country. And Malawi certainly isn’t the exception. We note that whilst the President has moved forward with the repeal of this law, it is yet to be gazetted. Throughout the rest of SADC, the use of outmoded laws to target journalists and stifle freedom of expression is a major cause of concern. From Tanzania down to Lesotho and South Africa, these laws have been used to ban newspapers, target individual journalists and criminalise free speech. Criminal defamation laws appear to be a popular choice for many governments for the exercise for these purposes. 0HGLD5HJXODWLRQ In January 2013, South African media fell under the independent co-regulation model, following widespread consultations and in response to growing threats from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to introduce a statutory media appeals tribunal. Doing away with self-regulation in South Africa appears to have had less impact within the region than previously expected. However, for a country that seemingly has strong democratic institutions and appears to adhere as closely as possible to the rule of law, these developments in the media may be used as easy justification by many governments to move and seal the fate of press self-regulation in the region. It only remains for the media themselves to prove their capability to self-regulate (self-manage) and to prove that a media that is truly accountable to its audience without needing State intervention is possible. The self-regulation debate will also continue in 2013 against the backdrop of 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\" the Leveson Inquiry in the United Kingdom. UK media will now fall, effectively, under statutory regulation based on the findings of the inquiry into the phonehacking scandal and also, on the recommendations of Judge Leveson and other activists. The introduction of statutory regulation in the UK means doing away with three centuries of self-regulation. Given the UK’s participation in various programmes within the region, including areas of democracy, governance, media and freedom, the post-Leveson era is quite significant for the kind of defence and support that is given to media freedom and freedom of expression. Indeed, it needs to be assessed what precedence – good or bad – has been set by the UK. In the final analysis, however, it is quite obvious that all media – public, Stateowned and private – have an urgent need to re-inspire public confidence. The shifts that are occurring within the regulation space would not be happening if a significant number of members of the public stood up to defend media freedoms and freedom of expression. Hence, regional media have a particular duty to continuously challenge, if not betray, the ever-tempting slide towards elitism marked for them. In short, media, especially those that occupy the sacred space of informing, educating and entertaining the masses, must remain grounded and true to those who faithfully invest time and money to consume their products. $FFHVVWR,QIRUPDWLRQ The state of access to information in Southern Africa has been a mixed bag of