STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA Calls for the speedy enactment was a reaction to Justice Minister’s announcement 14 that the Bill was pushed to the next sitting of parliament as there were a lot of bills set for review before parliament. The statement by the Minister came unexpectedly as he previously was in support in the media in pushing for the enactment of the bill. It should be noted however, that ATI bill is likely to be enacted as the President confirmed the possibility of taking the bill to parliament for review. On two instances i.e. 17th February, 2018 (News Diggers) and 20th March, 2018 (Zambia Daily Mail), the President’s Press Aid15 indicated that the document was ready and that only parliament was left to review the document before being signed in to law. MISA Zambia together with other partners have since 2002 been calling on government to enact the ATI bill. On record, MISA Zambia has it that the ATI bill was long overdue as it has stalled since 2002 when it was presented to parliament, with successive governments including the PF government in 2011, making vain promises which did not materialise. 4.5 Media ethics Media ethics in the period under review were of concern especially on how journalists covered government officials and state related events. The relationship between government and the media showed that journalists, especially those from private media houses were blamed for not being ethical. The blame was mostly with regard to the portrayal of government officials and the ruling PF cadres in negative light. From the general conduct, no reports of misconduct were reported. Media practitioners generally, portrayed a general professional conduct in their execution of their duties. 4.6 Review of Issues of concern 4.6.1 TopStar Before the digital migration process, ZNBC was the national carrier for all media stations i.e. both radio and TV in Zambia. However, the previous quarter has had concerns of TopStar 14 15 rd Zambian Reports, 23 February, 2018: Parley shelves Access To Information Bill, Political Party Law th Mast Newspaper 19 March, 2018: Lungu Gives Greenlight For Information Bill 17