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NEWS > BUSINESS > CNN AND BBC FINALLY ON SPEAKING TERMS WITH ZIMBABWE
CNN AND BBC FINALLY ON SPEAKING TERMS WITH ZIMBABWE
July 30 2009
Harare, Zimbabwe – Of all the tragedies in African politics there is none so tangible and tragic as the near collapse of Zimbabwe. With near record high inflation (516 quintillion per cent), crushing poverty, endemic racism, and social and political turmoil the virtual failed state has come to be the example of what damage can be caused by
tyranny and lack of government accountability. Things have begun to change in the country though and new reforms and new attitudes both inside and outside the government plot to return the once great nation to prosperity.Equally the fortunes of television networks within the country have suffered in recent years. Most notably BBC and CNN have been officially outlawed from the country. That restriction has now been lifted by the power-sharing government of Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai leaving the networks, who are also struggling in ratings battles with rival stations, free to report
from inside the country. The news too could not come at a better time as the continued staleness of the economy continues to beat down advertising revenues and threatens the very viability of the news. Now with a new entrance into Zimbabwe executives are breathing easy as new energy floods the news.
“We are pleased we have been able to reach an agreement and we look forward to being able to operate legally in Zimbabwe. We all recognize the realities of the situation. If we look back, we will never look forward. We have different perspectives on this, but we have both agreed we need to look forward,” said BBC editor Jon Williams to Mediagarden. “The most important thing is not what has happened over the past 10 years; it is that we can go into Zimbabwe and report 
openly and legally. No restrictions have been placed on the BBC and we are considering opening a full bureau in the country.”
The new opportunities come just as rivals Sky News (BBC) and Fox and MSNBC (CNN) start to take ever bigger bites out of the market share, threatening the old stalwart
networks and hitting the bottom line where workers can least afford it. With the new opportunities being presented in Zimbabwe many are hopeful that that skid will come to halt in short order. 
“It’s great news really. It’s been almost a decade since we have been able to report from inside Zimbabwe and that is something that has not only hit our pride as a news organization it has also hit our bottom line. CNN is really the world’s news and we need to be present acrossthe globe. True we have been in tough in the U.S. but we are far and away the World’s most trusted name in news,” said a spokesperson for CNN. By being blocked from Zimbabwe we have been severely restricted in our ability to report across the globe but this gives us a whole new foothold in Africa and a fresh ability to engage the global news audience.”
It’s not believed that ratings will be affected from inside the country as very few people are able to afford televisions which cost approximately ZWD 900 trillion. 
“Zimbabwe has always been a much sought after nation for news reporters. Aside from the massive corruption, scandals, and human suffering that occur there on a regular basis, the country is uniquely positioned to report on events all throughout southern Africa. It borders five
other countries which have at least equal levels of engaging news and can be used as a staging ground for outbreaks in places like the Congo or Angola. This opens up a flood of opportunity for prepared news networks,” said Scrape TV Media analyst Sarah Piper. “What that means of course is a lot of ratings success and a lot more dollars flowing in. Zimbabwe unto itself has limited value but it can act as a springboard for all kinds of other success, something networks desperately need not only in the face of increased competition from other channels but in the face of the growing power of web applications.”
Internet and SMS access is extremely limited in Zimbabwe where such services can run into the quadrillions of dollars. The new bureaus likely will not employ any native Zimbabweans.
William Ashford, Business Correspondent
NEWS > BUSINESS > CNN AND BBC FINALLY ON SPEAKING TERMS WITH ZIMBABWE
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