STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA 3.0 Executive Summary of Media Events during the First Quarter Media practitioners are yet to face a hard time in their profession as more laws set to regulate media operations are yet to be enacted. The first quarter of 2018 opened with different activities affecting the operations of the media both positively and negatively. To begin with, calls to enact the Access to Information (ATI) Bill persisted. These calls started as far back as 2002, but to-date the bill has not been signed and with hope of being signed this year slowly fading. Like in the previous years, the government continued with contradictions. On 23rd February, 2018, Justice Minister Given Lubinda disclosed that the Bill would not be reviewed as there were a lot of bills to be tabled in parliament1. But the following month on 20th March 2018 the Zambia Daily Mail reported that the Head of State indicated that the ATI would be reviewed by parliament. The print media, between January and March, publish enough information related to media freedom. Among them include follow up stories on the progress made on the Access to Information (ATI) Bill following the opening of parliament on 20th February 2018. Efforts to diligently allow for all views and voices in the media continued despite threats on the private media by cadres and government officials to reduce their criticism of government. From 1st January, 2018 to 31st March, 2018, papers that published stories related to the media monitored in relation to the State of the Media report were, the Times of Zambia, Zambia Daily Mail, The Mast and the Daily Nation. Furthermore, the period saw a recurrence of the debate and news surrounding The Post newspaper. The main issue surrounding the case of an appeal made by former Editor-in-Chief of The Post Fred M’membe where he had appealed to the Constitutional Court to revoke the decision of the High Court to restore The Post newspaper. During this period, incidents of harassment of media practitioners and media institutions were comparatively few. The fact that media practitioners were nonetheless harassed, worse still, at the hands of the Zambia Police Service, was in itself bad and should not be tolerated. There is dire need to address and find a lasting solution that ensures safety and peaceful working environment for the media practitioners and institutions. 1 rd Zambian Reports, 23 February, 2018: Parley shelves Access To Information Bill, Political Party Law 6