SECTOR 2 The media landscape, including new media, is characterised by diversity, independence and sustainability. 2.1 A wide range of sources of information (print, broadcasting, internet, mobile phones) is accessible and affordable to citizens. Over the last few years, Zambia has witnessed a proliferation of newspapers, television and radio stations. The main daily newspapers with a wide circulation are the Zambia Daily Mail (government-owned), the Times of Zambia (government-owned) and the Daily Nation (privately-owned). A new daily newspaper, The Mast (privately-owned), first published in November 2016, already has wide circulation. Another daily newspaper is the New Vision (privately-owned). The Post (privately-owned) was last published on the 1st November 2016 due to its closure by the ZRA in June of that year. These dailies are all in English. The main road infrastructure connecting cities and towns has dramatically improved, but the smaller road network and the size of the country impede negatively on the cost of distribution. This poses a problem in ensuring wide national reach, and transportation of publications to rural areas is often economically ineffective. People living in rural areas sometimes receive private and public newspapers a month or two after publication. During its time in operation, The Post made an arrangement with local transporters to distribute the newspaper to less accessible and remote areas. The Post also used Post Courier to transport its paper when it was still operating. At its peak, the newspaper reached each provincial capital by the evening of the same day of publication. In contrast, the Zambia Daily Mail and the Times of Zambia did not only have limited copies, but copies arrived a day or two after publication. The Times of Zambia is often “hard to get” even in Lusaka, with vendors explaining that “it had not yet come” or “yesterday it wasn’t here, I don’t know if it will come today.” There are very few newspapers that are in vernacular and The Moon is one of them. There are also regional newspapers, but these are not very popular. If it is “convenient for the government,” an edition of a government-owned publication may be translated into vernacular and widely disseminated. The cost of newspapers has increased dramatically in the last few years and now stands at K10 (US$1) per newspaper; while the minimum wage is K520 (US$ 30 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZAMBIA 2017