 Herald House, Harare | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | State-owned |
| Publisher | Zimpapers |
| Editor | Hatred Zenenga |
| Founded | 1892 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Circulation | 60,000 |
| Website | www |
The Herald is a state-owned daily newspaper published in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.
The newspaper's origins date back to the 19th century. Its forerunner was launched on 27 June 1891 by William Fairbridge [1] for the Argus group of South Africa. Named the Mashonaland Herald and Zambesian Times, it was a weekly, hand-written news sheet produced using the cyclostyle duplicating process. In October the following year it became a printed newspaper and changed its name to The Rhodesia Herald. [2]
The Argus group later set up a subsidiary called the Rhodesian Printing and Publishing Company [3] to run its newspapers in what was then Southern Rhodesia.
After the white minority Rhodesian Front government unilaterally declared independence on 11 November 1965, it started censoring The Rhodesia Herald . The newspaper responded by leaving blank spaces where articles had been removed, enabling readers to gauge the extent of the censorship. [4] [5] [6]
In 1981, after Zimbabwe became independent, the government bought The Herald and other papers from the Argus group, using a US$20 million grant from Nigeria, [7] and established the Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust [8] to operate them. The Trust created Zimbabwe Newspapers, Ltd., as the publisher of the papers.
In mid-May 2008, its website was briefly shut down by cyber hackers. [9]
For Robert Mugabe's 93rd birthday, the state-owned newspaper issued a 24-page supplement packed with goodwill messages from government departments. [10]
Other newspapers published by the same group include The Sunday Mail in Harare, The Chronicle and Sunday News in Bulawayo and the Manica Post in Mutare. [11] The Chronicle, launched in October 1894 as The Bulawayo Chronicle, is the second oldest newspaper in the country. [12]
The Herald has for some time been noted for its slant in favor of President Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF party, and its demonisation of the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). It often accuses the MDC of being agents of colonial powers. [13]
The Herald faces limited competition from within Zimbabwe, mainly from independent newspapers, such as The Independent , due to very restrictive accreditation laws. [14] [15] Many opposition media claim that the paper has evolved into an instrument of rather crude and aggressive propaganda. [16] The editorial staff are open in their partisanship. [17]
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