STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA …we will ensure balanced coverage in our stories and accord all sides a chance to tell their side of the story. We will end the inclination to political parties in our coverage of stories to ensure credibility of our media institutions. We will, through establishments like the Media Freedom Committee of WAN-IFRA and Free Press Initiative, engage political parties to sensitise cadres to respect and protect journalist’s because journalism is not a crime. We will ensure that we fact check pieces of information we come across especially on social media, as one ethical practice of journalism. We will treat social media postings about what we consider news as tips and not a complete story for ‘copying and pasting. The participants further agreed that: … we will enforce ethical and professional conduct among practitioners. We will ensure only qualified people practice journalism. We will utilize established institutions to strengthen the interface between industry and journalism training institutions. We will push for the revision of the training curriculum to keep in tune with developing trends and technological advancement. We will support capacity building of media practitioners through mentorship programmes by senior practitioners. The participants also agreed that: They would further demand decent salaries from employers in order to deal with issues of demanding transport refund from sources. “We will demand adequate financing of our budgets to avoid falling victim to bribery. Our employers must equip news rooms for us to operate optimally. All sponsored awards for the media in the country must be managed by bodies like MISA Zambia to ensure credibility. Prior to the stakeholders drawing up guiding principles for journalistic work, the Mast Newspaper on 7th August, 2019 carried a heading glorifying the newspaper having exhibited maturity in its reporting. These sentiments were attributed to MMD President, Nevers Mumba. The paper reported that: MMD President Nevers Mumba says The Mast Newspaper has exhibited tremendous maturity in its reporting and that it must not relent. 26