Defamation of the President and the Law's Effect on Media
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DEFAMATION OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE LAW’S EFFECT ON MEDIA PERFORMANCE: A STUDY OF THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL AND THE POST NEWSPAPER By KAMUFISA MANCHISHI A dissertation submitted to the University of Zambia in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Mass Communication THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA LUSAKA 2017 DECLARATION I, KAMUFISA MANCHISHI, do solemnly declare that this dissertation has not been submitted for a degree in this or any other university. I further declare that the information contained is my own research and where material is borrowed, due attribution is given. Signature :...................................... Date : ............................................ APPROVAL The dissertation of KAMUFISA MANCHISHI is approved as partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Mass Communication (MMC) Degree by the University of Zambia. Examiner Signature Date 1. Internal Examiner ……………………………….. ………………….. ………………… 2. Internal Examiner ……………………………….. ………………….. ………………… 3. External Examiner ……………………………….. ………………….. ………………… 4. Supervisor Dr. Samson Phiri ………………….. …………………. ABSTRACT Zambia has had several Constitutional review initiatives since pre-independence times. However, these initiatives have not brought about the much needed media reforms, thus allowing the existence of colonial legislation such as the Penal Code, which contains several provisions, among them the law on defamation of the President. As such, this study undertook to establish the effect of defamation of the President on media performance by observing key indicators in relation to coverage, portrayal and treatment of the President in news stories in The Daily Mail and The Post newspapers. The study also aimed to establish the rationale of the law on defamation of the President. In that regard, a content analysis of six hundred hard news stories about the President was conducted from March to June, 2016. Additionally, eight in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals from relevant sectors pertaining to media performance in Zambia. Despite the limitations posed by the law, the majority of the stories in the Daily Mail and The Post were still able to carry certain themes such as the performance or competence of the President. With regard to framing, the stories in the two newspapers are on opposite ends of the continuum. Whereas an extremely high number of stories analysed in the Daily Mail commend and portray the President as a hero, the stories in The Post are critical and portray the President as incompetent. Similarly, The Post newspaper was able to ‘defame’ the President, according to the operationalisation of the law, while the Daily Mail only carried stories in approval of the Presidency. Other findings under the story treatment/placement, sources and use of pictures as accompaniment to stories also corroborate this study’s conclusion. The findings of the dissertation challenge theoretical assumptions that agenda setting and news framing by the media is highly dependent on the limitations posed by the law. The study concludes that the law is irrational and has lost its relevance as it does not meet the minimum benchmarks to be reasonably justifiable in a democratic political system like Zambia. The study also concludes that media performance (defined by the watchdog role) and media’s framing of coverage or news stories about the President is affected by several factors other than the law alone. These factors, particularly political polarisation, ownership and business interests have more damaging effects on media performance and thus affect the watchdog role, news framing and agenda setting and not necessarily the law on defamation of the President. iv DEDICATION To my parents, Dr. Peter Chomba Manchishi and Mrs. Rita Chiwaya Manchishi who have supported and encouraged me throughout my educational journey from my first day in kindergarten to the day that I wrote the very last word in this dissertation. I would not have made it without your perseverance and unwavering support financially, morally and otherwise. I am eternally grateful for the gift of education that you have bequeathed unto me. