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MSI Africa

Zambia

• Introduction
• Objective 1: Free Speech
• Objective 2: Professional Journalism
• Objective 3: Plurality of News Sources
• Objective 4: Business Management
• Objective 5: Supporting Institutions
• Panel Participants

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Introduction

Overall Country Score:  2.25

Zambia is a country rising from economic turmoil, where over 50 percent of the total population of about 12 million is living in poverty. The country has one of the highest public debts, which accounts for 65.7 percent of its annual GDP. During the presidency of Kenneth Kaunda in the mid-1980s, the country economic declines, which forced the president to request financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF imposed severe conditions for aid by demanding that the government withdraw food subsidies and float the kwacha. This sent food prices skyrocketing and sparked nationwide riots that killed many people. However, by July 2007, out-going World Bank country manager Ohene Nyanin was impressed with the country’s economic growth in the previous four years, especially the economic boom in the country’s North Western province.

Formerly Northern Rhodesia, Zambia is now a multiparty democracy under president Levy Mwanawasa of the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). Mwanawasa succeeded Frederick Chiluba who, as the first leader of the MMD, ousted Kaunda in Zambia’s first democratic elections held in 1991. Under Chiluba’s presidency, the right to free speech was entrenched in the constitution. Although Chiluba’s government also promised to bring about other legislative reforms, including addressing the government’s controls over media, nothing much has happened so far.

The Mwanawasa presidency has received international attention for its anticorruption activities. Despite both being members of the same party, Mwanawasa successfully pursued extensive corruption investigations of the Chiluba government, including winning a $41 million civil case in the UK. Because of these activities and improved economic performance under his first term, Mwanawasa was reelected in 2006.

The scores for Objectives 1 though 4 did not differ much from the overall average. Of these, Objective 4, business management, scored lowest with a 1.95 and Objective 3, plurality of news, scored highest with a 2.22. However, Objective 5, supporting institutions, was far and away the strongest with a 2.88.

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Objective 1: Free Speech

Score: 2.03

In this objective, most of the indicators were spread out away from the final average. Indicators 2, 5, and 7, broadcast licensing, preferential legal treatment for state media, and access to information, scored lowest, with access to information more than a point lower than the average. On the high side, Indicators 8 and 9, media access to international news sources and free entry into the journalism profession, scored more than a point higher than the average.

In Zambia, section 20 (1) of the constitution guarantees freedom of expression. The constitution does not expressly guarantee press freedom, although Article 20 (1) does state, “subject to the provisions of this Constitution no law shall make any provision that derogates from freedom of the press.” These grounds are so broad and vague that virtually any decision to override the guaranteed freedom can be justified. Zambia Community Media Forum (ZaCoMeF) country coordinator Elias Banda said that, “free speech is not equal to media’s free speech, these two should be separated.” Fackson Banda, in the BBC’s African Media Development Initiative (AMDI) 2006 report noted that this freedom is subject to curtailment on such “reasonably” justifiable grounds as those relating to the interest of defense, public safety, public order, public morality, or public health. He wrote, “If you try to practice freedom of expression, you find yourself in a lot of problems because in the same constitution you get to find other laws that are against media freedom.” The general secretary of the Zambia Council of Churches, Suzanne Matale, added, “This guarantee of freedom of speech has not been unpacked into legislation and policies, which people can then use to realize their freedom of speech.”¹

Evelyn Hone College lecturer Douglas Hampande stated that press freedom should allow a journalist freedom at each point of covering a story but “at the stage of newsgathering there is a type of freedom that should be given to the journalist, which is not guaranteed in the Constitution.” Hampande was referring to the difficulties some journalists experience in trying to access information during the process of newsgathering.

Chamilesu Kapaipi from Zambia Tourism Review pointed to a case in 2003 involving The Today as an infringement to freedom of expression. The editor, Masautso Phiri, was harassed and prosecuted by the president’s office after publishing a report on sex scandals at the president’s residence. The government also bought in bulk, burnt, and banned the newspaper for publishing this story concerning former president Chiluba. News editor Changwe Kabwe from Hot Radio FM cited another case of an infringement to a journalist’s right to free speech. The former editor-in-chief of The Post, now the publisher, Fred M’membe², and columnist Roy Clarke³, defeated separate defamation cases brought against them by the president. Kabwe added that usually when a journalist is detained there is an outcry from civil society, and this was so in the case of M’membe and Clarke

The Telecommunications Act of 1994 established the Communications Authority to manage and administer the frequency spectrum. The Independent Broadcasting Authority Act 17 of 2002 was passed to establish the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), but this institution has not been established. Therefore broadcast licensing currently resides with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services. The Ministry does this with the assistance of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and the Communications Authority (CA). The two organizations sit on the screening committee that determines the suitability of applicants for radio and television licenses. ZNBC and CA report to the Ministry.

Kabwe said that the licensing of broadcast media is political and not conducted fairly. Other panelists also seemed concerned by the political affiliations of individual members who sit on the screening committee, and the minister of information and broadcasting services’ active role in the issuing of licenses. John Kamwanga, the station manager of a community radio station in Solwezi known as FCC Radio, added that the minister’s active role compromises the credibility of this process. He said the licensing committee is not independent and “applicants have no right of appeal and many are denied a license.” Appeals by media stakeholders in the country for the establishment of an independent broadcast authority have thus far amounted to nothing.

