Zambia Broadcasting Survey

The report  begins with a comprehensive audit of existing media laws and other legislation, with an impact on freedom of expression, and a critical in-depth assessment of the legal and regulatory framework in which broadcasting presently operates in Zambia. This is followed by a detailed study of the state broadcaster – its organisation, its finances, its policies, and the content it offers. The key objective of the report therefore, is to assess whether and to what extent the various forms of broadcasting in Zambia - and in Africa - can and do create a free public space, with special attention given to those services which call themselves ‘public’.

The report provides findings such as:

• In terms of numbers and reach, broadcasting in Zambia is dominated by the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC). The ZNBC operates three radio stations as well as ZNBC Television and TV2, a commercial channel officially launched in January 2010
  
• Although the ZNBC is nominally a public broadcaster funded by government grants and a television levy paid by users, it has not lived up to the expectations of such a broadcaster. Over the years the ZNBC has developed and nurtured an ingrained bias in favour of the government of the day in all its news and current affairs programmes
  
• There have been instances when newspapers, radio and television stations have had to face expensive litigation on account of being found guilty of failing to comply with some of the state media laws, whilst ownership of the newspaper industry has always been dominated by the ruling class.

The report provides the following recommendations and conclusions for the Zambian and sub-Saharan African broadcasting industry:

• Community and private broadcasting should be encouraged, whilst broadcasting and telecommunications regulatory authorities should be independent and ‘adequately protected against interference, particularly of a political or economic nature’
  
• There is a dire need to find ways of financing procurement of new equipment to replace archaic hardware and to upgrade technology. This would greatly assist in making media operations more sustainable
  
• Opportunities must be explored for the establishment of radio stations whose objectives are orientated more towards communication for development and the promotion of indigenous programmes, rather than those driven exclusively by economic motives
  
• Parliament should also review the State Security Act as well as the Anti-Terrorism Act in order to provide a precise definition of ‘terrorism’ and safeguard against possible abuse of the provisions of the Act.