Divorce cases soar ? High court judge, The Herald...
Divorce cases soar ? High court judge, The Herald
Date: January 1, 1970
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The article ?Divorce cases soar- High Court Judge? concerns a soaring number of divorce cases attributed to the increasing number of Zimbabweans leaving the country in search of greener pastures.
Description:
The article “Divorce cases soar- High Court Judge” concerns a soaring number of divorce cases attributed to the increasing number of Zimbabweans leaving the country in search of greener pastures.
This article may be used to:
- Illustrate the gaps in a news story that depends on one official source.
- Highlight the need to research stories thoroughly.
Trainer’s notes
The article mentions problems that arise when one spouse leaves the country and the couple is separated for a long time.
No statistics are given on whether it is primarily women or men who leave the country. The article mentions the effect on young children (assumed to be in the care of mothers) with no mention of the effect on either spouse.
The only person interviewed in the article is the male judge who handles divorce cases. Potentially an interesting story on the effect of the brain drain on family structures in Zimbabwe, the story begs more questions than answers by failing to probe the gendered dimensions of this phenomenon, and by relying on a single (male) source.
Training exercises
Exercise one: Read the case study and discuss the following:
- What additional information should have been included in the article? Where could this information have been located?
- Who else should have been interviewed?
- Send trainees out to find additional information and then rewrite the article with the new information.
- Compare the original article with the rewritten one, draw out the new angles and discuss how the new information improves the story.
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