The process of applying for a license is cumbersome. It includes an application fee of K 300,000 ($85) for administration purposes. After your construction permit has been approved, one pays K 750,000 ($200) for that. After being granted a full broadcast license, one must pay K 3,000,000 ($850). Finally, to obtain the actual full license, one pays a fee of K 2,000,000 ($550). The annual license fee is K 1,000,000 ($285).⁴ One must also advertise in the national daily paper giving notice. There are security checks that are carried out by the Zambia Security Intelligence Service on the applicant, who is also required to get clearance from civil aviation that s/he will not interfere with Civil Aviation communications. The construction permit allows the applicant to put up a building and/or a mast and other radio equipment. When the Ministry has tested the signal and the media outlet owner has fulfilled all his/her obligations, a license will be granted. Although the process is lengthy, the primary criticism by media commentators is nonetheless the lack of independence of the IBA.

One of the more recent legislative developments in the country is the National Information and Communication Technology Policy document of 2005. The policy proposes the restructuring and transforming of “The existing regulatory agency(ies) into an independent and autonomous Converged Regulatory Agency for the ICT sector.” The policy recommends the repealing and/or amending of the following pieces of legislation: (i) the Telecommunications Act 1994; (ii) the Radio Communications Act 1994; and (iii) the IBA Act 2002. These policy developments testify to the emergence of broadband Internet connectivity in the country and the possibilities it presents for online media content.⁵

Panelists said that market entry is not restricted except for the onerous application processes for a broadcasting license. The Printed Publications Act of 1994 requires that a newspaper be registered with the National Archives. Hampande said, “There are no tax breaks for the media, although media associations last year managed to successfully lobby the government against introducing VAT on newsprint, which would have affected the citizens’ ability to access/receive information and ideas through the printed press due to inhibiting costs of newspapers.” Others said that the existing tax on newsprint is still high and, as Ken Makungu, lecturer from the University of Zambia said: “The taxes on news print are high as a newspaper costs more than a loaf of bread and the reading culture is poor.” While it is easy to set up a newspaper, problems ranging from the high cost of newsprint to low sales figures have continued to bedevil the sector. This explains why most of the private newspapers set up in the aftermath of the Third Republic subsequently folded.⁶

Research could not establish any assaults on journalists’ perpetrated in the recent past. But panelists spoke of a few such cases up until 2005. There was also concern about the independence of the judiciary. “The judiciary does not act independently in issues of violation of freedom of expression. The journalists are not protected, they go to court, they are harassed and some of them are being sent to prison,” said Suzanne Membe Matale. Panelists were generally concerned about the lack of a legislative framework that protects the rights of journalists, suggesting that while these are enshrined in the constitution the actual laws do little to protect the journalists. Hampande explained that a journalist who used to work for Radio Phoenix, Kangwa Mulenga, was once assaulted by ruling party cadres. “Mulenga sustained cuts on his forehead,” he said, noting that some of the violations are physical violence and are perpetrated by “The police and political party zealots.” Shadreck Banda, editor of the Weekly Angel, was concerned that “senior government officials and security agencies abuse the Security Act and tramp down on nosy journalists.”

There are two laws that have been drafted in Zambia to guarantee the independence of media owned by the government: the National Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Act of 2002 and the Independent Broadcasting Authority Act 17 of 2002. Panelists linked the independence of public media with the appointment of board members to these public media institutions. The two Acts justify state participation as a means for oversight in the interest of taxpayers, but that the board members should be selected by an independent appointment committee, with the power to determine their own procedures in the execution of their work. This is one of the difficulties that have delayed the enactment of the two proposed acts.

In one incident, the appointment committees selecting members of the boards of the IBA and for ZNBC did compile their names and submitted these to the information minister for approval. The minister said some names were not suitable and told the appointments committees to remove these or add new names. The implication of the minister’s latter request was that she needed greater latitude to make her own choice as to who would be ‘suitable’ to sit on either the ZNBC or IBA board⁷.

This incident caused media NGOs to challenge the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services in the High Court. The court ordered the Ministry to submit to the court all the names proposed by the independent media panel. The Ministry has appealed this judgment in the Supreme Court. It would appear that the state is worried that the IBA Act confers overall regulatory authority over all forms of broadcasting, including public-service broadcasting,⁸ to the IBA. Research suggests that the government is also concerned about the specific loss of executive and political control over ZNBC.

The Penal Code was inherited from the colonial government and it is still being used in the country. Furthermore, Section 35 of the Code gives the president the power to gag a publication that, by his discretion, is acting contrary to the public interest. Libel can be a civil and a criminal issue. The country has seen few cases where journalists have been jailed for libel. Legal practitioner Matabini stated that, “Masautso Phiri is one of the very few and most unfortunate journalists who had to serve a jail sentence” for publishing a story about a sex scandal at State House. Hampande noted that you can be accused of libel “when you attack [someone’s] reputation [or what you say leads] to a breach of public peace, or is blasphemous, seditious, and obscene.”

However, Hampande added: “In Zambian law, the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff. It is generally an accepted yet unwritten standard that public officials are held responsible for their deeds.” Other panelists said that libel tends to be criminalized when it involves the defamation of the president. Shadreck Banda noted that “inadequate [financial] capacity makes it difficult for the media to challenge injunctions.”

In 2001 the Freedom of Information Bill was criticized by members of the Zambia Independent Media Association (ZIMA; now MISA Zambia). They objected to Section 21 of the bill, which would give the president power to appoint a commissioner for public information. The commissioner would receive applications for disclosure of information and hear appeals for denial of information. ZIMA instead proposed a five-member commission to be appointed by Parliament and opposed the 30-day waiting period, instead proposing 14-days. Section 5 said that information is to be obtained in document format, but ZIMA proposed an amendment that would give journalists the right to set up meetings with public officials to seek information.

The bill was withdrawn in November 2002 and to date there is no freedom of information law. Currently, access to information is covered by the State Security Act, which makes it almost impossible for the media to penetrate the veil of official secrecy. The concept used for invoking this Act is that of the amorphous “national security.”⁹ In the absence of a law, panelists noted that journalists have become creative in bargaining for information with public officials. Access to information is a particular weakness in the media sector, and several panelists scored this a 0.

