.jpg) | |
| Type | Television network Radio network |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Availability | National Worldwide |
| Owner | Government of Zimbabwe |
Launch date | 1963 (as Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation) |
Former names | Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation, and later Zimbabwe Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation |
Official website | http://www.zbc.co.zw |
TheZimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation(ZBC) is the state-owned broadcaster inZimbabwe. It was established as theRhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC), taking its current name in 1980. Like the RBC before it, the ZBC has been accused of being agovernment mouthpiece with noeditorial independence.[1]
Radio was first introduced in the thenSouthern Rhodesia in 1933, in Belvedere inSalisbury byImperial Airways, which was used to provide radio guidance and weather reports.[2] However, it was not until 1941 that the first professional broadcaster was established.[3] This was known as the Southern Rhodesia Broadcasting Service (SRBS), and was established to meet the needs of the colony'swhite population.[4] The same year, a second broadcaster, the Central African Broadcasting Station (CABS), was established, which had responsibility for broadcasting to African audiences inNorthern Rhodesia (nowZambia) andNyasaland (nowMalawi) as well as Southern Rhodesia.[2]
Following the creation of theFederation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953, the SRBS was renamed the Federal Broadcasting Service (FBS).[5] The CABS, still based inLusaka, continued to use African languages as well as English.[6] In 1955, a Federal Commission of Enquiry into the organisation of broadcasting in the Federation proposed the creation of a new broadcasting organisation, to be called the "Rhodesia and Nyasaland Broadcasting Corporation", which was to be established in 1956.[7] However, it was not until 1958 that the FBS and CABS would be merged into the Federal Broadcasting Corporation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (FBC).[8]
When the Federation was dissolved in 1963, the FBC was disbanded, and each territory acquired its own broadcasting service, which in Southern Rhodesia was initially known as the Southern Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (SRBC).[9] This later became known as the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC).[10]
Television was introduced on 14 November 1960, first inSalisbury, with transmissions inBulawayo beginning seven months later.[11] It was only the second such service in sub-Saharan Africa afterNigeria,[12] and the first such service inSouthern Africa, asSouth Africa did notintroduce television until 1976.[13][14]
It was initially operated by a private company,Rhodesia Television (RTV) on behalf of the then FBC, with its major shareholder beingSouth African companies, including theArgus Group of newspapers, through its subsidiary, the Rhodesian Printing and Publishing Company, and also servedNorthern Rhodesia until its independence asZambia.[15] Other companies included Davenport and Meyer,[16] the latter of which operatedLM Radio, based inMozambique, then underPortuguese rule.[17]
Following the dissolution of the FBC in 1964, the Government of Southern Rhodesia attempted to take control of RTV through the RBC, whose chairman, J.M. Helliwell, announced that the RBC would acquire all shares in RTV, "at a price agreed upon by both parties".[18] This prompted criticism by MPs, one of whom, Vernon Brelsford, moved a motion in theLegislative Assembly deploring the proposed acquisition.[19] He asked: "Does it actually run the programmes to make sure that only its point of view is put over and no one else's is?".[20]Prime MinisterIan Smith argued that control of television was necessary for "winning the war for the minds of men", and would save it from falling into the hands of "communist sympathisers".[21]
However, the government's move was rejected by RTV's directors.[22] Instead, the RBC initially acquired a 51 per cent stake in the service, which became part of the RBC in 1976.[23] RBC TV was funded by advertising and atelevision licence fee.[24] Television reception was confined mainly to the cities and largest towns, and most viewers werewhites.[25] Umtali (nowMutare) only received television in 1972, by which time it was estimated that more than 90 per cent of the white population had access to the service.[13] By 1973, RTV was broadcasting 42 hours a week from three transmitters, and 61 716 combined radio and television licences had been issued.[26]
In November 1965, the white minority government ofIan Smith issued aUnilateral Declaration of Independence, under which censorship of broadcasting and the press was imposed, and key posts at the RBC were gradually filled by supporters of the rulingRhodesian Front party.[27] The previous year, the Deputy Minister of Information,P. K. van der Byl, described the aims of his Ministry as "not merely to disseminate information from an interesting point of view but to play its part in fighting the propaganda battle on behalf of the country".[28] In response, the RBC Director General, James Neill, resigned, citing political interference.[29]
On 1 January 1965, the RBC had ceased to relay the morning world news bulletin from theBBC, and replaced it with a bulletin from theSouth African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).[30] However, afternoon and evening news relays of the BBC remained unchanged.[31]
