What a mission it has been to start doing this essay. Yet it is an interesting marketing tool that can benefit an artist in the practical world. I enjoy painting, sculpting, surfing on the internet and prefer working out mathematical equations than writing an essay. I find it easier to express one self within those mediums. Even though the motivation has been lacking and the losses can outweigh the benefits of not writing the essay, the prerequisites for the academic qualification always make it unavoidable to write the essay.
This essay looks to investigate the ways and styles of reporting based on the political environment in Zimbabwe and their intentions. It will look at three websites/blogs, basically The ZimDaily- which is internationally based in United Kingdom, New Zimbabwe- based in Zimbabwe and BlogCatalog.com- from South Africa. These websites/blogs make use of Web 2.0 latest add on social networking on their homepages. I will also give a short brief history of web 2.0.
Assessing web 2.0 interactive learning simulations, has made it possible to realise that the art field does not end on the canvas but goes beyond the shelter like the wind. Just as the art of conversation grabs the words and quickly the meaning is transformed into different truths and lies depending with the readers’ initial idea and reaction.
The term Web 2.0 is a technical jargon that was born from Web 1.0 and the main difference in-between the two is that Web 2.0 provides interactive learning and opens up participation of the reader into the main stream of interest and allows one to get lost and get back on point unlike the web 1.0 which did not give much user participation/engagement into the weaving of websites and discussions. In other words, web 2.0 is web-sites that gain from the involvement of its users.
The web 1.0 had a single flow of ‘read only’ information most of the times and internet connections were very slow unlike today where the information is dispersed around with more options like forums, chats and other add-ons coming into existence with the revolutionary ‘semantic’ web2.0. By 1996, the read only web had about forty five million global users with about 250 000 web-sites. Compare that to the semantic web, up to date, it has about one billion users with more than 120 million web-sites. About one tenth size of the published content is user generated compared to the four fifths published-user generated content of 2009.
The ZimDaily website is structured in a more unique and friendly framework as on each and every story, a reader can make a comment about the article. The webpage is user friendly; the pictures are bright, colourful and energetic with reference to their subjects. On the homepage you are greeted with funny cartoons before you go to the main stories. This News website though it may be based internationally in United Kingdom, it seems to be catering for the Zimbabweans who are based internationally and are familiar with the names because for someone who does not know the person(s), they would not get to the full depth of a cartoon or story easily. Those who comment in Shona or Ndebele- which are two major languages in Zimbabwe, restrict other english readers from accessing their comments as no translation is provided by the website. The ZimDaily practices its reporting style in an advocating way as it clearly shows it has an agenda of making almost all politicians who have gone into the deal with the devil ‘Mugabe’ (the formation of the Interim Government of Zanu PF and Movement for Democratic Change).
The website advances its own objectives of hatred as the writers show a point of view and gather evidence or facts in order to make the point strong and clear that the person is what he/she claims to be. For example the heading Jonathan Moyo- A Political Prostitute and Mercenary has strong words used which open up the flood gets of hatred, name calling and destructive behavioural comments. The comments are said that they would be screened off if they are based on obscenity, vulgar, tribalistic and racist grounds but that isn’t the actual story on the ground. On these blog comments, users or readers leave their rude and racist comments in Shona or Ndebele. Either there is no screening process or the enforcing is not being dealt with. The reason for this I think is because the site is itself practicing double standards as the reporter gives the strongest case by all means in support of his/her view point by concentrating on the wounds. The people who comment use anonymous names and people lie their identity as I did on the 31st and the 32nd comment on Moyo’s article. It also gets one to think, are these really other readers who are genuinely commenting in this way or is it the same people posting the stories that are commenting afterwards? Interesting.
If you compare that to the NewZimbabwe blog, which is based in Zimbabwe, you have politicians like Professor Jonathan Moyo who are also bloggers on it. You find that the bloggers try to justify their actions or counter other websites/blogs arguments like ZimDaily by giving their own side of the story. Similarly, these two blogs share the same kind of advocacy and humanistic reporting where the story is entered through one person’s eyes. The blog mainly has an opposing agenda on attacking the so-called ‘West yet at the same time it practices hate speech and personal political attacks on the opposition party members of MDC and other individual opponents or anyone who stands in the old regimes’ road (Zanu PF way).