Panelists said that media stakeholders are currently canvassing the government to pass the Freedom of Information Bill. Shadreck Banda said “media practitioners have joined hands to fight for the return of the Freedom of the Information Bill to parliament …to make it mandatory upon the government and authorities to disclose information of public interest upon request by the media.” Media practitioners are becoming frustrated with the delay by Parliament in tabling the review of this Bill.

Pat Mwase, the head of Mining Mirror, mentioned that the debate to gain access to information should also extend to large multinational corporations. These are often reluctant to account to the public about their business plans and some of the private mining work taking place in Zambia, she said. “I think access to information is broader than just government, it’s about these big guys who are coming to play, it’s about being able to find out why KCM [a mining company] could get away with polluting the entire river.” She cites examples such as the lead pollution causing sickness in children and acid rain in the towns of Kitwe, Chamboli, Mufulira, and Ndeke.

Panelists agreed that accessing foreign news sources is subject to no restrictions, although most media outlets cannot afford to pay for international news and news sources from international news agencies. John Kamwanga also saw another problem linked to this issue. “It is very difficult for a journalist to have access to international news or sources because of restrictions imposed in the conditions set in the radio license.” Kamwanga was referring to conditions imposed on community media, which are required to focus reporting and programming on their communities and not on international events.

There is no law imposing restrictions and licensing on journalists who wish to practice the profession. Patrick Matabini, a legal practitioner, said “I don’t think it is necessary for any journalist to seek any special reporting license.” Nonetheless, the Ministry of Information recommends that journalists could apply to the Zambian News and Information Service for accreditation, using a standard application form.

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Objective 2: Professional Journalism 

Score: 2.15

Although most indicators in this objective were relatively close to the average score, two scores did stand out. Indicator 5, pay levels for journalists, scored more than a point lower than the average. Indicator 6, balance of entertainment and news, scored noticeably higher than the average.

Panelists said that journalists try their best to follow professional standards, albeit in the absence of ethical standards being enforced by a non-voluntary regulatory body. Changwe Kabwe reported that facts about news stories are checked with experts in the respective fields. “Whenever a big economic pronunciation is made, we do run to the Economics Association of Zambia, private economic consultants, and major voices about the economy to consult them.”

Patrick Matabini said that there is a difference in the standard of reporting conducted by the private and public media, arguing that the private media exhibits high standards of quality in reporting, especially when it comes to objectivity. “I think journalists have professional, well-defined standards of ethics, which should be practiced irrespective of who owns the paper,” he said. The quality of newspaper coverage of political news is not balanced in the case of state-owned newspapers. However, state-owned newspapers do make an attempt to balance stories other than those of a political nature.¹⁰

Douglas Hampande said reporters do uphold ethics by checking their facts and consulting with a variety of sources. But he acknowledges that there are cases when the lack of basic communication facilities such as the Internet and telephones become a barrier for journalists. Changwe Kabwe said: “I think in all the media spectrums, we have seen very big stories being one-sided. We have seen some very damaging stories in terms of personality attacks.”

Television news broadcast by ZNBC, especially the main news bulletin at 7 pm, comes under the eagle eye of ZNBC executives, the state, and the opposition political parties. Studies by Coalition 2001 have demonstrated the channel’s biased nature. In the AMDI report, Fackson Banda highlights the levels of scrutiny displayed by public officials, and its negative impact on good reporting.¹¹

The Media Council of Zambia (MECOZ) was initiated by journalists in Zambia and it functions as a media watchdog for ethics in journalism. According to research conducted by the Media Institute of Southern Africa, (MISA)¹² MECOZ implemented a Code of Ethics in July 2003. The research notes the good work being done by MECOZ, although no formal evaluation of the council’s work has been conducted yet. However, other research indicates that some newspapers that are members do not seem to treat MECOZ with any seriousness. This poses an ethical challenge and impacts on quality control. Hampande cited a case of the Zambian Daily Mail, where MECOZ had recommended that the paper “issue an apology after injuring the interest of the Royal Foundation of Zambia” and the paper ignored this. He added that MECOZ, because of its self-regulatory nature, “lacks teeth to bite and it can only recommend corrective action.” Kabwe was concerned that adherence to ethics by some journalists could be declining and said although “we do strive, to a certain extent, especially in the recent past, we have seen less and less regard to ethical considerations, which I think is worrying.”

Patrick Matabini stated that journalists do their best to adhere to ethical standards, which not necessarily mandatory. Matabini had this to say about journalists working for public media: “I think they do strive to keep the relatively high standards of journalism, especially our colleagues in the public sector. I think they have a very peculiar situation. I know some personally who actually try as much as possible to maintain those ethics, but they do so against severe odds.”

Kabwe said that editors are bound by work conditions and at times they censor themselves. He explained that self-censorship also happens as a result of misplaced loyalty by some journalists to big corporate organizations. While this is not common behavior, he said it happens when a journalist becomes seduced by gifts and benefits offered by big companies. Kabwe used an example of mobile phone companies: “Celtel Zambia has got 80 percent of the market share and they’ve constituted what they call the Celtel media club, where they invite journalists for lunches, where they take journalists out to very nice resorts [and] facilitate training workshops on business reporting. I think to that extent it has influenced the way local journalists view Celtel Zambia as a corporate player, so to a greater extent it will influence a journalist when they have a very good story in the public interest against such a big corporation like Celtel.” Kabwe suggested that such “perks” can lead to self-censorship and a lack of critical inquiry when writing and selecting stories that concern such large corporations.

