By Shammah Chirongoma
Great Zimbabwe University Media department hosted a guest lecture at the Club House in Mashava on 02 May 2024 to give knowledge and courage to all students prioritise their works for their future sustainability. The department had a courtesy visit by a Jordanian American media expert and a Journalist, Mr Bashar Jarrar in partnership with the American Embassy in Zimbabwe and he was accompanied by Mr Sizani Weza from the US Embassy Public Diplomacy Section.
The guest lecture was attended by students and lecturers from the Media and Cultural Studies program. The guest lecture was an educative gesture to both the students and the lecturers.
The event was organised by the department’s Chairperson Mr S.K. Madplume and it was coordinated by former ZBC broadcaster who is now Media lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University Mr James July.
The lecture was demarcated as a motivation to students since it focuses on media sustainability during this digital dominated era which breaks the boarders of professional journalism in southern Africa and the world at large.
During his welcome remarks to the guest Mr July said, “This courtesy call by an international guest who expertise in the Journalism field is very crucial to the GZU Media family as it empower, motivates and teach both the lecturers and students on how to overcome and fight the platforms which are being built buy the internet in the journalism field.”
Mr Jarrar covered a wide range of topics in media and he also covered on how journalists are sustaining during this era of advanced technology platforms like Artificial Intelligence and Internet. “To sustain during this Artificial Intelligent era, we all need to be able to have credible news sources and provide credible information”, said Mr Jarrar.
He urged students to specialize in all fields of media and journalism as a media personality. “For one to be a good journalists, he\she needs to be a good communicator and have reliable sources who will help them to produce an in-depth to their stories so that they sell better to their audiences so that they reach a wider viewership or readership which adequately attract advertisers for a sustainable effectiveness”, Mr Jarrar said.
Journalism is becoming a threat to political arena since it played the watchdog role and media came as the fourth estate which oversees the actions of the politicians to be accountable. Therefore, journalism kills and a lot of journalists have been abducted and harassed in southern Africa for their journalistic works.
To tackle this issue of political threat to the journalists Mr Jarrar emphasised all upcoming journalist to learn to exercise to be creative and write effective stories that can sell for them to sustain but truthfulness must be at the centre of all journalistic work.
“I urge all upcoming journalist like you, to learn to be creative and write effective stories that can sell for them to sustain but truthfulness must be at the centre of all journalistic work. Your stories must be balanced not biased, but sometime your stories directed by the media house that you write for or the media regulations of the nation”, Jarrar emphasised.
Mr Weza encouraged the students and the staff to engage in diplomatic call events so as to gain insights and knowledge on the international media or journalism landscape.
He added that being involved in these events will also open opportunities to get international scholarships like the Upgrade and learn journalism form other international universities in the US.
