Hopewell Chin'ono

Last updated

Hopewell Rugoho-Chin'ono is a Zimbabwean journalist. He has won numerous awards in journalism and has worked in both print and broadcasting journalism. He was a fellow at Harvard. [1]

Contents

Biography

Hopewell Rugoho-Chin'ono is a documentary film maker and international journalist. He was the ITV News Africa Field Producer from 2008 to 2015 and The New York Times ZIMBABWE foreign correspondent from 2015 to 2017.

Hopewell trained as a journalist at the Zimbabwean Institute of Mass Communications before getting his first post graduate Master of Arts degree in International Journalist from City University's Journalism school in London, England.

After graduating from City University, he worked with the BBC World Service as a freelance radio producer. In 2003 he returned to his native Zimbabwe to work for the BBC as a freelance correspondent.

In 2001, Hopewell Rugoho-Chin'ono change his name from Hopewell Mukusha at the request of his father to the current name. His former surname was his Grandfather's.] After his legal name change, after his country's government denied his journalism accreditation request, the Zimbabwe Republic Police appeared at his house wanting to arrest him claiming he used two names. [2]

He won a British Government Chevening scholarship in 2006 to read film at Brunel University, where he obtained a Master of Arts degree in Documentary Practice in 2007. [3]

He returned to Zimbabwe in 2007 and made a documentary film called Pain in My Heart. Pain in my Heart won the 2008 CNN African Journalist of the year award, [4] 2008 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Award and the Kaiser Family Foundation Award for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Reporting in Africa.

After making Pain in My Heart he set up Television International in Zimbabwe, a production house that produced news for ITN and South Africa's e.tv. He has also worked with CNN International as a field producer on special assignments and produced for Sky News, BBC Newsnight and Ireland's RTE.

In 2008 he went to the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School where he was awarded The Tutu Fellowship in African Leadership. Hopewell is also a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, the third Zimbabwean journalist of only three to have won the most prestigious Fellowship in journalism in 2009. In 2009 he was the winner of the US Aid Communication award in Zimbabwe for his HIV and Aids Reporting. In 2010 he was nominated for a Rory Peck television award for his documentary film A Violent Response. [5] A Violent Response was also nominated for a 2010 BANFF World Television Award in Canada. [6]

Hopewell Rugoho-Chin'ono was the television producer for UK's ITV News, which is part of the Independent Television News Group and the Zimbabwe Foreign Correspondent for The New York Times .

He worked as South Africa's eNCA foreign correspondent and producer in Zimbabwe from February 2008 to April 2014. He is a multi-skilled television journalist who does Correspondence, Producing, Camera and Editing work.

He has left journalism to return to documentary filmmaking. He directed the only mental health film made in Africa, the award winning State of Mind, a film looking at Zimbabwe’s mental illness epidemic.

In 2020, Hopewell reported on alleged Covid-19 procurement fraud within the health ministry, which led to the arrest and sacking of Health Minister Obadiah Moyo. President Emmerson Mnangagwa later who Obadiah Moyo in July 2020 for "inappropriate conduct" over the $60 million medicines supply scandal.

On July 20, 2020, Hopewell was arrested and charged with inciting public violence. The US embassy called Hopewell's arrest "deeply concerning", while his lawyer called it "an abduction" and Amnesty accused Zimbabwean authorities of "misusing the criminal justice system to persecute journalists and activists". [5] [6] [7] [8] He was freed in September on bail, then he was arrested again in November 2020 and was charged with obstructing justice and contempt of court for a tweet about the court outcome of a gold smuggling scandal involving the President's niece. [9]

Hopewell Chin’ono was released on bail on January 27, 2021 after spending three weeks in prison. Chin’ono expressed concern about the COVID-19 pandemic in the overcrowded Chikurubi Prison and accuses the government of harassment for arresting him three times in five months. [10]

Professional awards


2022

He won the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award which was handed to him by the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha in the presence of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, United Nations Under Secretary General, Dr Ghada Waly and the United Nations Special Advocate for the Prevention of Corruption, Dr. Al Marri. The award has a huge 6 figure cash payment.

2020

He won the People Journalism Prize for 2020 for his exposure o the massive Covid-19 looting of public funds.

