By Staff Reporter
THE country’s biggest media group Zimpapers has suspended two journalists following a ‘boob’ in which one of the group’s titles H Metro published a comment that wished for the death of a Zanu PF leader in the presidium.
One reader posted a condolence message following the death of musician and liberation hero Soul Jah Love on the tabloid’s leader page.
Read the message:
“Rest in peace Sauro, your music impacted us in so many ways and we have lost a Zimdancehall legend in you.
“Hapana zvatikazviite kutonga kwaMwari.
“If we had a say tingadai tati kufe mumwe munhu mukuru weZanu PF ari mupresidium.Go well legend.”
The State run media house’s management immediately ‘sacrificed’ sub -editor Tinashe Chuma and his superior Washington Gwanzura, without warning in a development that is likely to spark debate from labour law experts and media advocacy bodies.
The editor of the tabloid Lawrence Moyo, was left untouched.
“After that blunder caused waves on social media, speculation was rife in the mainstream media circles that the sacrificial lamb would be someone junior , other than the blue eyed editor who is touted as a sacred cow perennially protected by the chief executive,” said a senior editor at the stable.
In print media, the leader page is the nucleus of the paper where the editor pens his editorial, and as such is expected to pay special attention to this page.
The same comment was also repeated for two days, a signal for lack of Content at the once vibrant tabloid.
The letters of suspension went viral on social media on Friday night.
This ‘arbitrary’ suspension is however not peculiar to Zimpapers alone among State run media outlets.
National broadcaster ZBC has previously fired and later rehired senior journalist Gilbert Nyambabvu, when he made a blunder in wrongly calling out the former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s name on the main news bulletin.
He had to flee to the United Kingdom.
Former Herald news editor Sydney Kawadza was also unfairly demoted when he did not write a story after covering a late night event that was officiated by the late former president Robert Mugabe.
Journalists working in the State media work in fear and are conditioned to exercise caution and due diligence when dealing with stories that involve members of the presidium.
Any boob is considered a cardinal sin.
