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.
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]
Sister papersedit
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]
Controversyedit
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]
^Keppel-Jones, A. (1983). Rhodes and Rhodesia: The White Conquest of Zimbabwe 1884-1902. MQUP. p. 356. ISBN 9780773505346. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
^"Zambezia journal, January 1970" (PDF). archive.lib.msu.edu. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
^Nyarota, G. (2006). Against the Grain: Memoirs of a Zimbabwean Newsman. Zebra. p. 45. ISBN 9781770071124. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
^Avrahm G. Mezerik (1966). Rhodesia and the United Nations: UN imposition of mandatory sanctions 1966 ... International Review Service. ISBN 9780598497741.
^Bennie Goldin (1 January 1990). The Judge, the Prince, and the Usurper-from UDI to Zimbabwe. Vantage Press. ISBN 9780533085187.
^Media Professionalism and Ethics in Zimbabwe: A Report Based on the Inquiry Carried Out by the Media Ethics Committee. Media Ethics Committee. 2002.
^Ellias T. Rusike. See http://journ.ru.ac.za/rjr/Rusike_homepage.html
^"BBC NEWS - Africa - Hackers shut Zimbabwe website". 13 May 2008.
^Dzirutwe, MacDonald. "As he turns 93, Mugabe dismisses corruption allegations | Top News | Reuters". af.reuters.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017. [dead link]
^Zimbabwe Newspapers website. "Zimpapers - the Herald, the Chronicle, Manica Post". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^For example: "Tsvangirai confirms US, UK's regime change agenda" Archived 28 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, The Herald, 28 June 2008
^"Zimbabwe Newspapers and News on the Internet". library.stanford.edu. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
^Zimbabwe newspapers and news sites world-newspapers.com
^Zimbabwe: Herald newspaper trimmed to size over propaganda botch-up ZimDaily
^For example: "Time for MDC-T to take stock" Archived 28 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, The Herald, 28 June 2008
^ abcdefghijklmno"Herald Editors down the years". The Herald. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^"Rhodesia Herald Editor Dies". AP. 27 May 1985. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^Compagnon, Daniel (2011). A Predictable Tragedy: Robert Mugabe and the Collapse of Zimbabwe. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-8122-0004-1.
^"Ex-Herald editor Bornwell Chakaodza dies". Nehanda Radio. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^"Two editors sacked in Zimbabwe newspaper purge". The New Zealand Herald. 22 March 2001. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^"Latest: New bosses for Zimpapers". The Herald. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^ ab"Herald appoints acting editor". The Herald. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^ ab"Zimpapers senior editorial changes". The Chronicle. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^ abc"Caesar Zvayi leaves Zimpapers after 15 years, 5 of them as editor of The Herald". ZimLive. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^"Zimpapers makes senior editorial appointments". The Herald. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^"Herald editor fired over Mnangagwa story; leaves after just one month on the job". New Zimbabwe. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^"Zimpapers makes editorial appointments". The Zimbabwe Mail. 8 February 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^Jackson, P. P. (2010). Shattered Dreams. Milton Keynes: AuthorHouse. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-4520-4394-4.
^"Geoffrey Nyarota: a defiant voice". CNN. 17 August 2001. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^van Trommel, Nienke (22 October 2003). "Daily News interim editor Saidi: No fear". MediaNews. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
^Barbee, Jeff (8 April 2005). "On the run, again". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2022.