Friday, August 25, 2006
National Broadcasting in Malawi: Recommendations for transformation of MBC and TVM into Public Broadcasters
Executive Summary
This study was commissioned by the Media institute of Southern Africa (MISA) through its Malawi chapter (NAMISA) as part of its preparations for its regional campaign for the transformation of national broadcasters in Southern Africa such as the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and Malawi Television (TVM) which are legally mandated and licensed to provide programming that informs, educate and entertain Malawians while showcasing Malawi’s linguistic and cultural variety.
This study concludes that entertain and educate they do, but inform fairly and equitably they do not because they are biased towards the ruling party and government officials. This is because currently the law favours the ruling party, and the government to dominate and control the national broadcasters.
The three key questions that led to this conclusion and formed the core of this study are summarised graphically below:
a) Is the staff at MBC and TVM free to report independently?
b) Does self-censorship exist at MBC and TVM?
c) Are MBC and TVM fair and equitable during elections?
Some observers have blamed the public broadcasters’ below-standard performance on lack of resources. Indeed, since 1994 state funding has trickled down slowly to MBC and TVM. Ideally public broadcasting should be funded by the public through license fees and money from the national treasury. Ironically, the Malawi parliament has just halved the financial allocation to the two national broadcasters until the lawmakers themselves see major changes at the two national broadcasters, which have already been licensed by MACRA as public broadcasters.
The study recommends, inter alia,
• that the Communications Act (1998) be revisited to remove the state’s power to directly or indirectly control programming at TVM and MBC;
• that editorial policies should be written down and be part of the law so that journalists at the station are guaranteed their jobs if they work professionally;
• that staff of MBC undergo training courses to transform their minds from state to public broadcast journalists; and
• that to ensure linguistic and cultural diversity MBC and TVM should decentralise so that the provincial studios broadcast independently to cater for provincial interests.
For the success of the campaign for transforming national broadcasters to public broadcasters, the study also recommends that MISA works with the parliamentary committee on the media to influence change of pertinent laws; the civil society and political parties to raise awareness on the public’s right to influence the operations of the public broadcasters.
State Public Broadcasting in Malawi: Recommendations for transformation MBC and TVM into Public Broadcasters
1.0 Introduction
During the 2006 budget session, opposition party members of parliament were blunt in their criticism and accused the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and Malawi Television (TVM) of being unprofessional because they were biased towards those in power, that is, government ministers, the president and their party. They decided, as a correctional rather than punitive measure, that the two national broadcasters should only get 50% of their proposed financial allocation for 2006-2007 until and unless they changed and accommodated views from all walks of Malawian life, particularly opposition political parties.
One politician even suggested that the money meant for the two institutions should be given to a private radio station because this station had the assumed the role of a public broadcaster. However, a commentator in the Nation newspaper was unequivocal in his support of funding the MBC and TVM. He argued that it was not necessary that MBC and TVM should be neutral because as public media, they are supposed to support the state, the state president and government policies.
Since Malawi reverted to multiparty democracy, MBC has been a source of controversy as those in power have never loosened their grip on the institution. Even when TVM started broadcasting in 1999, the then ruling party, the United Democratic front (UDF) made sure no government officials, ministers and the president had positive coverage. Since then year after year, election after election, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation has been accused of bias towards those in government.
Except for a few, studies on the performance of the public broadcasting have been scant. Using content analysis of programming, a literature review of relevant public broadcasting literature and various forms of interviews, this study aimed at examining whether or not MBC and TV qualify as public broadcasters in name and action. If they are not, the study set out find out from qualified people what actions needed to be followed to ensure that they become public broadcasters.
2.0 Broadcasting environment in Malawi
For thirty years time broadcasting in Malawi was associated with the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) which was established in 1964 by an act of parliament (Chikunkhuzeni, 1999). Modeled on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the MBC was mandated to offer programming that would educate, entertain and inform the Malawian public. The MBC was initially conceived as a tool to rally people to nation building (Uledi-Kamanga, 1992:1 cited by Chikunkhuzeni, 1999), For thirty years, however, the Malawi Congress Party used the radio station to silence dissent and all potential enemies of the state and the government. As there was one political party, state functions were not distinguished from party campaign recruitment campaigns.