Shadreck Banda said that self-censorship is leading to the demise of quality reporting. “In fact, in Zambia, editorial policies which are shaped by owners fail the test of objective reporting. Subjective reporting is the most practiced,” he said. Panelists agreed that editors are cautious when it comes to publishing reports that might offend important advertisers. Hampande said that self-censorship will happen “in instances where the owner is politically inclined or averse to the ideologies or ethnic orientation of certain political groupings. At another level, the reporters in the private media may engage in self-censorship if their personal safety is threatened should they negatively report on some political parties or commercial interests.” He said further that story selection has more to do with sales than “considerations like fear of reprisals.” Therefore newspapers will sell more copies if there is a political story than an issue-based one.

Ken Makungu said that self-censorship is more prevalent in state-owned media. In fact, research conducted by the Media Institute of Southern Africa suggests that at state media, top managers—who are state appointees eager to protect their jobs—often “doctor” or stifle stories critical of the government in contrast with their juniors who genuinely desire to work professionally.¹³

Panelists said that news coverage focuses mainly on political stories and it is also urban based, covering mostly cities such as the capital Lusaka. Pat Mwase said: “I think that The Post newspaper has been exemplary in trying hard to allocate resources to a diversity of news and events. It has become generous and diverse in its reporting. Reporters generally have the zeal to go out and cover HIV/AIDS, ICTs, development, business, mining and economics. However, the editor who I feel is the line manager does not provide the training, support, and guidance that a journalist needs to grow, specialize, and be competent.” Hampande highlighted the good coverage of major national events and said “key events are covered equally in both print and broadcast, although this may change to unbalanced coverage by state and private media in both categories if the matter is anti-government.” Generally, the coverage of important national issues reflects the views of the same people at the top, be they in the government, NGOs, or the church.¹⁴

Ken Makungu proposed that “There is a need for journalists’ pay to be looked at actively by the trade organizations so the envelop syndrome need not make a journalist stray from professional standards of quality.” Hampande said low pay in journalism has resulted in many journalists pursuing careers in public relations, “which is slowly gaining wide-use among corporate and public bodies and is well-paying.” According to M’membe, the lowest paid worker at The Post gets no less than $300 per month. This compares to an approximate average teacher’s pay of $250 per month. Generally, however, journalists are paid less than most other workers in the civil service bracket. This has resulted in the most talented of them leaving for the private sector.¹⁵

Panelists mentioned the culture of the “brown envelope” as prevalent. Money is often given to journalists either in the private or public media as an incentive for writing a favorable report for the government or the corporate sector. Mwase said “I don’t think corruption is about the level of pay. Corrupt journalists are corrupt whether they earn $100 or $100,000.” She said, “corruption is a sickness of conscience, ethics and personality.”

Panelists said that print and broadcast media try to balance news and information versus entertainment, even at ZNBC, although political coverage is preferred by different media outlets. Makungu differed in his opinion, stating “ZNBC has too much information than entertainment but the problem comes from television subscription as they water-down most of the information.” Subscription television MultiChoice has more entertainment programs than local news bulletins. MultiChoice’s Digital Satellite Television (DStv) has news channels dedicated to international news such as BBC, Sky News, and CNN. However, most of the news channels carried on the DStv program lineup are foreign, with little or no political content relevant to Zambia. ¹⁶

Makungu added that “newspapers in Zambia are fairly balanced, especially The Post, which has an entertainment insert.” Regarding commercial radio, Changwe Kabwe said, “Commercial private stations play a lot of music, a lot of entertainment programs, but we still do have a strong emphasis on news and information.”

The amount of entertainment, news and information programming is determined by the broadcasting license conditions of different media outlets. These will normally be determined by the program schedule submitted during the application process.

Technical facilities used in most media houses are old and outdated, panelists said. Even at ZNBC, panelists believed that that equipment is outdated, leading to poor quality on both radio and television. Viewers generally prefer foreign broadcasts, which are becoming more affordable to access.

In addition, journalists in most circumstances lack basic resources such as transport to go out and cover news effectively. Hampande explained that in some cases the facilities and equipment for gathering, producing and distributing news are efficient and modern, and in some media outlets they are not. He noted the detrimental effect this has on news coverage. “The lack of technical equipment applies most at the news gathering and production stages, and that is where help should be channeled most efficiently. This problem leads to few sources being brought into the news; delayed responses from accused persons, this leading to unbalanced, unfair copy; failure to verify news; poor content due to lack of thorough research. There is also lack of Internet access; lack of vehicles to gather news; inadequate computers, up to date software for digital photography, sub-editing, lay out and design.”

Kabwe had this to say about the development of niche reporting in Zambia: “I am interested in business reporting, so I would say I have got a niche for business reporting. I cover the market, the mining, small and medium businesses. In my newsroom, I am trying to expose these people to one beat, one kind of reportage and probably we’ll get there some day.” Other forms of niche reporting, such as investigative reporting, were researched in 2004 and the findings of the Kantumoya Report, cited by Fackson Banda in the AMDI report, suggest that the difficulty in practicing this type of reporting lies in the following: unclear media institutional editorial policies; a lack of institutional support for individual reporters attempting investigative journalism; a lack of resources, even where institutional support is present, particularly with respect to transport, communication facilities, equipment and low salaries; sources not willing to divulge information, and; legal impediments such as the State Security Act and the absence of a Freedom of Information Act.¹⁷

Patrick Matabini explained that he often helps journalists by providing them with summaries of most labor court cases, although he said some of the journalists still make mistakes in their reporting of these cases. Matabini attributes this to the lack of specialized training in niche reporting. Chamilesu said print is seeing new information dimensions contributing to niche reporting, such as “reporting on aspects of accounts, marketing, tourism, economics, and so forth.” She added that reporting in community newspapers such as the The Community Voice, Lusakan, and the independent Southern Times provide unique information “from the communities across the nation and bring in aspects of information away from usual reporting on government or what the country’s leaders are up to.”

