"This article interrogates the phenomenon of citizen journalism in Zimbabwean community newspapers’ production processes. It questions the distinction between citizen journalism and professional journalism and calls for a rethink of ‘citizen journalism’ in the Zimbabwean context. Data were gat ... hered through participant observation and interviews with editors, proprietors, citizen journalists and professional journalists. The data were analysed thematically. The findings show that financial challenges and shortages of human resources drive community newspapers to engage citizen journalists as sources of cheap labour for newsgathering and for increasing reach, readership and to cut costs. Citizen journalists are also engaged to lure donors, helping to paint an altruistic image of a community newspaper providing space for ordinary citizens’ voices. The findings also show that the boundary between citizen and professional journalists is increasingly being eroded. This trend is a result of continuous training workshops and refresher courses on news writing and ethics, demands by some citizen journalists to be treated as professionals and acquisition of formal journalism education. The acquisition of formal journalism education enables citizen journalists to breach the boundary between citizen journalism (the out-group) and professional journalism (the in-group). This boundary erosion gives them access to some of the (material) benefits that come with belonging to the ‘in-group’ comprised of professional journalists." (Abstract) more

"Utilizing a constellation of conceptual tenets drawn from critical digital technology theory, field theory and concepts of digital democracy, this article argues that the post-coup period in Zimbabwe has solidified digital journalism practices in three main ways. These are: (i) the consolidation of ... a digital leak journalism culture, (ii) an increasingly ferocious form of digital guerrilla journalism, and (iii) the rise in popularity, of small digital-based news platforms that, arguably, are increasingly eclipsing already established mainstream (digital) news platforms as sources of news. These practices’ nascent roots have their genesis in the early 2000 period. In the post-coup context, they have assumed a new and wider meaning, and have become part of the mainstream. This solidification of digital journalism practices has consequently enabled journalists to “speak back” to power by providing robust forms of investigative journalism, and simultaneously avoiding being ‘swallowed’ by the state. While we admit to various gradations of digital journalism practices before the coup, we use the coup as our point of departure in order to factor in the incrementally disruptive and repressive political environment that has forced journalists to adopt digital journalism practices more than in any period of the country’s history." (Abstract) more