SECTOR 2 2.6 Government promotes a diverse media landscape with economically sustainable and independent media outlets. There is insufficient government intervention in supporting the media, and few media houses are able to exist sustainably. Government provides financial support to public media institutions (Daily Mail, Times of Zambia, and ZNBC), and advertises on these platforms. It also advertises in the private media, but is selective with its advertising, depending on the level of criticism of government by individual media houses. Currently, there are no tax reductions, subsidies or efforts to enhance the sustainability of small media enterprises. The MLC is lobbying government to remove/reduce taxes on inputs and materials for media institutions, such as printing, radio equipment, and so forth. Negotiations in this regard are ongoing. A point of concern is also the fear of government repercussions on suppliers to media institutions. Some distributors refuse to distribute politically related content, and the government does not counter this by ensuring a more diverse media landscape. Another issue that affects media sustainability is late or non-payment by ministries for adverts placed in the media. The government has a fund through the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission, where funds can be accessed to increase the economic participation of Zambian citizens. It is not clear whether this source of funding has been used by or extended to the media industry. The government could also promote sustainability by encouraging a reading culture among Zambian citizens from a young age. “The reading culture is limited. For a population of 10 million, the daily print run of all daily print publications is only 100 000.” Beyond inculcating a reading culture, a panellist contended that it’s also “about people looking for interesting things to read”. 36 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZAMBIA 2013