State of the media report July - Dec 2022 Josphat Mafuta,a 27 year old journalist of Lusaka Province has been practicing journalism for 3 years and he works for KBN. “Media bodies should work hand in hand with the police so that they educate the police on how journalists work .I also think workshops for police who usually work in the field and interact with journalists in their line of work. When asked how police should facilitate media freedom in times of protests or crime investigation, the respondent said the police are supposed to protect journalists”, he said. The respondent was then asked if if he understood the law which protects him he said he was not sure AGNESS Nampasa Television in Lusaka. a 21 year old journalist with 1 year of experience and she works for Muvi “I was discouraged to do my work my family and close friends because they thought I was doing something wrong by covering protests and I almost gave up my career because of that. It really stressed me”. The respondent was asked if they had covered such incidents before and she said that it was her first time. Asked if she knew what law the police used to arrest her, the respondent said “A little bit”. Baxter Mutambo is a 32 year old journalist based in Lusaka and he works M28. He has been a journalist for 4 years. “My morale was killed, I was stressed because of how the police handled the whole issue”. “Police should be the ones to protect the media and let journalists work without intimidation because even when police have press briefings, they too need media coverage”. Further the respondent was asked how police should facilitate media freedom in times of protests or crime investigation and he said “By allowing us to express ourselves on how we should report or carry out our work without telling us how we should report”. Moses Makwaya is a 28 year old journalist with 2 years’ work experience as a journalist and works for Kalemba online media based in Lusaka. “The detention wasn’t legal because journalists are mandated to report news no matter the nature”. In response this Zambia Police thought the Deputy Public Relations Officer Danny Mwale said “most of the journalists covering Dr Brian Sampa’s protests did not have ID’s and that’s why they were picked up for Unlawful Assembly”, he said TRENDS ANALYSIS OF THE INCIDENCES The fact that only one out of the seven respondents whose work was interfered by police thought that political and state interests affect media freedom in Zambia highlights an important issue. The majority of the respondents believed that media freedom is more compromised by ethical considerations, such as issues related to the division within the media, the limitation of the agenda setting by the media, and the risk that journalists face when doing their job. These concerns are critical to consider, as they have a significant impact on the ability of journalists to do their work freely. 1. Journalists play an essential role in promoting transparency, accountability, and democracy. To achieve this, they must be able to work without fear of retribution or interference from the 24