By Decide Nhendo
Media houses have been urged to cover climate change issues in their reportage to create awareness and ensure citizens get information on keeping the environment safe.
Addressing journalists during the belated World Press Freedom Day commemorations at Longdale small scale irrigation scheme in Masvingo West ward 10, on May 24, Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) Commissioner Aleck Ncube said though media organizations were covering climate change issues, there was need to step up to make sure citizens were aware of ongoing environmental crisis.
“Media houses are addressing climate change issues, but I believe they must put more effort to make sure that everyone is aware and plays a part in keeping their environment. It is up to media houses and journalists to disseminate information on climate change issues exhaustively to citizens,” said Ncube.
Ncube said there was need to address gaps in newsroom for climate issues to get the attention they deserve since it has a negative impact on people’s lives.
“Climate changes is an information intensive subject. Well informed journalists are best positioned to report climate change which is becoming the biggest threat to humanity,” said Ncube.
Ncube also said it was important to educate people in their local languages to make sure they receive and understand information concerning climate change since it’s a crisis affecting the whole world.
“It is important for media houses to educate people using local language as citizens will be able to easily get what the media will be communicating to them,” said Ncube.
Longdale small scale irrigation scheme chairperson Davison Makangavaya said they were getting climate change information from the local media and urged journalists to keep relaying information on the topic as it helped them in making informed decisions.
“We applaud the media for the work they are doing because we are getting climate change information from them. They must keep on addressing these issues because it helps us make informed decisions as farmers because we are affected by environmental crisis directly,” said Makangavaya.
Climate change is a global crisis and has caused an El Nino induced drought this year in most parts of Southern Africa, Zimbabwe included. Farmers have had a poor harvest from the 2023-2024 farming season.
The 2024 World Press Freedom Day commemorated on May 3 was running under the theme: A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) hosted the belated WPFD commemorations across the country.
