State media sued over partisan reporting

PARLIAMENTARY watchdog, Firinne Trust also known as Veritas, has petitioned the High Court seeking an order compel ing State media journalists to give equal coverage to all political players contesting in next month’s general elections.

Veritas said it had for long suffered biased, partisan and inequitable reporting from State-owned media, dating back to the colonial era, when the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) was used by the colonial regime as its mouthpiece.

In the application, Veritas, Valerie Ingram-Thorpe and Brian Desmond Crozier were cited as applicants, while the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), Zimbabwe Newspapers (Pvt) Ltd, (Zimpapers), Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) and the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (Baz) were cited as respondents.

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