However, the switch to a multiparty system of government meant that people expected a change in the way the MBC treated politicians with dissenting views and minority languages, cultures and content. But, for ten years the UDF government dominated the airwaves even during national elections (Patel, 2000; Manda, 2004). A second MBC channel, Radio 2, was launched in 1998 with a slightly different programming format from the “mother radio”. Radio 2 was a mostly seen as an entertainment radio, full of “pop” music and live phone in programmes. It is no surprise that a 2004 survey found Radio 2 to be the most popular radio station in the country because it pleased the youth and departed from traditional didactic MBC 1 programming.
Soon after the airwaves were liberalised following the passing of the Malawi Communications Act in 1998, a number of radio stations sprung up and the picture is totally different. The current broadcast environment is presented in tabular form below:
Radio station Classification Ownership Coverage
Joy Radio Commercial Private, owned by Bakili Muluzi former president 70 km radius from Blantyre
MIJ Radio Commercial Trustees of the Malawi Institute of Journalism National (mainly urban areas)
Capital Radio Commercial Private owned by Al Osman and family National (mainly urban areas)
Zodiak Radio Commercial Private owned by Gospel Kazako National
Transworld Radio Religious Private owned by TWR (Africa) National
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation Radio 1 State Public? National
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation Radio 2 State Public? National
Power 101 FM Commercial Private National
Radio Maria Religious Catholic Church (Malawi) National
Radio Tigabane Religious Catholic Church (Malawi) Mzuzu and surrounding areas
Calvary Family Radio Religious Calvary Family Church Blantyre
Nkhota Kota Community Radio Community Nkhota Kota Community Nkhota Kota
Dzimwe Community Radio Community Dzimwe Community Radio Trustees Monkey Bay and surroundings
BBC World Service Foreign BBC Trust National
Radio Islam Religious Islamic Zakaat Fund National
Channel for all Nations Religious Assemblies fof God (Malawi) Lilongwe and surrounding areas
ABC Radio
Religious African Bible College (Africa) Lilongwe and surrounding areas
Radio Alinafe Religious Catholic Church (Malawi)
Lilongwe and surrounding areas
Star FM Commercial Private Blantyre and surroundings
Figure 1: Table showing broadcasting diversity (www.macra.org.mw)
3.0 Current legislative and regulatory framework for broadcasting in Malawi
Malawi has several legal instruments that guarantee freedom of expression and broadcasting. Malawi is also a signatory to several international and regional legal instruments. As a member state of the United Nations, Malawi is bound to observe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which in article XIX says:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and import information and ideas through any media and regardless of borders.
This provision is also echoed in the Africa Commission on Human and People’s Rights whose Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa urges state parties to:
Encourage a diverse, independent private broadcasting sector. A state monopoly over broadcasting is not compatible with the right to freedom of expression (V: 1)
More importantly the Principles call on African states and governments to transform their broadcasters into public service broadcasters “accountable to the public through the legislature rather than the government” (VI: 1). Article VI drives the point home:
• Public broadcasters should be governed by a board which is protected against interference, particularly of a political or economic nature;
• The editorial independence of public service broadcasters should be guaranteed;
• Public broadcasters should be adequately funded in a manner that protects them from arbitrary interference with their budgets;
• Public broadcasters should strive to ensure that [their] transmission system covers the whole territory and country; and
• The public service ambit of public service broadcasters should be clearly defined and include an obligation to ensure that the public receive[s] adequate, politically balanced information, particularly during election periods.
As Ramadi (2006) argues state broadcasting is characterized by doing and being the opposite of the above criteria. She says a state broadcaster is essentially a government mouth piece, where the president, ministers, government officials and ruling party cadres dominate. Since they are perceived as government mouth pieces, the state broadcasters are rarely listened to, by those who can afford to, because state broadcasters generally lack credibility. Dissenting voices are often hushed or not covered at all. Journalists at a state broadcaster censor themselves for fear of losing their jobs, essentially because they were recruited dubiously by a management board that was appointed dubiously or using laws that favour domination or interference of the elite in the state broadcaster. Minority languages, and most importantly minority views, and cultures are ignored or window dressed. Local content is ignored in preference of internationally produced programmes such as Hollywood films. She further points out that the state broadcaster usually has no editorial guidelines or if they do exist they are not adhered to. During elections coverage favours the ruling party or coalition.
