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The Historicity of Media Regulation in Zambia; Examining the Proposed Statutory Self-Regulation

Ndawana, Y, Knowles, J and Vaughan, C (2021) The Historicity of Media Regulation in Zambia; Examining the Proposed Statutory Self-Regulation. African Journalism Studies, 42 (2). pp. 59-76. ISSN 2374-3689

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Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/23743670.2021.1939749 (Published version)

Abstract

The media in Zambia have been in a state of uncertainty since Zambia reinstated democratic governance in the early 1990s. Despite promising initial steps to deregulate the media that started under President Chiluba’s government in the mid-1990s, achieving these objectives in successive years has proved difficult. Successive governments have exhibited increasing aversion towards free and independent media, instead increasing efforts to regulate. This is significant, because comparisons with Kaunda’s autocratic era before 1991 cast the state in a friendlier light towards the media, defying normative theories. After both the Media Ethics Council of Zambia and Zambia Media Ethics Council (ZAMEC) failed as self-regulatory mechanisms in the mid to late 2000s, current state efforts have turned to create a hybrid statutory self-regulatory framework. This is a challenge because Zambia’s democracy has come under pressure from increasing political intolerance. Furthermore, while media professionals support the idea of regulation to strengthen professionalism, they often disagree on the value of statutory self-regulation and its implications. This study used the In-Depth Interview approach on 23 media professionals and documentary analysis to sketch the history and future implications of media regulation efforts in Zambia. Results show a checkered past but present an even more complicated future. The history of the Independent Broadcasting Authority shows that the proposed statutory self-regulatory framework presents more challenges to the media than ever before. This paper aims to contribute to global media studies and specifically the problems of regulation, the state, and media freedom in an African context.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Communication; democracy; Media regulation; press freedom; self-regulation; Social Sciences; Zambia; ZAMEC; Social Sciences; Communication; Media regulation; democracy; self-regulation; Zambia; press freedom; ZAMEC
Subjects: D History General and Old World > DT Africa
H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN4699 Journalism
Divisions: Humanities & Social Science
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
SWORD Depositor: A Symplectic
Date Deposited: 19 Jan 2023 12:20
Last Modified: 23 Jan 2023 14:18
DOI or ID number: 10.1080/23743670.2021.1939749
URI: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/18687
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