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Abstract
The power of the press to shape public opinion is well documented. News readers take a cue from the press on how much salience to attach to an issue. The press are primary sources of ‘the pictures in our heads’ and furnish us with interpretative frameworks for understanding public affairs. This article examines representation of the Zimbabwean crisis by the local press between 2000 and 2008. It is argued that representation of the Zimbabwean crisis mirrors the contours chalked by the polarized media environment.
Notes
1. These newspapers folded in 1994 due to financial viability constraints.
2. A fifth radio station, Voice of Zimbabwe which is based in Gweru, was introduced in 2007. The state broadcaster was also scheduled to introduce a second television channel in December 2009 but could not do so because of financial problems.
3. The statement is attributed to Patrick Chinamasa, a ZANU-PF minister of Justice.
4. This is a Shona word for war of liberation. Shona is the dominant language spoken in Zimbabwe.
5. This is a colloquial term for violence.
6. Clare Short's letter to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs stated categorically the British government's position that Britain would not be responsible for funding land reclamation in Zimbabwe.
7. Odzi is in Manaicaland province.
8. These were work stoppages, business closures and protests organized by the main labour organization, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the then opposition MDC.
9. Temporary currency introduced by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to address the problem of cash shortage.
