New Communication Technologies and Journalism Ethics in Zimbabwe: Practices and Malpractices

Abstract

New media technologies have transformed journalism practice in a profound way and Zimbabwe has not been exception. However, research on the impact of these technologies on journalism ethical is troublingly scant. Much of the scholarly attention tends to focus on uses of new media technologies in everyday practice, while their ethical implications are pushed to the backstage. This is in spite of the fact that, the social utility of journalism is largely predicated on its ability to function as a provider of public knowledge, and "truthful, comprehensive and intelligent" accounts of news and events (Ward 2008). The present study examines ethical challenges faced by Zimbabwean journalism practitioners when using the internet, email and cellular phones in their operations. The study combines a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to elicit data on ethical challenges and dilemmas faced journalism practitioners in Zimbabwe.. Results reveal a dialectical impact of new media technologies on journalism and suggest that, the Internet, email and cellular phone are viewed as enhancers as well as obstacles to ethical journalism. The paper motivates for the application of the sociology of journalism ethics as a framework for examining ethical challenges and dilemmas faced by journalism practitioners when using new media technologies. It is argued that the practice of ethical journalism should be viewed as circumscribed by the interaction of a complex web of structural, institutional and socioeconomic factors, both internal and external to the environment in which journalism is practiced.