https://zimbabwe.misa.org Impact of Covid 19 on Media Sustainability Much publicity has been given to the abuse of power visited on the news media as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, and indeed journalists have had their lives and their livelihoods endangered by the crisis and heavy-handed and malicious enforcement of regulations. The use of law to try to combat disinformation or misinformation also threatened freedom of expression and freedom of information. Moreover, governments have relied on a top-down, one-way channel of communication. To quote Zoe Titus of the Namibian Media Trust: countries in the region face a withered media ecosystem. Findings I am really concerned about the broader implications for independent journalism and media freedom down the line, because people are not as critical of what is happening. And looking at the bigger picture, they are not fearful of the fact that this might become the new normal.122 The financial threat may be more serious. All the The research it is hoped illustrates the enormous blow that has been dealt, particularly to the private, independent news media in the Southern African region, news organisations that were often operating in a legislatively and financially hostile environment before the crisis that exacerbated the situation and made rapid the migration from print to the online environment. The migration online cuts costs drastically but also decreases potential ad revenue, making the search for reader revenue urgent, whether it he from membership or from donor funding. Reader revenue through subscription or membership seems in doubt for most countries in the region, with the exception perhaps of Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho, because of high levels of poverty. Indeed, the notion of 122. Titus, Zoom interview Covid-19 impact Zoe Titus. 35