2013

Fearless: Beatrice Mtetwa & the Rule of Law. Co-produced with Lorie Conway. The documentary film looks at the life and works of Beatrice Mtetwa, a Zimbabwean human rights lawyer. It tells the story of the Rule of Law in Zimbabwe through the narratives of Beatrice's clients from journalists, human rights activist, opposition politician and gender activists. Aired on CNBC and Channel 4 The 2014 One Media Awards nomination in documentary section

2010

A Violent Response The documentary film looks at Zimbabwe's post-election violence. [11] Hopewell Rugoho-Chin’ono worked on the production as the director, executive producer and director of photography.

The film won:

2008

Last White Man, co-produced with Greek National Television. The film looks at the White Zimbabwean farmers and the Land Reform process. It is the image of Africa's ex-granary that became synonymous with poverty, inflation, corruption. It also looks at the historical aspects of the Land issue in Zimbabwe. Hopewell Rugoho-Chin’ono worked on the production as a Co-producer, Director of photography and Co-director.

2008

Inside Zimbabwe: Y Byd ar Bedwar, co-produced with ITV Wales, UK. A look at the starvation and levels of political intolerance taking place in Zimbabwe caused by bad governance and exacerbated by hyper inflation. This film was shot undercover for ITV Wales. Hopewell Rugoho-Chin’ono worked on the production as a Co-producer, Director of photography and Co-director.

2007

Pain in my Heart. A heart-breaking story of the HIV and Aids situation in Zimbabwe. It traces two HIV-infected Zimbabweans, one is on life saving Anti-Retroviral medication courtesy of a local church, the other is a single mother of two who fails to get medication and as a result dies, leaving two orphans. The film is a metaphor of the political situation in Zimbabwe. Hopewell Rugoho-Chin’ono worked on the production as the Documentary Film Director, Executive Producer and Co-director of photography. [12]

The film won:

Academic qualifications

2007

Master of Arts Degree in Documentary Practice Brunel University, London, United Kingdom. [13]

2000

Master of Arts Degree in International Journalism City University, London, United Kingdom.

1993

Higher National Diploma in Mass Communications Zimbabwe Institute of Mass Communications, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Scholarship awards

2009

Robert Waldo Ruhl Scholarship Fund for Journalism to study at Harvard University as a Nieman Fellow in Cambridge, USA.

2006

Chevening British Government Scholarship to study Documentary Film Making at Brunel University in London, England.

Academic fellowships

2010

Nieman Global Health Journalism Fellowship Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

2008

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellowship for Young African Leaders Said Business School, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Professional fellowships

Related Research Articles

Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Practitioners sometimes use the terms "watchdog reporting" or "accountability reporting".

The Nieman Fellowship is a fellowship from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. It awards multiple types of fellowships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Schechter</span> American television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic

Daniel Isaac "Danny" Schechter was an American television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic. He wrote and spoke about many issues including apartheid, civil rights, economics, foreign policy, journalistic control and ethics, and medicine. While attending the London School of Economics in the 1960s, Schechter became an anti-apartheid activist and made trips to South Africa on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC). Later he would help musician Steven Van Zandt assemble other performers to form Artists United Against Apartheid, who released the album Sun City in 1985. Schechter produced and directed six nonfiction films about Nelson Mandela from the time Mandela was a political prisoner to his election and service as President of South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Lewis (journalist)</span>

Charles Lewis is an investigative journalist based in Washington D.C. He founded The Center for Public Integrity and several other nonprofit organizations and is currently the executive editor of the Investigative Reporting Workshop at the American University School of Communication in D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allister Sparks</span> South African journalist

Allister Haddon Sparks was a South African writer, journalist, and political commentator. He was the editor of The Rand Daily Mail when it broke Muldergate, the story of how the apartheid government secretly funded information projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Women's Media Foundation</span> Organization for womens rights

The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical solutions to the obstacles they face in their careers and lives. The IWMF's work includes a wide range of programs including international reporting fellowships in Africa and Latin America and providing grant opportunities for women journalists, research into the status of women in the media, and the Courage in Journalism, Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. The IWMF advocates for press freedom internationally and often forms petitions asking international governments to release journalists in captivity and offer protection to journalists in danger.

Andrew Meldrum is an American journalist who has concentrated on Africa and human rights. He worked in Zimbabwe for 23 years. Currently Meldrum is Africa News Editor for The Associated Press, working in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was a correspondent for The Economist and The Guardian in Zimbabwe from 1980 to May 18, 2003 before being expelled by the Zimbabwean government because the government objected to his reports exposing state torture.