State broadcasting is usually not accessed by all. Importantly, efforts are not made to have the signal available all over the country.
Malawi, as a member state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), is obliged by the SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport, which calls on state parties to “ ensure the freedom and independence of the media” (Article 20) .
One lawyer has argued that since Malawi lacks a domestication law, most of the international and regional legal instruments, have no force of law in the country. Therefore, the most important legal instruments vis-à-vis media performance and broadcasting in particular in Malawi are the constitution and the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act, the Local Government Elections Act, and the Communications Act.
The Communications Act provides for the creation of the Malawi Communications regulatory Authority (MACRA), a body responsible for regulating and licensing postal services, telecommunications and broadcasting.
In the broadcasting sector it recognizes three types of broadcasting: Public broadcasting, private/commercial broadcasting and community broadcasting. After several wrangles and public criticism, the two national broadcasters, the MBC and TVM have been licensed to conduct pubic broadcasting. Due to misundertandings between the authority and some licensees on the definition and mandate of community broadcasting, the rest of the broadcasters have been classified as private (commercial) or private (religious) (www.macra.org.mw). Private religious stations were previously issued a community broadcasting license but most went on a territorial and content expansion drive that confounded MACRA. Community radio stations still remain at Dzimwe in Monkey Bay, Nkhota Kota and two others are in the pipeline at Mchinji and Mzimba.
It must be noted that despite the rather media friendly constitution, the Communication Act (1998) and the many legal instruments Malawi has acceded to, there is still no law on access to information in Malawi. Further, the 40 or so laws, such as defamation, that can impede media performance are still existent. These can easily compromise the performance of journalists at the public broadcaster (Forbes, 2005).
4.0 Types of broadcasting
As pointed out above, there are three types of broadcasting: public broadcasting, private/commercial broadcasting and community broadcasting. Commercial broadcasting is not problematic as its principal aim is to make profits from providing information and selling airtime to advertisers. This is the type of broadcasting most private investors look for. Community broadcasting is a relative newcomer on African the broadcasting scene (Christel and Bussiek, 2004). According to AMARC (www.amarc.org) community broadcasting is democratic broadcasting as it is run by the community, its content produced by the local community and aims to serve the community without exacting any fees. In Malawi, the concept of community broadcasting has been controversial. MACRA has always insisted, basing its arguments mostly on the Communication Act, that community broadcasting is limited to geographic communities and does not have to broadcast news, cover elections, and provide political broadcasts or factual programmes (Comm. Act 51:3).
In the revised licences all broadcasters, except the MBC and TVM have been issued with private commercial licenses with no obligation to cover political elections. Surprisingly enough, the two national broadcasters, too, have no obligations to cover elections (Terms and Conditions of Private Broadcasters, 10).
The third is Pubic Broadcasting, which the European Broadcasting Union defines as broadcasting made for the public; financed by the public and controlled by the public. For a station to qualify as a public broadcaster it must meet most, if not all, of the following characteristics:
Firstly, public broadcasting is universal in its geographic reach. In Malawi the MBC and TVM qualify because they cover over 80% of the country (All Media Survey, 2004). Secondly, it must cater for all interests and tastes. Programming must ensure that linguistic minorities, the disabled, children and other vulnerable social are catered for. Thirdly, there is need to reflect society in its fullest, culturally. Fourthly, public broadcasting enjoys editorial independence and politicians and businesses have no influence in its programming. To achieve this, public broadcasting is fully funded by the state, and from licence fees.
