My journalism is defined not by elitist gatekeepers but by truth public engagement and justice

Tendai Ruben Mbofana

Recently, a prominent player in Zimbabwe’s media industry sought to dismiss my journalism credentials by portraying me as a “Kwekwe-based journalist better known for political activism and commentary than journalism practice itself.”

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This was clearly an attempt to discredit my opinions and undermine my disagreement with views he had previously expressed.

While I ordinarily avoid personalising professional disagreements, there is danger in allowing inaccurate narratives to calcify into accepted truth, particularly when they concern one’s professional identity and legacy.

Journalism is not defined by proximity to powerful institutions, nor is it confined to those currently occupying newsroom offices. 

Journalism is a craft, a discipline, and a lifelong vocation shaped by experience, training, public engagement, editorial judgement, and commitment to informing society. 

Those who attempt to narrowly define it according to institutional location fundamentally misunderstand both the history and evolution of the profession.

My own journey in journalism did not begin yesterday, nor did it emerge from commentary on governance and social justice issues.

It began in 1989 while I was still a Form Three student, when I worked as a cub reporter for the Kwekwe-based Midlands Observer. 

At an age when many were still uncertain about their future paths, I was already learning the fundamentals of reporting, news gathering, and public communication within a newsroom environment.

Between 1991 and 1992, while pursuing my A-Level studies, I became a columnist for another Kwekwe weekly publication, Midweek News. 

That early exposure not only sharpened my writing abilities but immersed me further into the practical realities of journalism long before formal qualification. 

Thereafter, I relocated to Harare to undergo formal journalism training, adding academic grounding to practical newsroom experience already accumulated over several years.

Upon completing my studies, I was approached by emerging publications in the Midlands region, including Redcliff News and The Oracle, where I served in editorial capacities. 

These were not ceremonial roles. 

They involved the demanding realities of newsroom operations, editorial decision-making, content management, production pressures, and public accountability. 

Anyone who has genuinely worked within media spaces understands the responsibilities attached to such positions.

In 1999, driven by both passion and conviction, I established my own weekly newspaper, Midlands Monitor, with financial assistance from my late mother. 

Running an independent newspaper in Zimbabwe was never an easy undertaking, even during relatively stable economic periods. 

It required editorial leadership, business management, advertiser engagement, content planning, community interaction, and resilience. 

The publication eventually succumbed to the devastating economic collapse that characterised the 2000s, when many independent media houses struggled to survive as advertisers disappeared and operational costs became unbearable.

That unfortunate reality forced many media practitioners, myself included, into adjacent communication fields in order to survive economically. 

My transition into corporate communications and public relations was therefore not an abandonment of journalism, but a practical response to a collapsing media economy that displaced countless journalists across Zimbabwe.

Yet even during that period, writing never ceased to be part of my professional life. 

I continued contributing news stories, features, commentary, and analysis to various publications whenever opportunities arose, including France 24, The Zimbabwean, The Standard, and others.

Then, beginning around 2015, I consciously redirected my energies toward regular social justice and public affairs writing, focusing on governance, corruption, inequality, and the lived experiences of ordinary Zimbabweans.

Over the years, my articles and analyses have been published by both local and international media platforms, while my views and commentary have also featured on global and regional news networks such as Al Jazeera, SABC, Newzroom Afrika, RT, Press TV, and several others.

To now reduce such a trajectory into the dismissive label of “activism” while implying a lack of journalism practice is not only inaccurate but intellectually disingenuous. 

Advocacy journalism has always existed as a legitimate branch of the profession. 

Around the world, many respected journalists have dedicated themselves to public-interest causes, human rights, anti-corruption work, and democratic accountability. 

Their commitment to societal issues did not somehow disqualify them from journalism.

Indeed, some of the most celebrated journalists in history were unapologetically activist in orientation because journalism, at its best, does not merely observe injustice from a safe distance but interrogates power and amplifies the concerns of society.

Figures such as Ida B. Wells, Anna Politkovskaya, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Seymour Hersh, Chris Hani’s close ally Ruth First, and Zimbabwe’s own Geoffrey Nyarota built their reputations not by remaining comfortably detached from injustice, but by interrogating power, exposing wrongdoing, and amplifying the concerns of society. 

Journalism, at its best, does not merely observe injustice from a safe distance but confronts it with courage and public purpose.

What is particularly troubling is the persistent elitist tendency within certain sectors of the media industry to suggest that journalism legitimacy belongs exclusively to those attached to formal newsroom institutions, while independent writers, commentators, and public-interest analysts are somehow inferior or less authentic. 

Such thinking ignores both global media transformations and the realities of countries like Zimbabwe, where economic collapse, political pressures, and shrinking newsroom opportunities forced many experienced journalists into independent practice.

The rise of independent journalism across digital platforms has fundamentally altered traditional media structures worldwide. 

Some of the most influential journalistic voices today operate outside conventional newsroom settings. 

Their legitimacy derives not from institutional affiliation, but from the quality, consistency, credibility, and impact of their work.

I therefore reject attempts to erase or diminish my journalism background simply because my work today prominently engages questions of social justice and governance. 

One may disagree with my views, challenge my arguments, or contest my conclusions. 

That is fair and healthy within democratic discourse. 

However, questioning the legitimacy of my journalism career while ignoring over three decades of media experience reflects either ignorance of the facts or a deliberate effort to delegitimise independent voices.

My journey in journalism spans from cub reporting as a teenager in Kwekwe, to editorial leadership, newspaper ownership, communications practice, and over a decade of sustained public-interest writing. 

That record speaks for itself and requires no validation from gatekeepers who mistakenly believe journalism belongs only to those operating within institutional corridors.

At the end of the day, journalism is not defined by titles, proximity to power, or approval from industry elites. 

It is defined by the consistent pursuit of truth, public engagement, and the courage to write even when doing so invites hostility, dismissal, or attempts at professional erasure.

• Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. To directly receive his articles please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08