STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 the case with their male counterparts. This was so especially in interactive shows that had sms provision where the audience would veer from the substantive discussions and instead begin to discuss their private lives. As one female politician put it “Media personnel need to make judgement …because what is the issue being discussed? Should the sms be about who I should marry or how I am dressed?” Female politicians equally observed that hosts of interactive shows could do better. Some respondents were forthright in their condemnation of interactive show hosts to the extent that one stated “….there has just been an abuse of interactive media by our media houses….half the problem has been that they (hosts) have felt uncomfortable themselves. They do not do enough research, they are not knowledgeable enough about a lot of issues and as such it has been easy …the public will ask questions which give unlimited space and opportunity for disgruntled callers to attack us ...” To deal with this difficulty, female politicians reported that they have learnt the skill of protecting themselves. They have gone to feature as guests on interactive shows with tools that will help them get the most out of the media. One of them shared that when she participated as a quest on interactive media, she was fully aware of the fact that there would be vicious callers and would go there prepared. She put it as forth: “…I know that there will be negative texts that come in, I go there prepared and that’s the price we are willing to pay in order to get access to the airwaves”. They also go beyond the mental preparation and negotiate terms for their participation when need be. This negotiation has in some cases been facilitated by the party machinery. One of the MPs revealed that once in a while, they have dealt with the rules of the game “…we tell them (radio station) that look if we come on your programme, we want to be given time, that you’ll ask us questions no matter how hard so that we explain. But if you want us to come and you have nothing to ask us and you want to expose us to tantrums of the public, it is a bit difficult”. The situation is exacerbated by lack of gender awareness and sensitivity among media practitioners, often influenced by the existing culture of male superiority 9 . This further influences their perception and portrayal of women in the media. As such, the incident recorded at Sun FM is indicative of a bigger issue beneath the surface requiring concerted efforts. On a positive note, the quarter under review saw the country host the inaugural World Communication Forum in Africa from 26th-27th November under the theme “Communication 9 Dibeso, L.T. (2015). Gender discrimination in Zambian media workplaces. Windhoek: FES & Media Monitoring Africa. [o]. Available at http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/africa-media/13709.pdf P a g e 19 | 56