The main pro-government dailies, the Harare-based Herald and the Bulawayo-based Chronicle, are tightly controlled by the Information Ministry. The private press, which is relatively vigorous in its criticism of the government, has come under severe pressure.
Newspaper cover prices are beyond the reach of many readers and publishers have been hit by escalating  costs.
Draconian laws and institutions, along with prison sentences for "publishing false news", are used to clamp down on critical comment. Journalists who fail to register with a government body risk imprisonment.
Radio is the main source of information. Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) operates TV and radio stations under the umbrella of state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH).
Two national private FM radio stations are licensed - one to a company owned by a supporter of Mr Mugabe, the other to a majority state-owned publisher.
Overseas-based radios transmit into Zimbabwe: Voice of the People, set up by former ZBC staff with funding from the Soros Foundation and a Dutch organisation, leases a shortwave transmitter in Madagascar.
From the US, government-funded Voice of America (VOA) operates Studio 7, which aims to be a source of "objective and balanced news".
Radio broadcasts by foreign stations deemed hostile to the government have been subject to deliberate interference.
There were around 6.7 million internet users by November 2015 (Internetworldstats.com). US-based Freedom House says the internet is nominally free from government interference. However, the medium is relatively expensive and prone to disruption because of power cuts.
All broadcasters transmitting from Zimbabwean soil, and many of the main newspapers, toe the government line.