Douglas Hampande said quality niche reporting is growing in Zambia, and some of the issues gaining acceptance for reporting are gender, HIV/AIDS, and education. “The major constraint is a lack of deliberate policy in media organizations to encourage specialization. The education system does not fully promote specialization as many constraints exist at the practical level during teaching. The theory is there but not [enough] practices.”

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Objective 3: Plurality of News Sources

Score: 2.22

In this objective, panelists’ scores for individual indicators were mostly close to the objective average. However, Indicator 2, restrictions on public access to the media, and to a lesser degree Indicator 5, private broadcasters produce their own news, finished above the average. On the low side, Indicator 3, public media reflect the views of the political spectrum, finished more than a point below the average.

Multiple sources of news and information exist in Zambia. With the introduction in 1994 of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation Regulations Act, the sector became more liberalized, with new entrants appearing on the scene. Whereas there were only 12 radio stations in 2000, there were about 26 in 2005, an increase of about 117 percent. Compared to other media, radio is more widespread.¹⁸ Citing CSO and ORC Macro data from 2003, Hampande said, “Newspapers are read by 37.1 percent of the population, [roughly between 3.5 million and 4 million people] compared to 50 percent [about 5 to 6 million] who listen to the radio.

Panelists note that radio is a popular media in the rural areas, with three PBS radio stations and community radio reaching deep into the remote areas. Hampande said that “The spread of community media countrywide is not evenly balanced in terms of provinces and districts. This notwithstanding, radio is generally more widespread compared to other media.”

There are a number of community radios, and rural community radio is growing. Research indicates that of the 26 licensed radio stations, 14 are designated “community.”¹⁹ Community radio stations serve a defined community in their geographical areas, bringing news and information that is of community interest and preferably in the specified community language. In Zambia community radio is now recognized as a distinct sector both in legislation and in practice. The Independent Broadcasting Authority Act of 2002 acknowledges the sector in its own right.

Independent and public media exists in print and broadcasting, plus there is DStv, partly owned by a South African company, MultiChoice, and by the ZNBC. Three television channels have been established, which provide citizens with news. In 1998, the free-to-air Christian Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), allied with the American TBN, was set up, mainly to “spread the gospel.” Then in 2002, Muvi TV, another free-to-air television channel, was established, and CASAT TV, an entrepreneurial venture, started its test broadcasting in 2005. Though CASAT TV did not last very long, it did demonstrate that local entrepreneurs could run a satellite television subscription company.

In addition to ZNBC, other media outlets owned by the state include the national press agency Zambia National and Information Service (ZANIS), the Daily Mail, and the Times of Zambia.

Hampande added that “Internet usage is limited as access depends mostly on workplace availability and cafés. Even those that access it use it for entertainment and other use and rarely for news.” Elias Banda noted, however, “The Internet is still an unaffordable source of information.” Nonetheless, major newspapers such as The Post, Daily Mail, and the Zambian Times have online versions of their newspapers. A marginal number of the Zambian population is connected and able to use the Internet.

In Zambia, citizens’ access to international and domestic media is not restricted by law. Panelists cited indirect restrictions that are a result of socio-economic conditions and at times interference with the law. Hampande stated that “government does not directly restrict citizens’ access to media, although the state uses threats to media houses which may lead to denial of diversified content for the citizens.” Adding to this, he cited a recent example “when the minister of information threatened to withdraw the license for a community radio station in Petauke [Petauke Radio] in the Eastern province for allowing an opposition leader to be on air for a paid-for program. This was during campaigns for parliamentary by-election which the ruling party was re-contesting, having lost the seat after the court nullified its earlier victory.

International content is restricted if it displays elements of corrupting the morals of the people and threatens national security. Patrick Matabini noted that DStv has made international media available in terms of broadcasting, even though “restrictions are not arising out of regulation but are a matter of small multi-economics of accessing international media.”

A challenge for Zambia’s media is accessibility of media by all sectors of the community—urban and rural—because most media coverage, broadcasting, and distribution are done in Lusaka. Most rural communities are unable to receive some radio and television stations because of problems with frequencies and signals. Rural access to newspapers is limited by distribution. Panelists commended The Post and Weekly Angel for distributing their newspapers, even where the public broadcast signal has not succeeded, in the remote rural areas. Recently, ZNBC increased its footprint in the remote areas by entering into a partnership with MultiChoice Africa, where ZNBC has been granted access to MultiChoice’s satellite platform.

All media have cost limitations. Hampande said, “People in urban areas have more access to media due to economic empowerment, libraries, and pass-on readership compared to villagers.”

Public media in Zambia is owned by the state. Its political reportage is criticized by media commentators as having a bias for the ruling party. Panelists suggested that the control of media by the state affects the balance of news content, especially political reporting. Ken Makungu stated that “The influence from government in Zambia can be seen in the news content… the information is usually concerning what the government is doing and little or no information about achievements from their adversaries.” He also suggests that this tends to happen even when the editor is a “resilient editor or manager.” While the state-owned media have remained largely undiversified in terms of their political reportage, the privately-owned newspapers, most notably The Post and the Weekly Angel, have sought to focus on alternative voices ²⁰

The main news agency in the country is state-owned and not independent. The Zambian News Agency (ZANA), established in 1969, merged with the Zambian Information Service (ZIS) to become ZANIS. ZANIS is based in Lusaka, with district offices in different parts of Zambia. The agency provides domestic news coverage and provides international news through its long-standing relationships with news agencies like Reuters, Xinhua, and the continental agency PANAPRESS.²¹ Kapaipi said that ZANIS is under-used by the print media, but said these agencies focus mainly on political news and have little relevant news on “community developments and successes.” There is an independent news agency known as Palesa which, according to Hampande, is “struggling to break even.” The agency is also said to be agriculturally oriented. International news agencies are also used in the country.

