An evaluation of constructive journalism in Zimbabwe: A case study of The Herald’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Journal of African Media Studies
  4. Volume 13, Issue 3
  5. Article
Media and the Coronavirus Pandemic in Africa (Part Two)
  • ISSN: 2040-199X
  • E-ISSN: 1751-7974

Abstract

The coverage of crises such as the global health pandemic, COVID-19, is to a large extent guided by national interest, journalistic culture and editorial policies of media outlets. This article argues that the state-controlled newspaper, , in Zimbabwe deployed constructive journalism as an approach to report COVID-19. Constructive journalism is about injecting positive angles into news reports while abiding by the core news values of accuracy, impartiality and balance. The findings reveal that constructive journalism elements of solutions orientation, future orientation, and explanation and contextualization were frequently deployed by to advance a safe nation narrative whose objective was to prevent public hysteria in the face of a deadly COVID-19 outbreak in the country. The paper concludes that the deployment of constructive journalism in less developed countries like Zimbabwe to inspire hope through positive psychology in the face of global crises does not always yield the intended outcomes.

© 2021 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jams_00060_1
2021-09-01
2024-04-20
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Bro, P.. ( 2019;), ‘ Constructive journalism: Proponents, precedents, and principles. ’, Journalism, 20:4, pp. 504–19.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. From, U., and Kristensen, N. N.. ( 2018;), ‘ Rethinking constructive journalism by means of service journalism. ’, Journalism Practice, 12:6, pp. 714–29.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Galtung, J.. ( 2015;), ‘ Peace journalism and reporting on the United States. ’, Brown Journal of World Affairs, 22:1, pp. 1–13.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Hermans, L., and Gyldensted, C.. ( 2019;), ‘ Elements of constructive journalism: Characteristics, practical application and audience valuation. ’, Journalism, 20:4, pp. 535–51.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Kovacevic, P., and Perisin, T.. ( 2018;), ‘ The potential of constructive journalism ideas in a Croatian context. ’, Journalism Practice, 12:6, pp. 747–63.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Mast, J.,, Coesemans, R., and Temmerman, M.. ( 2019;), ‘ Constructive journalism: Concepts, practices, and discourses. ’, Journalism, 20:4, pp. 492–503.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. McIntyre, K., and Sobel, M.. ( 2018;), ‘ Reconstructing Rwanda: How Rwandan reporters use constructive journalism to promote peace. ’, Journalism Studies, 19:14, pp. 2126–47, 10.1080/1461670X.2017.1326834. Accessed 7 July 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Meier, K.. ( 2018;), ‘ How does the audience respond to constructive journalism?. ’, Journalism Practice, 12:6, pp. 764–80.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. ReliefWeb ( 2020;), ‘ Zimbabwe humanitarian response plan. ’, ReliefWeb, March, https://reliefweb.int/report/zimbabwe/zimbabwe-humanitarian-response-plan-2020-march-2020. Accessed 7 July 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Rotmeijer, S.. ( 2019;), ‘ “Words that work?” Practices of constructive journalism in a local Caribbean context. ’, Journalism, 20:4, pp. 600–16.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. The Herald ( 2019;), ‘ The Herald readership rises. ’, The Herald, 17 August, https://www.herald.co.zw/the-herald-readership-rises/. Accessed 15 July 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. The Herald ( 2020a;), ‘ Coronavirus stalls progress at New Parly building. ’, The Herald, 16 March, https://www.herald.co.zw/coronavirus-stalls-progress-at-new-parly-building/. Accessed 15 July 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. The Herald ( 2020b;), ‘ Makamba contact web exceptionally complex. ’, The Herald, 24 March, https://www.herald.co.zw/makamba-contact-web-exceptionally-complex/. Accessed 15 July 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. The Herald ( 