5.0 Public Broadcasting funding models
There are several models of public broadcasting in the world. In Australia the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is funded by the government and its funding has been substantially reduced in recent years. In New Zealand public broadcasting is funded through commercial advertising (90%) while government contributes the rest (www.eu.wikipedia.org). In Ireland 50% of RTE’s funding comes from commercial advertising while 50 % comes from public coffers and TV licences. In the Japan, the UK and mainland Europe, public broadcasting is mostly funded from the public purse and with as little as 5% from commercial revenue (www.eu.wikipedia.org).
The SABC is largely funded through advertising (74%) and license fees, sponsorship and interests on investments (Chikunkhuzeni, 1999). The MBC and TVM are supposed to be funded from several sources including government and commercial advertising, sponsored programmes and licence fees.
6.0 Mandate and terms of reference for the state broadcaster
MBC and TVM legally became public broadcasters in 2004 when they were licensed by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA). The MBC was reconstituted in 1998 to become a public broadcaster under the following terms:
The MBC shall provide public broadcasting services in accordance with the following principles-
• the provision of programmes which educate, entertain and inform;
• the encouragement of free and informed opinion on all matters of public interest;
• the need to reflect the wide diversity of Malawi's cultural life; and
• respect for human rights, the rule of law and the Constitution of Malawi.
• MBC shall, in the provision of its broadcasting services-
• function without any political bias and independently of any person or body of persons;
• support the democratic process;
• refrain from broadcasting any matter expressing its opinion or the opinion of its Board or management on current affairs or on matters of public policy, other than broadcasting matters;
• provide balanced coverage of any elections; and
• have regard to the public interest.
(www.macra.org.mw)
The above terms were also applicable to TVM because at the time public TV was conceived to be part of the MBC. Even now the Communications Act entitles the MBC to collect TV licence fees (section 88.e). But according to TVM first Director General Benson Tembo, TVM was registered as a private limited public company with the Malawi Government as the major shareholder (Manda, 2004) and launched in 1999. Its current terms and conditions include:
• protect constitutional rights and freedoms as enshrined in chapter IV of the Malawi constitution;
• provide universal twenty-four coverage and service to the nation and not less than twelve continuous hours per day;
• be financed in part by the government, commercial advertising, fees and charges , sponsored programmes, sale of property, etc;
• provide current affairs programming for not less than three minutes every second hour from 06.00 to 21.00 hours;
• encourage free and informed opinion on matters of public interest;
• exercise independent editorial control over content of news and current affairs programmes
• provide entertainment programming that meets the needs of Malawi and reflects the geographic spread of Malawians
• ensure that 60% of programming is Malawian
The Public broadcaster is also mandated to broadcast educational programming, carry free public announcements from MACRA, the Inspector General of Police, Minister responsible for Disaster Management on issues pertaining to impending danger.
MBC and TVM are obliged to keep recordings of all their programmes for at least 45 days because MACRA may need them. As pointed out earlier, MBC and TVM are not obliged according to their licence conditions to cover elections. But if they do, they should follow the code of ethics in Third Schedule of the Communications Act and this applies to all broadcasters. The public broadcasting is forbidden from relaying or rebroadcast any programme material from any other source or station without prior authorization of MACRA.
To ensure that people lodge complaints, TVM and MBC obliged to announce at least four times a week how people can lodge such complaints.
The licence does not prescribe the languages in which programming should be. Currently English and Chichewa dominate the news. As we will see below, minority languages and cultures are not covered sufficiently.
7.0 Management and editorial structures of the national broadcasters
In accordance with the Communications Act and in consultation with the Public Affairs Committee of Parliament, the President appoints the management boards of both TVM and MBC and their chairpersons. The Secretary for Information is an ex officio member. The Boards appoint the Director General who recruits other employees. As for MACRA, the president appoints the chairperson and the board while the Secretary to the President and Cabinet and the secretary for information are ex officio members. The MACRA Director General is appointed by the Minister of Information on recommendations of the Board and the board appoints a deputy Director General in consultation with the minister of information and the director appoints other junior staff. There are no provisions for deputy directors at MBC and TVM but the positions were advertised internally, interviews conducted internally and appointments made internally.
The newsroom staff and those in control of programming are directly or indirectly answerable to the director general, sometimes through a chain of commands.
