By Mtandazo Dube
Yesterday’s NetOne Online Media Strategy Breakfast Session at Manna Safari Lodge was more than just another corporate gathering.
It was a declaration.
The once fringe online media players — often dismissed as peripheral, underfunded, and hustling on the margins — now have a seat at the table.
That is undeniable.
Several kilometres from Harare’s CBD, young practitioners dug into their own pockets to make their way to Glen Lorne – they filled the Msasa Conference Room not out of convenience, but conviction.
Their presence was a statement: digital voices are no longer waiting for permission to matter.
Richard Mahomva, NetOne’s head of public relations, understood this moment. His strategy to bring in online media — mostly youthful, mostly resource-strapped — signals an evolution in Zimbabwe’s media sector. It is a recognition that the future of communication is not anchored in print presses or broadcast towers, but in the immediacy of digital platforms.
The inclusion of Zimpapers, itself now championing a digital-first strategy, underscored the shift. Legacy media is no longer pretending digital is an afterthought, it is acknowledging that the landscape has changed, and those who fail to adapt will be left behind.
Mlondolozi Ndlovu of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, captured the mood succinctly: “Digital platforms are here to stay… it’s wise to embrace them.”
Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana, went further, declaring digital media “the vital present, the new, and now,” tying its empowerment directly to youth empowerment.
In a country where 62 percent of the population is under 25, and the median age is just 18.3, this is not rhetoric — it is demographic reality.
Mahomva’s pledge to work towards ensuring Cabinet briefings are supported with fast, reliable internet for livestreaming was more than a technical pledge. It was an acknowledgment that data is the new fuel, the commodity that powers journalism today. His words; “Data is the commodity and fuel we possess” — resonate in a sector where access to bandwidth often determines whether a story reaches the public or dies in draft.
Lovejoy Mutongwiza’s plea for tangible support — media hubs across provinces, computers, editing software, high-speed internet — remains urgent. If online media is to thrive, it cannot subsist on passion alone, infrastructure must match ambition.
Mutongwiza reminded the gathering that online media practitioners are not hobbyists but “legitimate newsrooms, authentic brands, and genuine employers.”
NetOne’s choice to engage digital platforms first, bypassing traditional hierarchies, shows that legitimacy is no longer in question.
Yet beneath the optimism lies a sobering reality. Crippling data costs, patchy coverage, and poor speeds continue to strangle innovation. Even Zimpapers, despite its digital-first pivot, admits the revenue model is fragile: print ads once fetched US$4,000, while digital ads arrive in cents.
The move by Mahomva and NetOne is revolutionary. Online media practitioners, once seen as outsiders, were not just invited to Manna Safari Lodge — they were central. The room was filled, the voices were heard, and the message was clear: Zimbabwe’s media landscape has shifted. The digital generation is no longer knocking at the door, it is inside, seated, and shaping the conversation.
Mtandazo Dube is a seasoned media practitioner who has been a trailblazer in digital media innovation since 2008