https://zimbabwe.misa.org

Strategies for Internet Technology
and Digital Rights Reporting

These responses indicate that there is low editorial commitment to specialised journalism, which
would extend to reporting on internet, technology and digital rights.

Lack of knowledge of internet and technology issues
70% of the respondents in the survey indicated that journalists in their respective countries were not
knowledgeable enough to report on internet and technology issues. Respondents intuitively discerned
that there was a difference between a knowledge gap and a skills gap.
Although, 43 the expectations of the industry veer towards the overly optimistic and unrealistic
demand that the reporter should be able to turn his or her hand to anything – 90% of the respondents
admitted that most journalists lack the requisite knowledge to pursue specialised journalism in
internet and technology issues.

43See Turner, B., & Orange, R. (Eds.). (2013). Specialist journalism. Routledge.

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Select target paragraph3