Charamba is Robert Mugabe’s spokesman and Permanent Secretary in the Information Ministry and Publicity, and there is no love lost between the control freaks.

Highly placed sources at the Herald house said Professor Jonathan Moyo is being consulted by the editors before the publication of political stories.

"He has returned to his propaganda carrier as the editor of stories critical to the Movement for Democratic Change leader and the country’s leader Morgan Tsvangirai which we are running every day. If any reporter has finished scripting such stories Professor Moyo is phoned for verification. He at  times  personally  phones the reporter or the news room to  find out how such  stories were  written before  they  are published," said the source.

The state media is currently running stories meant to denounce the MDC president for accusing him of having invited sanctions in the country.

This move by the state media to lambast Tsvangirai on the sanctions issue came after BRITISH foreign secretary David Miliband had said the west’s decision on whether to lift sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe would be guided by advice from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party.

Miliband told the House of Commons last week that the UK government welcomed the recent agreement by the principals of the inclusive government to establish key commissions and would continue to press for progress in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement.

It is also reliably understood that News managers at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation have given a directive to the effect that Professor Moyo be the only political analyst on all stories concerning the same issue.

"We have been told not to use skip the learned Professor when seeking political analysis on the Tsvangirai and sanctions stories. He has been described to us as the best person to analyze those issues, "said one senior female newsperson based at ZBC headquarters.

During his time as the country’ Information minister Professor Jonathan Moyo crafted media draconian laws which led to the closure of publications which were deemed critical to the former ZANU-PF party.

He is viewed as a media hangman by Zimbabwean journalists for the sufferings he caused after the closure of newsrooms in which hundreds of them were earning a living from. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)