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If you thought you had seen the worst of the fickle nature of the so-called independent Press in the country, you may have to reconsider.

Yesterday, two of the largest dailies in the country, Daily News and NewsDay, had their front pages screaming about how the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe had been congratulated on her 50th birthday as corporates and individuals sent warm wishes to her.

Somehow, we are meant to believe that it is such a bad thing for citizens of this country, corporate and individual, to do so.

But that is beside the point, not least because the stories conform to a well-worn template that has been used against President Mugabe on similar occasions.

What is confounding is how such media can contrive to lead with this kind of story when the nation is beset by numerous challenges, the most pressing of which relate to a recent Supreme Court judgment which threatens job security — including at the two stables.

In fact, just as the two media houses where screaming blue murder over best wishes to Amai Mugabe, ANZ, publishers of Daily News, were sacking 11 journalists in accordance with that fatal judgment.

On the other hand, owners of AMH, which publishes NewsDay are said to be rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of firing its long suffering workers, which it has not been paying on time.

Or do we begin to see a conspiracy by the publishers of these newspapers?

Grant them that, for a while.

However, the larger picture is that this is media that is not grounded in reality and do not care about the people and what they, the people, lose sleep over.

This genus of media is at best diversionary and at worst treasonous.

Much worse, they seem to have a low opinion of their readership.

Honestly, who cares about alleged “bootlicking” when their job — their source of livelihood — is on the line?

By the way, a dollar is hard to come by, these days.

Now who wants to part with their precious dollar for this kind of claptrap?

Or the Itai Dzamara nonsense?

“Resurfacing” that

never was

But hold on; you ain’t heard nothing yet!

Here is some drama: “A thriller of epic proportions — if the political climate does not turn typically violent and even murderous — is on the cards in the eagerly-anticipated 2018 national elections, after the zanu-pf formation that uses the slogan People First confirmed yesterday that former Vice President Joice Mujuru will lead the party.

“Spokesperson for the “original” zanu-pf that uses the slogan People First Rugare Gumbo told the Daily News yesterday that after months of dithering and not showing her hand publicly, Mujuru was now ready to come out in the open and lead the party — whose official launch insiders say is imminent.

“Were this to happen, it would mean that the popular former VP would be among a stellar cast of candidates, that include indefatigable opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who will take Mugabe head-on in the 2018 presidential elections — if (President Mugabe) will still be the post-congress zanu-pf’s candidate for those polls.”

After reading a headline saying “Mujuru resurfaces” or something to that effect, you would be very curious to know where and how she has resurfaced as claimed.

Alas, it’s only the spectre of old Rugare Gumbo!

Please!

And you would think all the dramatisation in the opening lines amounted to anything!

This tells us something about journalism gone to the dogs.

You do not have to be a Geoff Nyarota to know this.

This is totally ridiculous and ill-serving of the readership that deserves better.

And you do not even have to go into that all that load of bull and misplaced “analysis” of nothing.

If Amai Mujuru isn’t there to speak for herself, that is the end of the story, not least because we have heard her being spoken on her behalf by the same moronic Gumbo.

What is clear is that it is Gumbo himself who is resurfacing after weeks of being overshadowed by other issues.

And to think a whole newspaper hopes to sell, let alone be taken seriously, over such a story!

Any self-respecting newspaper would not subject itself and its leaders to such treatments.

It is so base.

That is, even when you hate the status quo so much, do you have to sink so low?

It is a fact that the private media, which we sometimes appropriately call the opposition media, is an extension of the opposition and welcomes everything and anything that goes against the ruling establishment.

But, when the days are dry, or in general terms, should they not deploy such energies to cultivate a different vision of the party of their choice?

That would be better marketing, no doubt.

Only our opposition media is rudderless, directionless, senseless and ultimately useless.

We tend to pity the poor journalists that are abused to write these things.

In the hearts of their hearts they probably know better, wish better and yearn more to work for their country.

Aside of a few bad apples and political activists, there are many fine gentlemen and women in these media stables, trust us.

However, their talents are wasted in pursuing dubious agendas that do not need any rocket science to know that they are going nowhere.

Most cruelly, when the time comes these poor, abused souls are shunted aside after having their time wasted at these funny projects.

Now, what is to happen to those 11 journalists from the Daily News?

They are walking away, almost empty handed, they that did not have even annual bonus and would spend their time being abused for all the wrong reasons.

It is a pity.

Sadder, it may well depict some kind of national condition.

The psychosis in some of our citizens can be quite numbing.

Zimbabwe has a reality that has to be faced and the country should be brought to working order without unnecessary distractions.

And we should not be distracted by a lunatic fringe.