The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is the state-controlled broadcaster in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

. It succeeded the Voice of Zimbabwe Rhodesia (VZR) in 1980, which in turn had succeeded the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) in 1979. Like the RBC under the white minority rule government of Ian Smith

Ian Smith

Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...

, it has been accused of being a mouthpiece of the Mugabe

Robert Mugabe

Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...

 regime, with no editorial independence

Editorial independence

Editorial independence is the freedom of editors to make decisions without interference from the owners of a publication. Editorial independence is tested, for instance, if a newspaper runs articles that may be unpopular with its advertising clientele....

.

Radio

The ZBC operates four radio networks, providing a mix of news, current affairs, educational programming and music, in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, Shona

Shona language

Shona is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe and southern Zambia; the term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Ndau and Korekore...

 and Ndebele

Ndebele language

There are at least two languages commonly called Ndebele:*The Northern Ndebele language, a Nguni language spoken in Zimbabwe*The Southern Ndebele language, classified as Nguni language or Sotho–Tswana language, spoken in South Africa, heavily influenced by surrounding Sotho–Tswana languages and...

.
Local radio stations run hourly news bulletins which range from 2 minutes to the longest being a ten-minute bulletin on weekends and holidays. Presenters include Oscar Pambuka, Admire Mhungu, Justin Mahlahla, Anna Miti, Tracey Sibanda, Abigail Tembo, Raviro Musendekwa and Keith Mawoyo. On the national languages desk readers include Nqobile Malinga, Patience Machokoto, Nyasha Makota, Sitheni Nleya, Taboka Ncube, Faith Nare and Caroline Sithole.
Bulletins come out live on SFM at 7 am, 8 am, 1pm, 6 pm and 8 pm and running from Monday to Friday. The anchors are Marion Shaba, Yvonne Gawe, Violet Makoto, Theophilus Chuma, Ian Zvoma, Butler Nhepure and Jonathan Marerwa.

Television

Television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 services were introduced into the then Southern Rhodesia

Southern Rhodesia

Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...

 in 1960. It was the first such service in the region, as South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 did not introduce television until 1976. RBC TV was a commercial service carrying advertising, although there was also a television licence fee. Television reception was confined mainly to the large cities, and most viewers were from the white minority

Whites in Zimbabwe

White Zimbabweans are people from the southern African country Zimbabwe who identify themselves as white...

. Possibly the best-known Director of the RBC was Dr. Harvey Ward

Harvey Ward

Harvey Grenville Ward was Director-General of the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation, noted for his anti-communism and for his support for Ian Smith's government in Rhodesia and South Africa. He was a leading member of the Conservative Monday Club.-Background:Ward was born in Southern Rhodesia to...

.

Colour television was introduced in 1984, with a second channel, available only in Harare

Harare

Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...

, being introduced in 1986. This channel was discontinued in 1997 and replaced by the first independent channel in Zimbabwe known as Joy TV. This channel lasted until 2002, when it was controversially taken off the air for allegedly failing to pay fees to ZBC. It is believed that Joy TV was killed off, because it posed a threat to the monopoly enjoyed by ZBC.

The main ZBC TV News bulletin opens with a man in traditional tribal costume beating a drum, before more people beat the drum.

The news bulletins include the morning Good Morning Zimbabwe, lunch time News, Nhau Indaba and News Hour.
Marion Shaba, the anchor, is usually the host of news hour, while other Zimbabweans such as Oscar Pambuka, Ian Zvoma, Juliet Muzenda and Walter Mpfanochiya are also regular anchors.
ZBC Channel 2 TV launched for viewers in Harare only in Winter 2010.

ZBC TV is currently not available online.