STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT Fourth Quarter (October-December) 2020 © 2020. Published by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia Chapter P a g e 1 | 56 STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 Contact Us; The National Director, Plot 3814, Martin Mwamba Road, Olympia, Lusaka-Zambia. Tel: 0211 294285/6 Email: [email protected] Website: www.zambia.misa.org Researched and Compiled by: Kamufisa Manchishi BMC, PgDip, MMC Email: [email protected] Mobile: + 260 950 880958 Edited by: Thomas Zulu Program Officer- MISA Zambia Email : [email protected] Layout & Design: Maureen Bwalya Assistant Programmes Officer- MISA Zambia Email : [email protected] P a g e 2 | 56 STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The researcher wishes to thank the various experts and media practitioners, some of whom chose to remain anonymous, for providing the necessary input that helped to shape this report. Your contributions helped to enrich this report and provide the necessary validation. Also, special thanks go to the supporting partners, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and the BBC Media Action Zambia who have been supporting the compilation and production of this report for the development of the media sector which in turn contributes to democratic governance in Zambia. Finally, the staff and members of MISA Zambia and other cooperating partners who, through their input directly and indirectly provided the necessary direction for this report. P a g e 3 | 56 STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 3 Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... 4 List of Acronyms ....................................................................................................................... 5 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... 6 1.0. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 8 2.0. Methodology ................................................................................................................... 9 3.0. Findings......................................................................................................................... 10 3.1. Socio-political environment ...................................................................................... 10 3.2. Legal Environment .................................................................................................... 20 3.2.1. Access to Information Bill and Media Policies ..................................................... 26 3.3. Economic Environment ............................................................................................. 28 3.4. Technological environment ....................................................................................... 33 4.0. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 38 5.0. Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 39 6.0. Appendices .................................................................................................................... 41 6.1. Interview guide/Questionnaire .................................................................................. 41 6.2. Alerts and Communiques .......................................................................................... 42 P a g e 4 | 56 STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 LIST OF ACRONYMS ATI Access to Information ECZ Electoral Commission of Zambia IBA Independent Broadcasting Authority ZICTA Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority ZNBC Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation P a g e 5 | 56 STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The State of the Media Report is a quarterly assessment of the media environment in Zambia. This edition covers the fourth quarter of 2020 i.e. October-December. This assessment and record describes the media trends in Zambia during the period and was prepared under the auspices of MISA Zambia. This report includes a number of interesting occurrences that added new developments, twists and opportunities alike for the overall media environment in Zambia. The socio-political environment was relatively calm with fewer violations (of less intensity) in comparison to the other three quarters in which ferocious politically-motivated attacks were witnessed against media outlets, with property damaged and individuals harmed in some cases. The quarter witnessed some positive media developments with regard to the socio-political environment, including collaborative efforts between the IBA and other stakeholders. Meanwhile, the threat of a resurgence of the Coronavirus pandemic remains imminent and is likely to affect the operations of the media again going forward based on a spike in the number of cases recorded towards the close of the quarter. In the legal environment, significant developments were noted with the potential to affect the media both positively and negatively. For example, the quarter witnessed the arrest of individuals on charges under the State Security Act Chapter 111 of the Laws of Zambia which is inimical to the freedom of expression and access to information. On a positive note, the quarter also witnessed the development of policies (Media Development and Government Communication) aimed at improving the media and communication environment as well as a positive Transparency assessment ranking for the country. However, the Access to Information Bill remains elusive as elucidated in the report. The economic environment maintained similar trends noted in previous quarters given the poor performance of most economic fundamentals and the continued effect on the operations of the media in the form of increased cost of production and running of media outlets. Despite less severity of the economic downturn in the fourth quarter, the Coronavirus pandemic continued to negatively affect media houses in view of reduced economic activity which further impacted on the advertising revenue which is the economic mainstay of most media houses in Zambia. P a g e 6 | 56 STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 The lack of a specific stimulus package targeted at media enterprises as key drivers of democracy and access to information remained an issue of concern throughout the quarter. Other factors such as continued electricity load shedding exacerbated the situation and overstretched the thin resources on which the media outlets relied. Finally, the technological environment was relatively more positive than that recorded in the second and third quarters, particularly in view of the fewer number of violations and arrests with regard to freedom of expression online. The quarter witnessed positive developments and steps towards the enhancement of mobile and internet technology services as precursors for the possible introduction of 5G network in Zambia, a move that will further digitise media activities and improve citizen access to information. The quarter was, however, dented by allegations of possible deployment of spyware for the interception of calls, text messages and location data, a move which if not disproved is likely to have a chilling effect. These findings among other data compiled in the course of the study formed the conclusion on the state of the media in the quarter under review. Overall, the state of the media featured trends similar to the previous quarter despite some marginal positive gains posted in certain variables in some of the key thematic areas under consideration. P a g e 7 | 56 STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 1.0. INTRODUCTION The State of the Media is a quarterly report of trends and developments in the media sector as compiled by MISA Zambia. The report serves as an advocacy tool for media policy reform as well as an archive of information which can be used for reference on media developments in Zambia. The report has previously helped to shape policy formulation with regard to media freedom, freedom of expression and access to information in Zambia. The report, which has been published quarterly for over fifteen (15) years, serves as a tool for dialogue and action in the media fraternity, government and non-governmental sectors alike. The rationale of the report is based on the corollary between media performance of certain cardinal functions and democratic governance. However, the media are affected by various trends and developments that could undermine their performance. In this regard, the report is divided into various sections covering the socio-political, economic, legal and technological environment in which the media operated in the period under review. The objectives of the report are, therefore, to: . Report political, economic, legal and technological trends in the media sector in Zambia . Assess the level of freedom of expression and media freedom. P a g e 8 | 56 STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 2.0. METHODOLOGY The report is exploratory and descriptive in nature as it mainly aims to present the general state of the media sector in the identified quarters. In