State of the media report Q1-2021

December 2014. However, Airtel only provided call records from January 2013 to March 2014.
Zgambo however insisted that he wanted call records for April 2014 to July 2014.
Judge Wanjelani then adjourned the matter to allow Airtel to produce the remaining call records.
Airtel through its Lawyer, Paulman Chungu then wrote to Zgambo asking him to pay for the prints at
Digi Print.
Zgambo paid but at the next hearing Airtel again did not produce the call records for April to July
2014 but instead produced records for August to December 2014. Zgambo who was then representing
himself refused to proceed to trial without the missing call records and asked the court to cite Airtel
Directors for Contempt of Court for failing to produce the records in question.
Judge Susan Wanjelani in her ruling declined to cite the Directors for Contempt on grounds that Mr.
Zgambo had not written to the Directors reminding them of their obligation to produce the documents.
The Journalist later wrote to Airtel Directors reminding them that he will need the missing Call
Records at the next hearing on January 12. 2021 failure to which he would apply for Contempt of
Court.
Communique-10th February (Lusaka Times)
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) in Zambia has urged media institutions to be accurate in
their reporting.
MISA Chairperson Hellen Mwale said credibility is developed and earned around reporting accurate
information when practicing journalism.
“To earn the trust and public confidence, we have to be responsible journalists, to be responsible
journalists means that we have to report the truth,” Ms. Mwale said.
In an interview with ZANIS, Ms. Mwale said to avoid inaccuracy in reporting, the media needs to
make sure that the news is right before disseminating to the public by checking the facts.
She said the reason why journalists should check the facts is that the information is telling the true
story in which the facts will add up to a larger truth.
“As we report, there should be quality control in news writing,” Ms. Mwale said.
MISA Chairperson also said journalists should confirm that they know the sources for every factual
assertion in the story.
Communique-15th February (Zambia Daily Mail)
Journalists should be ethical in coverage of news and wary of bribes, especially now that Zambia is
headed for the August 12 General Elections, President Edgar Lungu has said.
Speaking when he addressed parliament, President Lungu also said that as a firm believer in press
freedom, stakeholders should allow journalists, do their work unimpeded.
The President stance has cheered MISA Zambia whose chairperson, Helen Mwale, has said the advice
should be followed up by actions.
President Lungu said reporters should be fair professional and objective as they carry out their work.
“My administration and I expect journalists to observe the code of conduct. Bias and untruth are not
part of journalism; they belong to the drainage!” President Lungu said.
President Lungu also advised journalists to avoid behavior that compromise their reporting.
“Journalists should avoid gifts and being pampered with money and material things because it is this

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