8.0 Analysis of past and current national campaigns
For nearly ten years, several players have campaigned for freedom of speech and broadcasting in Southern Africa. PANOS (Opoku-Mensah, 1998) records attempts it made to open airwaves for all in the SADC region. Article XIX (2003) also talks of attempts at encouraging governments to understand the importance of the media and broadcasting in particular to democracy. However, the most substantial fight has been mounted by MISA which has fought for the passage of access to information legislation (NAMISA has actually drafted a bill that effect), community broadcasting, (Open the Airwaves) and currently the turning of the state broadcasters into pubic broadcasters. The campaign seems to have borne fruit if the number of radio stations available in Malawi and the licensing of the MBC and TVM as public broadcasters is anything to go by.
9.0 Knowledge about public versus state broadcasting
Rwenty-five questionnaires (comprising 5 questions each) were sent out to selected members of academia, civil society, religious, political parties, businessmen and women and media using the Ngo List (www.sdnp.org.mw) and the telephone directory as sampling frames. Eighteen questionnaires were answered. Below are the responses.
The respondents were asked if they thought journalists at TVM and MBC are free to report independently. Sixteen (94.12%) said they did not believe the journalists were free while one person (5.88) thought they were. Asked what they thought about self-censorship by journalists at the two national broadcasters, all (100%) thought there was self-censorship mostly because the journalists were afraid of losing their valuable jobs, even if they did not like what was happening at the station. As for what they thought about fairness and equity in coverage, all (100%) thought there was no equitable coverage, and, particularly, opposition political parties are denied access even when their information is paid for. Most (88.9%) thought they had no influence over the national broadcasters because they were not aware they could influence the performance of the two stations which depend on public finances while two respondents (11.1%) thought they had. One said his organization can influence change at TVM and MBC but it does not have power to make its determinations enforceable by law. The other said his organization’s broadcasting format is being copied or emulated by the national broadcaster. That proves his organization has influence over.
Graphically put, this is how people assess the MBC and TVM:
Is the staff at MBC and TVM free to report independently?
Does self-censorship exist at MBC and TVM?
Are MBC and TVM fair and equitable during elections?
10.0 Content analysis: Television Malawi
In this section five random weekday evening news bulletins were taken from Malawi Television (17-27 July, 2006). Since business and sport are treated as part of the news bulletin, it was difficult not to include them in the analysis. The analysis followed the criteria below:
Date of Analysis: 17 July 2006
Story (brief description and in running order) Who is represented Duration (seconds) Percentage
1. Parliament adjourns Report 120 7.3
2. HIV testing week Report, unidentified clients (male and female) 187 11.4
3. Lilongwe Rotary chooses new president Tamanda Kadzamira, former official hostess/ Dean Lungu, Chairman, Press trust (private sector) 163 9.92
4. Agriculture show/compost manure Agriculture programme manager
Maganga-programme manager Blantyre ADD
DC Chriradulu/Govtt
Lilian Patel, Mangochi South MP (govt)
195 11.9
5. Mtwala Development Corridor meeting Dave Parkins ,Mwembe Samuabi, regional participants
Henry Mussa, Minister of Transport and Public works ( govt) 253 15.4
6 Commercial Unilever 60 3.4
7. Israel/Lebanon conflict Israel defense minister, etc 234 14.24
8. G8 summit in Russia CFI report 96 5.84
9. Sports Germany ambassador & wife (winners of gold tournament), NBM PRO, Annie Magola
Mulanje Porters Race 263 16.0
10. Headlines Parliament adjourns
HIV testing week
Israel devastates Lebanon
72 4.4