2020c;), ‘ Broadcaster laid to rest. ’, The Herald, 25 March, https://www.herald.co.zw/just-in-zororo-makamba-laid-to-rest/. Accessed 15 July 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. The Herald ( 2020d;), ‘ Trust hands over ventilator to Wilkins. ’, The Herald, 27 March, https://www.herald.co.zw/trust-hands-over-ventilator-to-wilkins/. Accessed 17 July 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. The Herald ( 2020e;), ‘ In Zororo’s silence. ’, The Herald, 28 March, https://www.herald.co.zw/sharuko-on-saturday-40/. Accessed 29 July 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. The Herald ( 2020f;), ‘ Harness positives from lockdown to spruce up city. ’, The Herald, 9 April, https://www.herald.co.zw/harness-positives-from-lockdown-to-spruce-up-city/. Accessed 29 July 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. The Herald ( 2020g;), ‘ Coronavirus: Bringing the best out of nations. ’, The Herald, 9 April, https://www.herald.co.zw/coronavirus-bringing-the-best-out-of-nations/. Accessed 29 July 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. The Herald ( 2020h;), ‘ Covid-19 could be catalyst for top-notch health delivery system. ’, The Herald, 17 April, https://www.herald.co.zw/covid-19-could-be-catalyst-for-top-notch-health-delivery-system/. Accessed 10 August 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. The Herald ( 2020i;), ‘ Covid-19 provides turning point for Zimbabwe: VP. ’, The Herald, 4 May, https://www.herald.co.zw/covid-19-provides-turning-point-for-zimbabwe-vp/. Accessed 10 August 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. The Herald ( 2020j;), ‘ Home-grown response to Covid-19 lauded. ’, The Herald, 7 May, https://www.herald.co.zw/home-grown-response-to-covid-19-lauded/. Accessed 10 June 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. The Herald ( 2020k;), ‘ Border skipping returnees a risk to us all. ’, The Herald, 27 May, https://www.herald.co.zw/border-skipping-returnees-a-risk-to-us-all/. Accessed 9 August 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. The Herald ( 2020l;), ‘ Could African indigenous knowledge hold answers to COVID-19?. ’, The Herald, 28 May, https://www.herald.co.zw/could-african-indigenous-knowledge-hold-answers-to-covid-19/. Accessed 20 August 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. The Herald ( 2020m;), ‘ Quarantined returnees drinking sanitisers. ’, The Herald, 20 June, https://www.herald.co.zw/quarantined-returnees-drinking-sanitisers/. Accessed 15 August 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. The Herald ( 2020n;), ‘ No sacred cows in fight against corruption. ’, The Herald, 26 June, https://www.herald.co.zw/no-sacred-cows-in-fight-against-corruption/. Accessed 20 August 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Van den Bulck, H.. ( 2002;), ‘ Tools for studying the media. ’, in C. Newbold,, O. Boyd-Barret, and H. Van den Bulck. (eds), The Media Book, London:: Arnold;, pp. 55–100.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Van Dijk, T. A.. ( 1988), News as Discourse, Hillsdale, NJ:: Lawrence Erlbaum;.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Wiard, V., and Simonson, M.. ( 2019;), ‘ “The city is ours, so let’s talk about it”: Constructing a citizen media initiative in Brussels. ’, Journalism, 20:4, pp. 617–31.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Zhang, Y., and Matingwina, S.. ( 2016;), ‘ A new representation of Africa? The use of constructive journalism in the narration of Ebola by China Daily and the BBC. ’, African Journalism Studies, 37:3, pp. 19–40.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Tshabangu, Thulani, and Salawu, Abiodun. ( 2021;), ‘ An evaluation of constructive journalism in Zimbabwe: A case study of The Herald’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. ’, Journal of African Media Studies, 13:3, pp. 477–90, https://doi.org/10.1386/jams_00060_1
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/jams_00060_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): authoritarian media systems; constructive journalism; COVID-19; critical discourse analysis; health reporting; moral panics; reader’s feedback; Zimbabwe

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error