Elias Banda said that “independent media do produce their own news which differs from state media.” Hampande added that radio stations produce more of their own news than television, which “combines its own productions and outsourced ones.” Chamilesu Kapaipi said, “Two recently introduced independent broadcasters, Muvi and Mobi television stations, provide independent news totally different from the state-run television station ZNBC.” Panelists said that private media tends to better represent the public interest. According to Hampande, other media houses depend on the public broadcaster “for items they cannot capture due to long distances from the capital or other logistical reasons.” Panelists highlighted that community media produces news and information that serves the interests of their respective communities.

Panelists were divided on the transparency of media ownership. Some felt that most Zambians were not aware of who owned the media. All noted that there was no legislation that made it mandatory for owners to disclose their holdings. On the other hand, John Kamwanga said, “There are regulations which disclose media ownership through the Registrar of Societies.”²² Hampande added that whether people are aware or not “There is no oligarchy or monopoly, although the Roman Catholic Church has emerged as a dominant actor in Zambian broadcasting.”

There are eight major spoken languages in Zambia and over 70 other indigenous languages, most of which are catered for by the public broadcaster and community radio stations. While the general conclusion is that ZNBC radio channels have not diversified their sourcing of news and views, some programs appear to reflect a diversity of content. Radio 1, broadcasting in local languages, has a series of sponsored programs that cater for some marginalized sections of society. For instance, the channel runs a program based on content generated by rural women.

Community media is the medium through which the marginalized in the rural areas and communities out of the urban centers are catered for, using programs that are in indigenous languages and addressing local issues. Elias Banda noted that “There is no broad spectrum programming being represented in the [mainstream] media and community media is trying to improve on this.”

New independent radio stations that have entered the broadcast radio media market are also offering more diverse content. The stations are available to NGOs seeking to advocate their issues. The programs solicit participation from a range of alternative voices. Although according to Fackson Banda in AMDI, a general observation would seem to suggest that these “voices” tend to be the same “media pundits who are urban-based, literate, vocal, structurally linked to the NGO and political movements in the country.”²³

As early as 2004-2005, a Panos Southern Africa media monitoring project, cited by Fackson Banda in AMDI, showed how women’s voices were marginalized from ZNBC TV’s news agenda. Less than five percent of the content revolved around women. Even where it did, women’s voices were largely urban-based and event-centered (such as Sixteen Days of Gender Activism). Clearly, the dominant voices at ZNBC TV are governmental, particularly those of the ruling party. Alternative voices are paid lip service.

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Objective 4: Business Management

Score: 1.95

Panelists rated all indicators close to the final average with the exception of Indicator 7, audience and circulation measurement, which received a score more than a point lower.

Panelists stated that media outlets do their best to operate efficiently and generate profit, given that the economy cannot sustain high consumption of media products. The instability of the Zambian kwacha was also given as a challenge to doing business. Panelists said the lack of human and financial resources, as well as substantial investment, is a barrier. “We have seen such stories where very prominent newspapers had to close down or be forced out of the market, or have to cut down on circulation,” said Kabwe. According to Hampande, “Efficiency and professionalism are hampered by many factors, among them ownership, management structures, and the use of untrained people as journalists. The private media, especially community and some commercial media, tends to use untrained people, while the state-owned is affected by systems of reporting and to whom management is answerable.”

Discussing printing, Hampande said, “Printing [capacity] is not sufficient in Zambia and this is one area that makes sustainability of the print media very difficult due to high printing costs.” Discussants also cited the issue of rapid change of ownership in media houses, where owners would buy a newspaper, make money and then sell it off. Distribution and distributors take a huge chunk of profit margins, the panelists noted. They said that these costs were too high and had forced some media houses in Zambia to use public transport to distribute their publications.

Different media receive revenue from various sources, although most media do struggle financially. Community media exist through donor funding and, as panelists noted, “most of them need financial assistance.” Other community radio stations are finding alternative income streams to sustain their outlets. Breeze FM, for example, is appealing to local businesspeople, as well as benefiting from some NGO sponsorship of issue-focused programs, although this is not a guaranteed ongoing income for the radio station. Radio Phoenix has also found an unassailable market for its products and continues to enjoy a reasonable market share, which has arguably increased from a documented 6.5 percent audience share in 1998 (ZNBC Audience Survey, 1998) to 9.3 percent in 2004 (ORC Macro, 2004).

Donors such as the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa and UNESCO and local investors have supported a number of independent radio stations and some newspapers. Hampande explained that other sources of income exist. “Private media are mainly financed through advertising, sponsorships, and sales of copy for newspapers.” ZNBC receives income in the form of a government grant and from advertising. Hampande cautioned that private media “…should be concerned about direct and indirect influence by advertisers on editorial content of the media as owners may not have a passion for journalism ethics, let alone know about them, since they are businessmen driven by the profit motive than serving society journalistically.”

The AMDI report explains that ZNBC is usually the advertisers’ first choice because of the broadcaster’s large audience. This makes it difficult for privately-owned media to get a share of advertising revenue. The advertising market is also small and it would seem that ZNBC occupies a near-monopolistic position.

The newspaper industry is heavily dependent on advertising. The small advertising sections attract much revenue from small-scale businesses, but the market is proving too small to accommodate new entrants. Fackson Banda, in AMDI, gives a variety of reasons for this, including depressed economic activity, the lack of entrepreneurial skills among media owners, low literacy levels, cross-media competition, and the lack of proactive and effective financing mechanisms with bank and other financial institutions.²⁵ However, some private capital from banks is beginning to flow to various media outlets. Panelists agreed that independent media have never received government subsidies.