The British Government, which had denounced UDI as illegal, began broadcasting BBC programmes intoRhodesia by building a radio relay station inFrancistown, in the thenBechuanaland Protectorate, nowBotswana.[32] The Rhodesian Government retaliated by clandestinely building a 400 000 watt transmitter nicknamed "Big Bertha", in order to jam the signal from the smaller BBC transmitter.[33] Programmes about Rhodesia were subjected to jamming, but other programmes were not affected.[34] In 1968, the BBC ceased broadcasting from Francistown, and the relay station was transferred to the Government of Botswana.[35]
Speaking at the opening of the new RBC Centre in Pocket Hill in 1970,PresidentClifford Dupont said that few other countries had been subject "to such a barrage of hostile propaganda over the air", and that the new centre would contribute to the RBC's very successful role "in combatting this insidious offensive".[36]
The RBC operated two main services, the English-language General Service (or National Network),[37] aimed at the white audience, and the African Service, broadcasting in English, Shona and Ndebele, aimed at black listeners. The RBC also established three community stations with a multi-racial audience, Radio Jacaranda (Salisbury), Radio Matopos (Bulawayo) and Radio Manica (Umtali).[38] In 1975, anNdebele language service operating out ofBulawayo, known as Radio Mthwakazi, was established, using the "Big Bertha" transmitter previously used to jam the BBC's broadcasts from Francistown.[39]
As armed opposition to white minority rule mounted in the 1970s, Africans in Rhodesia increasingly began to turn toshort wave radio broadcasts from neighbouring countries, which carried programmes from exiled nationalist movements, with theZimbabwe African National Union's Voice of Zimbabwe operating fromMozambique, and the rivalZimbabwe African People's Union's Voice of the Revolution operating fromZambia.[40]
In order to counter this, the RBC installed anFM network, while the government distributed FM-only receivers to chiefs and village headmen in the Tribal Trust Lands.[33] It also ran campaigns promoting FM-only receivers, pointing out that they were exempt from the annuallicence fee, and how short wave broadcasts were affected bystatic noise and required retuning between frequencies throughout the day.[41]
In 1979, following the adoption of a new constitution, Rhodesia was renamedZimbabwe Rhodesia, and in common with other state institutions which were renamed, the state broadcaster was renamed the Zimbabwe Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation (ZRBC) under an amendment to the Broadcasting Act.[42] It also used the name "Voice of Zimbabwe Rhodesia" (VZR) on air.[43][44] In addition, the change of name saw the debut of Mandy Mundawarara, the country's first black television newsreader, whose father, Silas Mundawarara, had become Deputy Prime Minister in the government ofAbel Muzorewa.[45]
However, the Muzorewa government did not gain international recognition, and under the terms of theLancaster House Agreement, the country officially reverted to British rule in December 1979 asSouthern Rhodesia, withLord Soames asgovernor.[46] Despite this, the ZRBC's name remained unchanged.[47] It was only on 28 March 1980, three weeks before independence, that the word "Rhodesia" was finally dropped from the corporation's title, and it adopted its present name, "Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation".[48]
A number of other senior BBC staff were sent to the country to advise Lord Soames on election broadcasting, and also help the ZRBC with their preparations for independence.[49] In the run-up to elections being held in February 1980, the Governor's Information Adviser held discussions with the ZRBC, leading the Election Commissioner agreed to a scheme to ensure that all parties standing in the elections should have equal free time on the public media.[50]
Following independence, radio services were reorganised, with three distinct networks being established: Radio One, the main English-language network, run by Africans but with some whites in key positions, Radio Two, combining the Harare and Radio Mthwakazi services and broadcasting inShona andNdebele, and Radio Three a completely new concept broadcasting to the under 45's across all races, headed by Jill Baker and with all races disc jockeys presenting news updates, interviews and music from top of the pops to all genres of African music. It was enormously popular threatening to steal listenership from the other stations. Well loved disc jockeys included Josh Makawa, Mandy Mundawarara, Mike Mills, Busi Mhlanga, Keith Lindsay, Roy Brassington, John Matinde, Wellington Mbofana and Trish Johns.[51] Radio Four was established in 1982, as an educational channel.[2]
The legacy ofeconomic sanctions meant that ZBC inherited antiquated equipment with spares difficult to obtain, as manufacturers no longer producedblack and white television transmission equipment.[52] In addition, the television service, now known as ZTV, only reached only 32 percent of the country's territory.[53]
The conversion tocolour television began in late 1982, using thePAL B system.[54] By this time, those with colour receivers could already watch imported programmes produced in colour.[55] Colour transmissions were finally introduced in 1984.[56] As much of the machinery had been in used for over two decades, and was now obsolete, it proved more economical to buy entirely new equipment than to replace it.[57] A second television channel, available only inHarare,[58] was introduced in 1986.[59]
By the end of the 1990s, ZBC's shortwave transmitters bought from Technology for Communications International in 1994 worth $40 million were now considered obsolete, triggering a parliamentary investigation that would culminate in the prosecution of a senior politician and ZBC officials responsible for sanctioning the purchase.[60]
