SECTOR 4

4.10 Journalists and other media practitioners are organised in trade unions and/or professional associations, which effectively represent their interests.
Trade unionism is a fairly new feature for Malawian society.
There are two important media-related unions in Malawi, which are affiliated
to the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions. These are the Communication
Workers’ Union, which encompasses all communication organisations, and
the Electronic Media Workers Union, which represents workers from the state
broadcaster, the MBC.
Private print journalists tend to belong to the labour union, the Journalist
Union of Malawi (JUMA), while private broadcast staff are associated with the
Communication Workers’ Union, which is more representative of electronic
media workers.
“There is a serious need for JUMA to look at entrants’ salary levels and
qualifications.”
There are a few professional media organisations in Malawi, including the
Malawian chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (NAMISA) , which
is considered the only really strong professional media organisation at the
moment, which advocates on issues affecting the media environment, and the
Media Council of Malawi, which is being resuscitated.
There are also professional associations, including the Association of Business
Journalists, Gender and Media in Malawi (GEMMA) and Journ-AIDS. The
Media Women’s Association of Malawi is currently inactive due to the lack of
donor funding.

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AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MALAWI 2012

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