EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The State of the Media Report is a quarterly assessment of the media environment in Zambia. This edition covers the second quarter of 2021 i.e. April-June. This assessment and record describes the media trends in Zambia during the period and was prepared under the auspices of the MISA Zambia Chapter. 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 did not record any major violations or inhibitions to freedom of the press through violent attacks by political party cadres, save the burning of part of Kalungwishi Radio in Chiengi District by unknown persons. The quarter also witnessed positive developments in pronouncements made by President Edgar Lungu on protection of the media as well as the implementation of practical security training for journalists. On a negative note, though, the quarter witnessed the resurgence of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with renewed restrictions that constrained the work of journalists and media outlets. The legal environment did not record any major development. As predicted in the previous quarter, the Access to Information Bill was not presented to Parliament while the fifth session of the twelfth National Assembly ended on 12th May. This marks nearly twenty years of a campaign for the enactment of the law. The legal environment also witnessed the launch of a report by Amnesty International, alleging various human rights concerns over a ten-year period. In the economic environment, a slightly more positive picture was observed as compared to the first quarter. The quarter witnessed a marginal improvement in economic activity, whose benefits trickled down to the media sector while the absence of such exacerbating factors as load shedding helped to cushion the impact on media enterprises which were reeling from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic witnessed in the first quarter. The general upward trend in most economic variables, particularly inflation among others, continued to affect media outlets negatively by increasing the cost of doing business and reducing the capacity of media houses to make capital investments, especially in the wake of the virtual society under the COVID-19 pandemic which required improved technology. Finally, in the technological environment, a major development was noted in the launch of the National Cyber Security Policy that is expected to guide and promulgate various strategies aimed at securing the online space. The review in this report shows that there has been a notable improvement in some of the key thematic areas in the fourth quarter as compared to the first quarter. Overall, the second quarter posted a more positive outlook than the first quarter given certain improvements itemised in the various sections below. State of the Media in Zambia vii