Post date: Jul 20, 2011 1:25:15 PM
Zimbabwe's newspaper industry is thriving after a decade of strict rules saw several private titles closed down.
HARARE, ZIMBABWE (JULY 15, 2011) REUTERS - Zimbabwe's newspaper industry is vibrant once more, after a decade of stringent regulations saw several titles closed down by the authorities.
News vendors peddlng their wares up and down lines of traffic in the city centre of Harare hold a variety of titles up for their customers to peruse.
Three of them are newly established privately owned dailes, competing with state-owned titles that have for a long time dominated the scene.
For many residents its the first time in a while they have been able to access such a wide range of opinions on the country's economic, social and political situation.
But while greater freedoms have helped boost the profile of different papers sold on the street, analysts say its not just government censorship that could threatens their existence.
"The media environment that we see at the moment, in relation to the print media anywhere can be destroyed in a minute by the same laws that removed the Daily News from the streets in 2003, in addition of course, there are many different aspects to this because people don't have money, don't have money ceratinly to buy a whole range of newspapers, they barely have enough to buy one newspaper a day," said media analyst Andy Moyse.
In a country where unemployment is estimated at about 90 percent according to IMF figures, few people have the disposable income to purchase newspapers, raising the fear that some may fall by the wayside after failing to withstand competition.
Advertising revenues, which typically sustain most newspapers, are also stretched due to the slower-than-expected recovery of the country's key economic sectors of agriculture, mining and manufacturing. The financial sector, another key source of advertising revenues for newspapers, is also struggling to stay afloat.
Its a sitaution that concerns editor of the independently published Mail newspaper Barnabas Thodlana, but he says its not something that will stop the paper from pushing their current agenda.
"Even though Zimbabwe is a polarised country, we believe its time to take the nation forward, move people away from politics and let people decide for themselves what they think is the best route for the country to take, instead of a newspaper kind of being director of people's thoughts and views where politics is concerned," he told Reuters.
For Thodlana and other editors, the priority is still to increase the level of freedom they have to report what they see fit.
"We hope that repressive media laws are removed, repealed so that it doesn't provide for such an oppressive environment, that allows the authorities to punish and terrorise media workers," said Moyse.
Out on the street, the increased presence of papers on the side of Harare's roads seems to be seen as a positive thing.
"Many newspapers is actually good because you are going to pick different views from all the newspapers and in the end you should pick the correct thing, normally if its just one, you are just going to pick one opinion, but as a human being you must be able to pick many opinions then normally you should come out with the truth out of it," said resident Richard Chiteyo.
Earlier this year Zimbabwe's formerly best selling title the Daily News re-opened eight years after it was shut down by the government.