STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA In response however, the PS who had earlier said the ministry had prepared a regulatory document, later shifted position. “I didn’t say we are going to regulate you. We cannot regulate the media because there are no enough people to do that; we can’t manage,” he said He added that: “I’m quite happy to hear that you are meeting. The framework we have written is based on your own ZAMEC (Zambian Media Council). I’m not trying to set up a framework to control journalists. We will write that document and hand it over to you guys so that you can look at it… the proposed media regulation would help protect both media owners and journalists. We need a legal framework for self-regulation of the media fraternity. That legal framework will provide statutory support to journalists for instance and it will also support the media owners. How? For the journalists, that regulatory framework would provide means of negotiations for a minimum wage within the institution. It would protect them against bad employers… there are bad employers in the media industry who misuse and abuse you and pay you peanuts in the name of journalism.” He continued that: “On the other hand, the erring journalists, those that put their stations in trouble, at the moment the provision is that IBA will step in and discipline the entire media organisation (but) what we are proposing is that when we have this regulatory framework, the professional bodies will punish the erring journalist. The IBA will step back because action has already been taken. It will remove the hand of government from taking action under the Act because there is this regulatory framework that is providing an alternative regulator, so it protects other people’s jobs.” The calls for self-regulation have culminated into the media overwhelmingly resolving to adopt a statutory self-regulatory framework after a two-day conference in Lusaka that drew participation from over 250 media personnel drawn from across the country. 10