ZBC planned to introduce a subscription television service as early as 1993, but due to government and funding issues, the project was scrapped in 2000.[61]
ZBC relaunched on 30 November 2001 following the signing of a new Broadcasting Act in April of the same year. The corporation was now divided into six strategic business units: Newsnet, Kidznet, Sportsnet, Radio Services, Production Services and Television Services.[62]
On 27 May 2025, PresidentEmmerson Mnangagwa signed into law an amendment into the Broadcasting Services Act requiring motorists to pay a radio tax funding the ZBC in order to obtain a driver's licence and vehicle registration.[63]
At independence, 30 per cent of television programming was locally produced.[64] By late 1982, local programmes accounted for 40 per cent of output.[65] While some programming was in Shona and Ndebele, 80 per cent of programming was in English, of which most was imported, mainly from the US, Britain and Australia.[66] Despite this reliance on foreign content, in the 1980s, the locally produced dramaThe Mukadota Family became the most popular programme in the country.[67] Other locally produced programmes included the Shona language dramaGringo Ndiani?, the video music showMutinhimira weMimhanzi, later known asEzomgido, the talk showMadzinza e Zimbabwe, dealing with traditional culture, andPsalmody, a Sunday morning gospel music programme.[68]
As the 1957 Broadcasting Act remained in force, ZBC inherited RBC's state monopoly on broadcasting, remaining accountable to the country's Minister of Information.[69] In a reflection of the newZANU PF government's political leanings,Robert Mugabe, previously described only as "a terrorist leader", was now described as "Comrade Prime Minister".[45] In addition, most of the white staff left ZBC after independence, and many of the black staff who replaced them had previously worked in for radio services operated by the nationalist movements from exile inZambia andMozambique.[70]
Those white journalists remaining came under pressure not to give coverage to certain topics that detracted from the new state's socialist outlook, including unrest inPoland, thenunder communist rule, the British royal family and the late Chinese communist leaderMao Tse-tung, with those objecting being dismissed, including Derek Sones, who in 1981 was denounced by his editor, Grey Tichatonga as a "good desk-man for a colonialist capitalist news organisation" and an 'unregenerated and unrehabilitated colonialist who was unable to change his ideas to fit in with socialist and revolutionary ZBC".[71] However, black ZBC journalists also faced government interference in their work; in 1989, two were suspended after interviewing an academic, Kempton Makamure, who was critical of the government's investment policies.[72]
The ZBC was also accused of giving more emphasis to the role of Mugabe'sZimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) in the fight for independence, and ignoring the role ofJoshua Nkomo's rivalZimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA).[73] In 1997, it was revealed that the ZBC had destroyed archive film of ZIPRA taken during the war.[74] Expressing his dislike of independent broadcasting in 1995, Mugabe remarked "you do not know what propaganda a non-state radio station might broadcast".[75] Despite this, thegovernment announced that the ZBC monopoly on broadcasting would be abolished by the end of 1997.[76] Consequently, the ZBC's second TV channel was discontinued and replaced by Joy TV, the country's first independent channel, which operated on a lease agreement with the ZBC.[77] This channel lasted until 2002, when it was controversially taken off the air for allegedly violating the Broadcasting Services Act.[78]
During the 2002 presidential elections, the nightly news bulletinNewshour gave extensive coverage to the rallies of the ruling party, amounting to a quarter of airtime.[79] In 2003, a study conducted by the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ) in 2003 showed that one of the propaganda jingles,Rambai Makashinga or "Continue Persevering", was being played 288 times a day on the four ZBC radio stations, and 72 times a day on ZBC television.[80] In 2008, it found that 90 percent of the ZBC's bulletins during the March elections were devoted to positive coverage of ZANU-PF, while in both the March and June elections, it dedicated 200 hours of coverage to ZANU-PF but just over 16 to the oppositionMovement for Democratic Change (MDC), most of which was negative.[81]
In 2015,Freedom House described ZBC coverage as overwhelmingly favouring ZANU-PF.[82]
ZBC has six radio networks, which are;
Local radio stations run hourly news bulletins which range from two minutes to the longest being a ten-minute bulletin on weekends and holidays. Presenters include, Admire Mhungu, Innocent Manyenga, Memory Chamisa and Keith Mawoyo.
On the national languages desk readers include Nqobile Malinga, Patience Machokoto, Taboka Ncube, Faith Nare, Lucy Ngosolo and Caroline Sithole. Bulletins come out live on Classic 263 at 7 am, 8 am, 1 pm, 6 pm and 8 pm and running from Monday to Friday. The anchors are Nomalanga Vuma, Theophilus Chuma, Ian Zvoma, Butler Nhepure and Jonathan Marerwa.
ZBC's television service now consists of a single channel, known asZBC TV. The ZBC re-established a second TV channel of its own, Channel 2, in April 2010,[89] but this station was decommissioned in August 2015.[90] On 28 April 2022, ZBC launched Zimbabwe's first youth-oriented television channel, Jive TV.[91]
News bulletins include the morningGood Morning Zimbabwe, produced by Admire Mhungu, lunchtime news,Nhau Indaba andNews Hour.[92]Rumbidzai Takawira, the anchor, is usually the host ofNews Hour.
Battle of the Chefs is one of the first food-related reality TV shows to air on ZBC.