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Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Deputy Minister Kindness Paradza has made another controversial statement when he warned journalists not to delve into politics, a vague statement which was not well recieved by journalists.
Paradza a former seasoned journalist seemed to caution political editors and reporters from doing their job, forgetting that he is not an editor of various media houses but a policy maker who must support media news.
In his official address, the former media guru seemed entangled in-between discouraging journalists from continuously exposing political rot to focusing on other issues, an utterance which was not taken well by the journalists.
Speaking during a two-day workshop in Kadoma on Thursday hosted by The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe in collaboration with Zimbabwe Online Content Creators, Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Honorable Kindness Paradza said journalists should draw a line and become professional by not sounding political.
“If you are a journalist don’t get too embedded into politics because you will cease to become a professional journalist rather you will become an activist therefore it becomes a problems for us ,”
While this is clearly a mandate of all political editors and journalists, the minister was caught offside discouraging the fourth estate from doing their job, acting more like an editor in chief instead of a policy maker.
The minister was however caught up in controversy when he was asked by Zimstar editor his comment on Zbc journalists who run for political office and bounce back to the newsroom after failure, he then spinned the narrative
“Zimbabwe is a democratic country every one is allowed to pursue their career, there is no law that stops journalists from campaigning for political offices” he controversially stated.
Minister Paradza also pointed out that, the media practitioners should be accountable and professional in how they conduct themselves while reporting.
“Remain professional, be objective in your reporting because whenever someone gives you information just know that person has a motive now as a professional journalist you must go beyond that motive and ask why this person is giving me this information,”
He also added that journalists who would want to take part in elections can do so because there is no law in the constitution that prohibits them.
- “Zimbabwe is a free country , there is no law that prohibits journalists in taking part in elections or representing a certain political party but my advice is , in that case journalists should leave the media as a profession and become full time politicians so that they won’t be conflicted,” he said.
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