The Chronicle (Zimbabwe)
| Type | Daily |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | State-owned |
| Publisher | Zimbabwe Newspapers, Ltd. |
| Editor | Mduduzi Mathuthu |
| News editor | Mkhululi Sibanda |
| Sports editor | Lovemore Dube |
| Founded | 1894 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Bulawayo, Zimbabwe |
| Sister newspapers | The Herald |
| Website | www.zimpapers.co.zw |
The Chronicle is a popular daily newspaper in Zimbabwe. It is published in Bulawayo and mostly reports on news in the Matebeleland region in the southern part of the country. It is state-owned and therefore usually only publishes news that supports the government and its policies. It also covers stories on national and international news, as well as entertainment, sport, business, travel, job offers and real estate. It was established in 1894 and it was the largest newspaper in the country following the The Herald.
The Chronicle is one of the oldest newspapers in Africa. The Chronicle was founded by the Argus Company of South Africa on 12 October 1894.
The media in Rhodesia catered mostly to the white settlers needs, ignoring the news of interest to native Africans. Like most newspapers, the Chronicle covered politics, sports and current affairs, however news about the African continent was ignored. News about the Africans was seldom published, unless the news regarded crimes committed by Africans. When articles concerned Africans, the stories were typically negative and demeaning.
By the time Independence was attained in 1980, the media coverage in Zimbabwe had not changed much. News coverage was still prone to a settler-bias as the most prominent Rhodesian printing and publishing executives in Rhodesia themselves were white. The editors, as well as most of the reporting staff, were also white too.
The development of the Zimbabwe Press can be categorised into three eras. Prior to 1980, the era was considered the Colonial or Nationalist era. From 1980–1990 the media was in the Transitional Era. Media originating after 1990 is considered to be from the Post-Transitional era. During each era the political and ideological status of the country would reflect what kind of news would be published and how it would be published. The last white editor in Zimpapers was Jean Maitland Stuart.
In 1983 Tommy Sithole became the first black editor of the Chronicle.
In 1988, the Chronicle's editor was Geoffrey Nyarota. The paper built a reputation for aggressive investigations into corruption at all levels of government, and Nyarota became "something of a hero". In the "Willowgate" investigation, Nyarota and deputy editor Davison Maruziva reported that ministers and officials from the government of President Robert Mugabe had been given early access to buy foreign cars at an assembly plant in Willowvale, an industrial suburb of Harare. In some cases, the cars were bought wholesale and resold at a 200% profit. The newspaper published documents from the plant to prove its case, including identification numbers from the vehicles.
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