The blog especially the one posted by Jonathan Moyo entitled Biti: Seeking Sympathy from the Devil seeks to kind of reflect a kind of In-depth/Investigative report that is based on many sources, public resources and constant rechecks yet it is an advocating report when you examine the content that it has his agenda to advance his objectives as he tries to say everything he says is correct. The blog seems to be aimed at de-campaigning the opposition MDC. The comments that are coming from the readers are difficult to take into consideration because the people who run the blogs are in Zimbabwe and the issue of your security and safety under the current President and Zanu PF party makes contributors to the blog comments weary if it is found out whom they are.
Freedom is very limited as the comments are also screened but who screens is the issue, whether it’s the blogger or weblog owners. The procedure is not clear which is unlike the ZimDaily one where your comment immediately goes onto the blog page. The common feature is that all comments are posted below all articles. The NewZimbabwe blog does not unveil who locally started or caused the chaos from the start or who was involved in the most high level corruption that has brought the country to a standstill but the blog focuses on mud slinging opposition politics and works against any form of support the opposition gets from member countries that the former ruling party declared enemies. It is not surprising to hear, if I may propose another theory brought about by victimisation and torture in Zimbabwe, that the government can be behind the construction of these two blogs but it is definite the NewZimbabwe blog, government forces are involved because both are too naïve and ignorant.
When one compares the last two blogging sites/websites to the South African based site blogcatalogog.com, we find the home page is more user friendly and welcoming than any of the other two I have previously mentioned. In other words This site feels like a social space unlike the other two of ZimDaily and NewZimbabwe when you analyse the design layout. It gives room for anyone who visits the site to run through and get going with other sections that may not be of interest to one because the sites pages seek to demand attention from the lookers because it is very attractive.
The site is very open as discussions determine the directions the argument or story goes with lots of twists and turns that there is always constant reminding that there is need to rebuild the country not focus on adding salt to the wounds. This site uses not precisely but close to an In-depth/ Investigative journalism where it takes time by rechecking its facts with the public unlike the ZimDaily and NewZimbabwe blogs. The way the news and writing up on the discussion board is based in a more in-depth/Investigative reporting being found in the public sphere where it is easy to have the information decentralised. The reporting stands to take an objective style where as the blog members goal is to show no bias though it may just fall of objective perfection, but at least the style appeals to a broader audience. For example, if we look at the recent posts, one post under the group discussions; Africa-Awareness, Activism and Discovery which talks about Zimbabwean politics, it asks for people to play their part in changing Zimbabwe to head in a better way! In the same stylistic reporting, new journalism is practiced as the three websites paint their own versions of the truth with the aid of photo journalism and humanistic approach as the stories are negotiated through a one person avenue.
The three sites demonstrate the results coming from the un-filtering and filtering of comments like the advantages of quick feedback and openness to all readers can also backfire when you have the wrong people commenting and lying about their being and the story because of fear of being identified as who they are. Some of the photographs used in the photojournalism are not really necessary and most of these stories are not told in many parts as is the failure to realise the probability of each of them ending up in one viewing avenue.
Therefore in conclusion, I find it easier for one to be drawn to these social blogs/webs because they look more user friendly than the NewZimbabwe and Zimdaily websites but all websites do indeed benefit from the acknowledgement of user participation as the sites grow from the introduction of Web 2.0.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Using the story on jonathan Moyo the former minister of info and Publicity in the "former govt-Zanu PF" does not mean he is a innocent man, that man is very guilty as he was the architect behind the sensoring and banning of all forms of opposition media in Zimbabwe. Most if not all Zimbabweans hate or have no heart for this man, so dont be suprised if you ask any zimbabwean how they feel about this man.
ReplyDeleteHe used the national broadcaster like his own personal station that at any time he could say anything and he was always on the evening news with something to say everytime.