Discussants said the advertising market in Zambia is still small but growing. Nevertheless, panelists said, most broadcast media houses do not understand how to sell airtime and this affects their business development. In addition, striking a balance between content development and financial management is critical. Hampande lamented the lack of advertising skills in private media outlets when they deal with advertisers, except for The Post and Radio Phoenix. Furthermore, “advertising is more developed in the capital, with international firms enjoying more market share than locals,” Hampande said. Changwe Kabwe stated that advertisers are not fair because “They hold onto your payments, they push you, especially if you are small players in the market.”

Elias Banda highlighted the lack of an advertising culture among local businesses. He explained that “The government discourages community media from making money through adverts [because they are community media] and also bars them from having more discussion programs and lengthier news items. They are barred from covering political topics and instead stick to ‘developmental’ issues.” Shadreck Banda stated that the advertising market is not growing rapidly. “Even the much reported copper boom has not seen any increase in advertising revenue for the media. It is the same companies that are placing adverts mostly in electronic media. The public media has an advantage over the private newspapers as most advertisements from government institutions are placed in the Times of Zambia and Daily Mail,” he noted.

Elias Banda stated “advertisement revenue is still low in the country.” With difficulties in finding any recently conducted market research, this study was able to establish that total advertising spend for the market at the moment is $22 million, split fairly evenly between television, print, radio, and outdoor. Outdoor advertising is the fastest growing media.

Changwe Kabwe commented that, “We really don’t have a consistent flow of market research by reputable organizations.” Kapumba explained that “The Steadman marketing research however did try to bring in the aspect of market research as a sure way of ensuring media houses are well managed; although when businesses discovered how expensive it was—costing $10, 000—most businesses did not buy into it, though some of the aspects are what The Post is utilizing now to ensure that their business continues running efficiently.” Hampande noted that media houses have resorted to guessing, with editors using sales figures as a guide. “This, in fact, could account for the failure to design media products and content according to identified gaps/needs that could be discovered if research was to be used as a core component of media strategic planning.” John Kamwanga noted the lack of consistent research and said, “The radio meets research through using the ‘call in’ method, which seems to be cheap.”

Since 2000, no market research has been conducted for the media in Zambia. In 2003 Steadman Research Service, which is based in Kenya, conducted a market survey in Zambia. According to Fackson Banda in AMDI, the survey was insufficient and could not serve the needs of the local media. He said that although these surveys generated useful statistics on the media in Zambia, their main aim seems to have been to capture statistical data about consumption patterns of international media.²⁶

Broadcast ratings and circulation figures conducted in the country are not independently produced. Print media outlets estimate their circulation figures based on copy sales and the ZNBC posts its estimated ratings on its website. Elias Banda noted that “broadcast ratings, circulation, and Internet statistics are neither seen nor heard of.” Hampande had this to say: “Ratings for circulation are not done by any organization, although previously ABC of UK used to do this. So there is no reliable source of ratings currently, though most media houses dispute this and exaggerate their circulation.”

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Objective 5: Supporting Institutions

Score: 2.88

The indicators in this objective scored similarly as strong as the objective average, with the exception if Indicator 1, trade associations, which was notably lower.

Two panelists had different views on trade associations. John Kamwanga noted that one needs to apply to become a member of existing trade associations in the country and pay membership fees. “They [trade associations] also promote journalism to the public in a positive way though they are inadequately sponsored by government.” Sipo Kapumba is discouraged by the lack of seriousness of these organizations. “There are no trade associations in the country,” he said, adding that “The groupings fail to coordinate their work and have no set capacity and organizational skills.” Hampande noted that there is no association for broadcasters.

The Press Association (PAZA) accounts for 80 percent of the good journalism in the country, a result of its watchdog activities, according to the panelists. They also note that The Post has signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PAZA to cooperate on a number of issues. As a result, The Post has two lawyers who are members of the staff and these could be deployed if any member of PAZA, for some reason, needs legal assistance. The MOU also aims increase the respect of ethics by journalists.

Other professional associations include the Zambia Media Women’s Association, the Society for Senior Zambian Journalists, the e-Brain Forum, ZaCoMeF, and the Zambia Union of Journalists. According to panelists, these institutions have played a key role in ensuring that the rights of journalists are respected by the government. These institutions also help to provide journalists with access to computers and the Internet.

Panelists noted that professional organizations work in collaboration with one another. Hampande said that professional associations “have been very active in lobbying for the freedom of Information Bill, the Independent Broadcasting Authority Act, and the ZNBC Amendment Act which deregulates government control on issuing broadcast licenses. The associations support journalism positively and they are independent of government.”

Research by the International Federation of Journalists indicates that in 1999 there were roughly 700 journalists in the country, 200 of whom were unionized. Trade unionism in the country is mostly confined to those journalists working in state-owned media organizations. Freelance journalists and those working for privately-owned media companies are not as organized.

NGOs in Zambia are supportive of media freedom and independence, and to this end have been campaigning with other associations to lobby Parliament on behalf of the media. Media in Zambia are working to get regulations that compel the government to issue public information when requested. NGOs also advocate for the enactment of the ZNBC Amendment Act and the Independent Broadcasting Authority Act. Panelists said media NGOs also facilitate training programs for journalists, although for some this is not part of their core business but do it to increase capacity in certain areas. Hampande, however, pointed to areas where media NGOs could improve by highlighting some of their shortfalls. “The NGOs are not adequately involved in reviewing legislative changes, do not provide legal support to journalists, and do not work with international free speech organizations.”

