STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA It was during this period that the Permanent Secretary asked if the IBA had authority to see how ZNBC conducts itself and whether it was firm or not on the national broadcaster. Independent Broadcasting Authority Director General, Josephine Mapoma in response said IBA was encouraging ZNBC to be professional by balancing its stories. “We invite ZNBC when we find them wanting. They are trying to balance up. They should be setting the pace and give us the content, the other media will follow. We are trying to tell ZNBC to balance. Because of competition, if their content is not okay, people will go to other TV stations. I think the other television stations might be doing better, so we encourage them to be professional,” said Ms. Mapoma. The other time IBA was heard of in the news was when the authority was warning TV and radio station over the content they broadcast. IBA Director of Standards, Licencing and Compliance Eustace Nkandu said: “Broadcasters must ensure that their content, whether in form of language or video footage, did not corrupt the morals of young people. Mr Nkandu said it was sad sometimes to hear of certain Disc Jockeys (DJs) playing songs which contained vulgar language or a particular language which was not supposed to be communicated to children or minors. Mr Nkandu in an interview urged TV and radio stations to be responsible in their broadcasting because their information reach diverse listeners and viewers including the younger ones. Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) In the period under review, ZNBC was mentioned thrice in the media with regards to its operations. The first was on 4th April, 2018 when News Diggers published a story that, “enquiry shows that government is collecting double TV levy.”13 13 News Diggers - Enquiry Shows That Govt is Collecting Double TV Levy – 4th April, 2018 14