media houses that have taken certain individuals, certain political parties, as their sworn enemies. I don’t think that’s ethical. “Every day for 90 days, a headline on one Edgar Lungu in the negative. The supporters for Edgar Lungu will also react. So let us be responsible to make sure that what we report as media is meant to build the nation, is meant to entertain, inform, and educate and not to defame people with impunity. “Surely, even if there is nothing else to write about, you cannot have a media house writing negative headlines from the day the man was elected at the PF convention up to today. It was only yesterday and today that I didn’t see any negative, maybe probably, you are now tired. That is unethical and you must know that people are bound to react. “When people know this is the person behind the insults, they will react. The media must observe ethics. Sometimes, these journalists, reporters, are not behind these activities, they are just told by their bosses what to do.” These sentiments are very unfortunate, especially that they were coming from the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and that they were said on a day when the whole world was commemorating World Press Freedom Day. The Minister is supposed to be in the forefront protecting journalists and ensuring that we have a free press. One should never justify or attempt to justify the harassment of journalists. It is wrong and no amount of justification can ever make it right. When cadres, politicians and/or the public ever feel aggrieved by the media or unfairly treated, or have any complaint against the conduct of journalists, then they need to seek redress through prescribed channels. One may choose to seek redress through the legal justice system, or through IBA or through ZAMEC. People should never take the law into their own hands. Such sentiments tend to confirm public perception that public media are controlled government mouth pieces and therefore cannot be trusted to be objective when reporting on the government and the party in government. Journalists and editors who work in these institutions are more likely to exercise self censorship, and chances are that if they came across “negative” but truthful information against the government or government officials which is in the public’s interest, that information would not be published. And speaking in an interview ahead of World Press freedom Day, World Press Freedom Day organising committee chairperson Mr. Enoch Ngoma said that the struggle for press freedom must continue. “We have come a long way but we have not really achieved anything. However, as media organizations, we must not be discouraged because we haven’t achieved anything, we need to use this day to reinvigorate our efforts to pressure those in charge of our country to ensure that we move and press forward.” 16