After several weeks of abuse and battering by Timmy, her husband, she recently threatened him into silence: “I shall report you to the newspaper H-Metro so that the whole city reads about your dishonesty and wayward behaviour.”

Reflecting on the tabloid’s headlines such as: “Church accuses pastor’s wife of adultery”, and “I had sex with a stranger: wife”, Timmy quickly got back to his senses and is now a dedicated family man, dreading to ever appear in the recently founded newspaper

Scandals boost newspaper sales
But is it right for journalists to invade other people’s privacy in order to boost their newspaper or magazine sales? Isn’t sensitivity to the privacy interests of others an essential ingredient of moral reasoning?

H-Metro defended its bare-it-all approach in its editorial this September: “It is about reading of scandals in the paper so that villains swear that we will never again repeat these mistakes. Some of our stories, expectedly, have been juicy, some scandalous. People have been shocked, alarmed and often disgusted. But they have accepted in the end that this is the real Zimbabwe, warts and all”

Yet it’s not all about unearthing saucy affairs because the sneaky tabloid also delves into other matters pertaining to witchcraft, spirituality and strange phenomenon as reflected by some of these hair-raising headlines: “Snake sucks maid at night”, “Ritual killing: Age saved him” ,“Mentally ill man steals vehicle, goes for joyride” and “ Maid urinated in boss’ bathing water”.

Probe all leadership
Some readers have H-Metro criticised for publishing embarrassing private facts and information that may place other people in false light.

“I wonder why these guys are always on the lookout for negative news, yet Zimbabwe is so hungry for development related stories after so many years of political and economic decay. Is it of  any public interest or value to publish these negative accounts about unsuspecting individuals- whether rich, famous or poor? What do our children and society learn from reading these stories which leave those affected so embarrassed and traumatised?, complained  Sabelo, a social worker.

But the tabloid remains undeterred: “The whole name and shame game that people are often afraid of will not end when the paper is shut down. We should look at ourselves and find out whether we are any better or different from villains we often expose.”

Despite belonging to a state-controlled - usually one-sided - newspaper we hope H-Metro will also keep a microscopic eye on the public and private activities of all types of leadership, without fear or favour, so they are always clean and accountable!