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                  Zimbabwe Gets Privately-Owned Radio Station

   by Sebastian Mhofu

   HARARE - For the first time in 32 years Zimbabwe has a privately-owned
   FM radio station.  Star Radio, which went on the air Monday, was
   awarded a license last year by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe.
   The station is owned by the company that operates the country's major
   newspapers, which politically support President Robert Mugabe and his
   ZANU-PF party.

   Star Radio hit Zimbabwe's airwaves Monday afternoon, making it the
   first privately-owned radio to broadcast on the FM frequency.  Radio
   listeners have been waiting for the station since last year when the
   Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe awarded Star Radio a license along
   with a company believed to have links with President Mugabe's family.
   Zimbabwe's national anthem followed the countdown to air.  And then
   Admire Taderera, Star Radio's manager, made the announcement.
   "For the last 32 years Zimbabwe has only known one broadcaster,
   Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, who have been forerunners in this
   industry.  Last year, Zimpapers was awarded a license.  Today we
   witness the commencement of that broadcast.  We are here as part of the
   history makers," Taderera said.
   But for Nhlanhla Ngwenya, the head of Misa-Zimbabwe, an organization
   which fights for media plurality in southern Africa, Star Radio is
   unlikely to make real history.
   "So while it is good for Zimbabwe that we now have another player in
   the broadcasting industry, we doubt that its content will translate to
   an alternative platform form of communication. It would have been good
   if new player was going to bring diversity.  As far as we can see, and
   going by the remarks [by Mugabe's spokesman], we can only see an
   extension of propaganda empire," Nhlanhla said.
   The remarks he is referring to were made by presidential spokesperson
   George Charamba earlier this month.  He said Star Radio must be
   patriotic. In Zimbabwe, "patriotism" is usually associated with
   glorifying President Mugabe and ZANU-PF policies.
   After the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe board awarded Star Radio a
   license last year, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai described the move
   as a legal nullity, saying the board was not properly constituted.
   But minister of information Webster Shamu, an ally of Mugabe, dismissed
   Tsvangirai's assertions in parliament this year.
   Star Radio joins five other radio stations on the air, all owned by the
   state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.
   Zimbabwe's media laws make it tough to start a broadcasting or
   publishing company.  Besides paying high application fees, the company
   must go through a tedious bureaucratic and political process.  As a
   result, most radio stations targeting Zimbabwe operate from outside the
   country, broadcasting through short-wave radio or the internet.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-star-radio/1249031.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-star-radio/1249031.html