STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 3. 2020 fears of punitive action targeted at particular media houses that provide a platform for dissenting views20. There is, therefore, need for media practitioners, media organisations and other stakeholders alike to follow the process keenly, especially that the country goes to the polls in 2021, a time when the media will be expected to perform a critical role in enabling the masses to make an informed choice. The quarter under review also witnessed a legal victory when the Lusaka High Court dismissed a case in which the National Pensions Scheme Authority (NAPSA) sued News Diggers Media Limited and ADD president Charles Milupi for defamation in a publication that allegedly accused it of corruption and mismanagement of members’ funds. High Court Judge Sharon Newa noted that a corporate body could not commit the offence of corruption, although its officers could and, therefore, no cause of action had been revealed on which NAPSA could attach liability on Milupi and News Diggers. She therefore dismissed the action for want of cause of action. This is indeed a significant victory given that the media are expected to fulfil a watchdog role, keeping public institutions in check in public interest 21 . Such public bodies are funded by tax payers and are, thus, answerable to the 20 21 As argued in a News Diggers newspaper editorial of 4th August under the title “media regulation Bill was drafted without research” As suggested in Norris, P. (2010). A virtuous circle: political communications in post-industrial societies. New York: Cambridge University Press. 23