MISA-Zambia (previously ZIMA) has been in the forefront of lobbying for the Freedom of Information Bill and other press freedom and industry issues. The institution supports an independent media and provides legal aid and advocacy should any member of the media be prosecuted. Panelists said that the Law Society of Zambia also plays a critical role in supporting media and human rights. Finally, the recently formed The Post Press Freedom Committee, promises to contribute to the betterment of the rights of journalists.

Among the international media support organizations located in Zambia are the Panos Institute (Southern Africa), the Business Development Services/International Labor Organization, Pact Zambia, and the Commonwealth Press Union. These are donor-funded organizations working to promote communication programs around policy debate, public health, entrepreneurship, journalistic skills training, the environment, and other issues. They represent a definite increase in the donor budgetary allocations to the media development sector.²⁷

The Department of Mass Communication at the University of Zambia offers a four-year professional bachelor’s of mass communication. In addition, it has two master’s programs, the master of mass communication and the master of communication development.²⁸ Evelyn Hone College’s department of media studies offers a one-year certificate and a three-year diploma course in journalism.²⁹

Changwe Kabwe stated that one has to search to find a suitable journalism degree program in Zambia. He said “The University of Zambia, which runs a four-year mass communication degree program, has got its own limitations but I think for starters it’s good.” Hampande said that public institutions have better journalism training programs than private institutions but noted that some public institutions lack resources for practical training. “The market is saturated as media growth is slower as compared to the rate of graduates being offloaded by training institutions,” he noted. Panelists said that previously students would be attached to a newspaper for close to three months to gain practical experience before graduating. These days, students do attend these internships, but they vary from six weeks to a month.

Sipo Kapumba said that most training courses are dependent on donor funding and they are meant for practicing journalists. Organizations such as the Zambia Institute of Mass Communication (ZAMCOM) offer a diploma program and in-service training for working journalists. Panelists stated that ZAMCOM seems to have good support from donors. “They appear to be well-resourced and I would like to believe that in that sense they are actually measuring up to expectations,” said Patrick Matabini. ZaCoMeF has also been involved in training, with a special focus on community radio station board members.³⁰ Hampande said, “The most popular courses are basic skills in journalism, but the most needed are layout and design and web-design and online journalism.”

Sources of newsprint and printing facilities are not owned by the government. Elias Banda said “private printers do exist and are doing business for everyone and not just for the media.” Generally, there are few reliable printing presses and those that are available tend to be expensive and over-subscribed. The case can be made that state newspaper companies have tended to monopolize printing presses, although this is no longer the case. The Post, for instance, has invested in its own printing press. The Zambian Monitor & Digest has also invested in its own printing press. ³¹ Newsprint is imported from South Africa by private companies and freely sold.

Sipo Kapumba noted that some media houses control their own distribution. Although print distribution is in private hands, Kapumba questioned whether distributors have adequate capacity to deal with an increased number of newspapers at any given time. The privately-owned Post uses its own courier service to deliver copies daily to all provincial centers and accessible districts, suggesting that its own capacity to distribute The Post newspaper has grown exponentially. The state-run Daily Mail and the Times of Zambia use public service buses to distribute their newspapers to provincial centers and rural towns.³² Panelists said that the less efficient distributors are cheap while efficient ones take a cut of about thirty to forty percent on the cover price. Hampande explained that “distribution and printing is obstructive to the work of the media as it leads to delays in terms of getting the paper to the streets on a daily basis, as well as weeklies.”

Alternative forms of distributing content are also being used by the various media platforms. The process of technological convergence has given rise to a form of web casting. Many broadcasters are now online via audio or video streaming. Radio Phoenix, Q-FM, and ZNBC are online with audio streaming capabilities. Newspaper Internet presence, described in Objective 3, allows newspapers increased competition for audiences with broadcasters.³³

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Reference List

• Media Institute of Southern Africa, 2006/7, Southern African Media Directory.
  http://www.misa.org/mediabarometer.html
• Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2004, SADC Media Law: A Handbook for Media Practitioners: Volume 2. http://www.kas.de/proj/home
• Media Institute of Southern Africa, 2006, African Media Barometer – Zambia.
  http://www.misa.org/mediadirectory.html
• Banda, Fackson, 2006, BBC World Service Trust, African Media Development Initiative – Zambia. http://www.bbc.co.uk/1552_trust_amdi/page9
• Phiri, I, 1999, Africa Today, Media in “Democratic” Zambia: Problems and Prospects
  http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/africa_today/v046/462phiri
• MISA Zambia, 2004, Planning To Start a Community Radio Station.
  http://www.misazambia.org.zm
• http://www.zana.gov.zm
• www.mibs.gov.zm

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Panel Participants

Sipo Kapumba, information and research officer, MISA Zambia, Lusaka
John Kamwanga, station manager, Solwezi FM, Solwezi
Amos Chanda, news editor, Press Association of Zambia, Lusaka
Susan Membe Matale, general secretary, Council of Churches in Zambia, Lusaka
Beenwell Mwale, executive secretary, Media Council of Zambia, Lusaka
Changwe Kabwe, news editor, MISA Zambia, Lusaka
Chamilesu Kapaipi, managing editor, Zambia Tourism Review, Lusaka
Goliath Mungonge, business development manager, Post Newspaper Ltd., Lusaka
Douglas Hampande, lecturer, Evelyn Hone College, Lusaka
Florence Mwanza, marketing manager, Yatsani Radio, Lusaka
Shadreck Banda, editor, Weekly Angel, Lusaka
Patrick Matabini, lawyer, PAT MAT Legal Practitioners, Lusaka
Elias Banda, country coordinator, Zambia Community Media Forum, Lusaka
Ken Makungu, lecturer, University of Zambia, Lusaka

Moderator
Patricia Mwase, chief executive officer, Mining Mirror, Kitwe

The Zambia study was coordinated by, and conducted in partnership with, the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.

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