Geoffrey Nyarota is a Zimbabwean journalist and human rights activist. Born in colonial Southern Rhodesia, he trained as a teacher before beginning his career with a Zimbabwean state-owned newspaper, The Herald. As editor of the state-owned Bulawayo Chronicle in 1989, he helped to break the "Willowgate" scandal, which resulted in several resignations from the cabinet of President Robert Mugabe.

The Online News Association (ONA), founded in 1999, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Washington D.C., United States. It is the world's largest association of digital journalists, with more than 2,000 members. The founding members first convened in December 1999 in Chicago. The group included journalists from WSJ.com, Time.com, MSBN, TheStreet.com, and FT.com, among other outlets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dori J. Maynard</span> American journalism academic

Dori J. Maynard was an American writer and journalist. She was the president of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education in Oakland, California, and the co-author of Letters to My Children, a compilation of nationally syndicated columns by her late father Robert C. Maynard, for which she wrote introductory essays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatrice Mtetwa</span>

Beatrice Mtetwa is a Zimbabwean lawyer who has been internationally recognized for her defense of journalists and press freedom. The New York Times described her in 2008 as "Zimbabwe's top human rights lawyer".

Mary C. "Molly" Bingham is an American journalist and filmmaker.

The Knight-Wallace Fellowship is an award given to accomplished journalists at the University of Michigan. Knight-Wallace Fellowships are awarded to reporters, editors, photographers, producers, editorial writers and cartoonists, with at least five years of full-time, professional experience in the news media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Kotuk</span> American journalist

Richard Kotuk was an American journalist, producer and documentary filmmaker. He directed and produced Travis, a 1998 documentary film for which he won a George Foster Peabody Award. He was also the producer of the WNET news programs Bill Moyers Journal and The 51st State. His works are notable for their connection to the downtrodden especially in and around New York areas.

Adam Benzine is a British filmmaker and journalist. He received critical appraisal and widespread acclaim for his HBO documentary Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, which examined the life and work of French director Claude Lanzmann. The film earned Benzine an Oscar nomination in the Best Documentary category at the 88th Academy Awards, in addition to nominations from the Grierson Awards, the Canadian Screen Awards, the IDA Documentary Awards, the Banff Rockie Awards and the Cinema Eye Honors.

Robyn Curnow is a South African journalist, broadcaster, and author. She was an anchor and foreign correspondent for CNN International and CNN USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivian Kleiman</span> American documentary film producer

Vivian Kleiman is a Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker. Other honors include a National Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Research and an Academy Award nomination for Documentary Short.

Zoe Ramushu is a South Africa based Zimbabwean writer, director, producer, actress and multimedia journalist. Her debut film, It Takes A Circus was nominated for the Student Academy Awards. Zoe Ramushu is co-founder and former spokesperson of Sisters Working in Film and Television. She also chairs a committee for the South African Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.

References

  1. "Zimbabwejournalists.com: Zimbabwean journalist wins prestigious award". 2011-07-19. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  2. @daddyhope (8 June 2020). "In 2001, I changed my surname from my great-grand father's name to my grand father's name at my father's request. From Mukusha to Chin'ono. When the regime denied me a journalism accreditation license they send police to my home, saying I use 2 names yet the change was official!" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  3. "Hopewell Rugoho-Chin'ono". alinstitute.org. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  4. "Graça Machel Trust statement regarding the fraudulent scholarships issued in Zimbabwe using the Trust's credentials".
  5. 1 2 "Whistle-blowing Zimbabwean journalist arrested". BBC News. 2020-07-20. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  6. 1 2 "Zimbabwe: Authorities continue their crackdown on dissent with arrest of investigative journalist and activist". www.amnesty.org. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  7. "Zimbabwe police detain prominent journalist, opposition official". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  8. Columbus S. Mavhunga, for (20 July 2020). "Zimbabwe police arrest a prominent journalist and an opposition leader". CNN. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  9. "Prominent Zimbabwe journalist remains behind bars for tweet". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  10. MUTSAKA, FARAI (January 27, 2021). "Zimbabwean journalist released on bail after weeks in prison". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  11. "Niemans in the News Article". 2012-03-07. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  12. "Zimbabwe journalist wins CNN award - CNN.com". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  13. "Brunel Arts | Brunel University London". www.brunel.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-08-25.