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank God for the gift of life, sustenance and inspiration, without out which all my efforts would be meaningless. I also wish to thank my parents, Dr. Peter Chomba Manchishi and Mrs. Rita Chiwaya Manchishi for the support and encouragement. I wish to thank my supervisor, Dr. Sam Phiri for the advice, support and meticulous comments and observations that helped to refine this study. The lecturers in the Department of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Zambia, particularly Messrs Youngson Ndawana and Elastus Mambwe, Dr. Basil Hamusokwe and Ms. Juliet Tembo, whose encouragement and advice helped to sharpen my focus. I also recognise my siblings, Chomba Manchishi, Mwila Manchishi and Shimukunku Manchishi, your support and contribution greatly helped me forge ahead. I wish to thank my research and data entry assistants, Kanekwa Kachinga, Makuzi Nyambe and Ngibo Kampakasa, the assistance you rendered helped to lighten the burden of what would have been an insurmountable task. May I also thank all the 2015-2016 MMC colleagues at the University of Zambia, especially ‘Comrades’ Oma Lumamba Chikonde and Katendi Wandi, with whom I regularly consulted and shared notes. Lastly, I wish to thank the interview participants for the rich information and suggestions that provided invaluable insight for this study-I am indebted to you all. Thank you to everyone that contributed to the success of this study, the list of whom is too long to mention and my omission of anyone was not intentioned in anyway. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration ii Approval iii Abstract iv Dedication v Acknowledgements vi List of Figures ix List of Abbreviations x CHAPTER ONE-INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Overview 1 1.2 Background 1 1.3 Statement of the Problem 30 1.4 Purpose of the study 30 1.5 Objectives of the study 31 1.6 Research questions 31 1.7 Significance of the study 31 1.8 Scope and limitations of the study 32 1.9 Conceptual and theoretical framework 32 1.10 Ethical considerations 42 1.11 Organisation of the study 42 CHAPTER TWO-LITERATURE REVIEW 43 2.1 Overview 43 2.2 Defamation and freedom of expression 43 2.3 Media and democracy 55 2.4 Related research studies and findings 59 CHAPTER THREE-RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 70 3.1 Overview 70 3.2 Research design 70 CHAPTER FOUR-PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS 81 4.1 Overview 81 4.2 Content analysis findings: The Post and Daily Mail 81 4.3 In-depth interviews 91 vii CHAPTER FIVE-INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 95 5.1 Overview 95 5.2 Rationale for insult laws: defamation of the President 95 5.3 Coverage of the President in The Post and Zambia Daily Mail Newspapers 102 5.4 Defamation of the President and media performance 108 CHAPTER SIX-CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 119 6.1 Overview 119 6.2 Scope of the study 119 6.3 Recommendations 122 References Appendices viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1…………………………………………………………………………………...83 Pie charts showing the balance of stories in the Daily Mail and The Post Figure 2…………………………………………………………………………………...84-85 Bar charts showing the use of art or pictures in stories about the President in the Daily Mail and The Post Figure 3…………………………………………………………………………………...86-87 Bar charts showing a variety of specific subjects in news stories about the President in the Daily Mail and The Post Figure 4…………………………………………………………………………………....88 Pie charts showing the frames of stories about the President in the Daily Mail and The Post Figure 5…………………………………………………………………………………....89 Pie charts showing the defamatory status of stories about the President in the Daily Mail and The Post Figure 6…………………………………………………………………………………...90-91 Pie charts showing how the Daily Mail and The Post portrayed the President in their stories ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACHPR African Commission on Human and People’s Rights ACHR American Convention on Human Rights ADFEP African Declaration on Freedom of Expression Principles AFRIMAP Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project ANC African National Congress ECHR European Convention on Human Rights CRC Constitutional Review Commission CSO Central Statistical Office Cth Commonwealth DPP Director of Public Prosecutions EU European Union ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights IDEA International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance IIDD International Institute for Democracy and Development IPI International Press Institute MIBS Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services MISA Media Institute of Southern Africa MMD Movement for Multiparty Democracy MLDI Media Law Development Initiative NCC National Constitutional Conference NPP National Progressive Party PANOS PANOS Institute Southern Africa PAZA Press Association of Zambia TCDZC Technical Committee on a Drafting the Zambian Constitution TIZ Transparency International Zambia UFP United Federal Party UK United Kingdom UNIP United National Independence Party UPP United Progressive Party x UDHR Universal Declaration on Human Rights UNZA University of Zambia US United States ZDM Zambia Daily Mail ZIMA Zambia Independent Media Association ZLDC Zambia Law Development Commission ZLII Zambia Legal Information Institute ZimLII Zimbabwe Legal Information Institute xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview The study was an undertaking to establish the effect of the law on defamation of the President on media performance by observing key indicators in relation to coverage,