STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA ensure that they take a deeper look into the financial sustainability of media outlets in Zambia, especially those in the peripheral districts. The economic environment in both quarters was similar with gradual decline in some of the critical economic fundamentals, mostly attributed to the COVID -19 pandemic. The pandemic equally contributed to reduced man power as media houses also had to restrict the number of staff that could work on a particular day, thereby indirectly affecting productivity and news output. With regard to factors of production, electricity rationing, which was experienced in the fourth quarter of 2019 continued throughout quarter one and two of 2020, with an average of twelve (12) hours of load shedding daily40. The electricity rationing was against the backdrop of a projected improvement in water levels at the Kariba Dam41. This meant media enterprises had to utilise alternative sources of power such as generators. This in itself is an added cost especially that print production equipment requires substantial electricity supply while broadcast stations running on a twenty-four hour schedule would need to keep transmitters and other equipment constantly running. As such, this contributed to increased cost of doing business for media houses during both quarters. While the economic empowerment package announced by government is a commendable move that could stimulate economic activity, it is not clear if there will be any trickle down effects to the media sector which equally has several SMEs that are in dire need of refinancing and capital stimulation arising from the shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the shrinking 40 See regular updates provided by ZESCO during the two quarters https://www.zesco.co.zm/press/pressStatements 41 In response to a press query and subsequent news story carried by News Diggers Newspaper on 13th January, Zambezi River Authority Director of Water Resources and Environmental Management, Eng. Christopher Chisense stated: “the lake level normally starts dropping during the month of October at the start of the rainy season and later rises during the first quarter of the following year. This is because the water received into the Zambezi River (especially from the upper catchment of the Kariba catchment, which contributes 70 per cent of the inflows into the Kariba) usually tends to start arriving and influence the lake level at Kariba around in the first quarter of following year. So, the lake level has followed the same trend during the start of the 2019/2020 season, which started in October, 2019, and the lake level is expected to start rising within the first quarter of 2020” pg. 36