The effect of media law on selected Zimbabwean editorial cartoons during Zimbabwe’s 2008 harmonised general elections

Abstract

During the 2008 elections the Zimbabwean media laws had a direct impact on the way that editorial cartoonists expressed themselves. The study contextualises an understanding of the editorial cartoon as practised in an environment of freedom of speech and defined by the four categories identified by Press (1981) and Manning and Phiddian (2004), and delineates the effects of media law on the newspaper industry in Zimbabwe. We review four editorial cartoons reading the semiotic nonverbal communication and meaning principles as defined by Du Plooy (1996) according to the criteria: symbols/metaphors, exaggeration/distortion, stereotypes, caricature, irony, captions and background knowledge as developed by Fetsko (2001). A comparative analysis of the cartoons reveals that objectives and functions of the unmediated zimonline.co.za and mediated Herald newspapers are exactly the same. They are propagandistic representations of Zimbabwean politics that are more of an extension of political ideology than they are a reflection of the country’s socio-political landscape.

Gedurende die 2008 verkiesings het die Zimbabwe mediawette ‘n direkte impak gehad op die manier hoe redaksionele spotprenttekenaars hulself uitgedruk het. Die studie konteksualiseer die verstaan van die redaksionele spotprent, beoefen in ‘n omgewing waar vryheid van spraak heers, soos gedefinieer deur die vier kategoriee van Press (1981) en Manning en Phiddian (2004), en skets die uitwerking van mediawetgewing op die koerantwese in Zimbabwe. Ons beskou vier redaksionele spotprente deur die uitlees van semiotiese nieverbale kommunikasie en betekenisbeginsels soos gedefinieer deur Du Plooy (1996) en volgens die kriterium: simbole/beeldspraak, oordrywing/ verdraaiing, stereotipes, karikatuur, ironie, onderskrif en agtergrond kennis soos ontwikkel deur Fetsko (2001). ‘n Vergelykende ondersoek van die spotprente bring aan die lig dat doelwitte en funksies van die ongeredigeerde zimonline.co.za en die geredigeerde Herald koerante identies is. Hulle is slegs propagandistiese uitbeeldings van die Zimbabwe politiek en meer ‘n verlenging van politieke ideologieë, as wat hulle ‘n uitbeelding is van die land se sosio-politieke landskap.