Journalists urged to uphold the journalism ethics

Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary, Thabo Kawana, says there has been a great improvement of the media landscape under President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration. Mr Kawana has attributed this to the peaceful environment created by President Hichilema in the…

Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary, Thabo Kawana, says there has been a great improvement of the media landscape under President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration.

Mr Kawana has attributed this to the peaceful environment created by President Hichilema in the country over the last four years.

He noted that as opposed to closing down broadcast media houses, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) is now being used to build the capacity of journalists in the country through training workshops.

Speaking during the launch of the Second Wave of the Election Media Monitoring Report, the Permanent Secretary also pointed to the increased visibility of opposition voices on the public broadcaster, ZNBC, as evidence of progress.

He hailed the peaceful environment fostered by President Hichilema, noting that citizens now attend political rallies with children without fear of violence.

“This is what this President has brought to this nation, a peaceful environment, so peaceful. I have seen people taking toddlers to rise.

When you see a parent carrying a toddler going to a political rally, it is because the parent knows that that child is not in any danger at all. And that is the peaceful environment that this President has managed to bring in this country,” he stressed.

And commenting on the findings of the report by the Media Institute in Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia, which have revealed a lack of balance in election reporting, Mr Kawana urged journalists to uphold the ethics of journalism which call for balanced, fair and accurate coverage.

Speaking earlier, MISA Zambia Chairperson, Lorraine Chisanga, noted that the new report builds on the baseline established in the first monitoring exercise, providing comparative evidence to track shifts in coverage and assess whether reporting practices are improving, stagnating, or deteriorating as Zambia approaches the polls.

She added that the report will also enable stakeholders to move beyond perceptions and engage in constructive, fact-based dialogue, reinforcing public confidence in the media and Zambia’s democratic institutions.

“This second report is more than a set of findings, it is a mirror held up to our media landscape. It allows us to evaluate whether biases and gaps identified earlier are being addressed, or whether they have become more pronounced in a more competitive political environment”, she said.

Meanwhile, the report findings have revealed unbalanced coverage of election stories, lack of focus on issue-based campaigns as well as low coverage of women, among other gaps.

MISA Zambia Election Monitoring Project Coordinator, Michael Njobvu, who presented the findings recommended the inclusion of diverse voices in election reporting, strengthening editorial practices to ensure fairness, promotion of gender-inclusive coverage, and increased focus on issue-based campaigns.