About MISA Making southern Africa a more conducive environment for media freedom Over the past 21 years, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has been the primary advocate for media freedom and freedom of expression in southern Africa, issuing alerts on media freedom violations, condemnations of killings, assaults, criminal charges and other forms of unjustified attacks on journalists, including restrictions on access to information. The research and analysis that makes up So This Is Democracy? is based on this daily monitoring and other research gathered in the 11 Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries where MISA operates through Chapter offices. MISA’s work focuses on making sustainable, lasting changes to the media landscape in the southern Africa region that will make our countries safer places for journalists to work and more conducive for media freedom and freedom of expression. MISA’s activities and programmes include: • Advocating for changes to restrictive laws • Advocating for development of positive legislation, such as access to information laws; • Publishing media violation alerts; • Researching and publishing reports on media violations and the state of the media environment in southern African countries; and • Training, workshops and publications. How to report a media freedom violation or victory What to report: Journalists and Free Expression activists who are: • Assaulted; • Arrested; • Censored; • Denied credentials; • Harassed; • Kidnapped; • Killed; • Missing; • Threatened; • Wrongfully expelled; • Wounded; and/or • Wrongfully sued for libel or defamation. News organisations that are: • Attacked or illegally searched; • Censored; • Closed by force; • Raided, where editions are confiscated or transmissions are jammed or have materials confiscated or damaged; and / or • Wrongfully sued for libel or defamation. What to include in your report: To complete an accurate and relevant alert, please provide: • The names of the journalists and news organisations involved; • The date and circumstances of the incident; and • Detailed background information. Send your report to info@misa.org or call us on +264 61 232975.