studies to identify possible strategies, models and best practices that can be adopted and/or adapted by journalists and the roles that stakeholders can play in the region. 6