Total 1643 100
Note: The daily papers, the Nation and Daily Times, carried a story about a Molotov bomb planted in a catholic church in Lilongwe the previous day. The radio station did not carry the story although it was mentioned in newspaper review programmes
Date of Analysis: 19 July 2006
Story (brief description and in running order) Who is represented Duration (seconds) Percentage
1. Parliament adjourned Report 110 8.6
2. MCCI condemns MPs for asking for pay rise Harrison Kaluwa,
MMCI president
(private sector) 214 16.6
3. Civil Society and parliament for access ton information bill Berson Lijenda, MP, chairman, parliamentary committee on media, Innocent Chitosi, Director, MISA-Malawi (Civil society) 154 12.0
4. Government plans news disaster management techniques Meria Nowa Phiri, PS for Disaster Management Affairs (govt)
2 participants 140 10.9
5. Bingu Silver Grey foundation has donated items to poor Francis Mphepo, Trustee (Govt) 110 8.5
6. Government warns fake solar power installers -Chimunthu Banda, Minister of Environment (govt)
-Eric Tembo, President Renewable Energy Industry Association of Malawi 172 13.4
7. Israel/Lebanon conflict Israel MP, UN officials, Mohammed Abbas, PA president 211 16.4
8. Sport- Raiply Trophy launch Thomas Omen, CEO Raiply
Kenzie Majoni (NR football League) 123 9.5
9. Headlines Parliament adjourns
Civil society, etc discuss access to information bill
54 4.2
Total 1288 100
Note: On this day there was no intra-bulletin commercial and the news started 39 minutes late for a technical reason (according to TVM broadcast apology)
Date of Analysis: 21 July 2006
Story Who is represented Duration (seconds) Percentage
1. Czech ambassador leaves Malawi Czeh ambassador 56 3.9
2. Business community urges parliament to speedily pass budget/Consider people’s welfare Kelvi Mmangitsa of Lilongwe Cold Storage
Chancellor Kaferapanjira, CEO MCCI (private sector) 234 16.5
3. Malawi Telecoms LTD cable recovered at Mwanza Border Post Kitty Chinseu, PRO Malawi Revenue Authority/Gwenemb, Mwanza Police (Govt) 115 8.1
4.Stanbic introduces VISA money card Mary Nkosi/RBM
Other source not named 133 9.4
5.Concern Universal introduces empowerment scheme Willie Samuti, PS Local Govt, 224 15.8
6. NICO life activities Stain Singo, NICO Life (Private sector) 87 6.1
7. Promotion of girls education/computing Lucia Jere, Sec school head teacher 127 8.9
8. Community of St Egidio president visits Malawi, offers nutrition to HIV sufferers Marco Impaglalio, President
235 16.6
9. Civil Society in Thyolo urge for more social roles Rayan Banda, School teacher, Thyolo Mudandi Instructor 57 4.0
10.Headlines Business gurus condemn parliament
People disappointed with parliament 57 seconds 4.0
TOTAL 1419 100
Date of Analysis: 25 July 2006
Story (brief description and in running order) Who is represented Duration (seconds) Percentage
1. Parliament passes five votes but adjourns due to Chief Tsabango’s petition circulated in parliament Report ( Footage shows MPs in parliament) 147 12.1
2. TB workshop for editors Felix Salaniponi, TB Control Program director
George Ntonya (Analyst-Nation), Lexa Banda (sub-editor guardian) (govt ) 213 17.6
3. Heavy goods trucks overturn in Zingwangwa Blantyre Sanudi Ganizani (witness)
Unnamed official 166 13.7
4.Police arrest Malenga for stabbing sister to death in Machinjiri, Blantyre Unidentified witness 134 11.0
5. Demonstrations against parliament in Blantyre Two (1 male; 1 female) unidentified participants 52 4.3
Commercial Unilever 96
7.9
6. Malawi- Zimbabwe to operate jointly on Dubai route Captain Mchungula
Air Malawi Acting CEO, Oscar Madombwe, Acting CEO Air Zimbabwe
2 unidentified women 199 16.4
7. Education ministry fights Aids Desk Officer for HIV/AIDS, Principal Planning Officer
Unidentified speaker
Mohamed Rafaal, General Practitioner, Machinga Hospital (govt) 126 10.4
8. Headlines
-parliament adjourns
-Media in TB fight 80 6.6
TOTAL 1213 100
Date of Analysis: 27 July 2006
Story (brief description and in running order) Who is represented Duration (seconds) Percentage
1.parliament rejects budget vote for Electoral Commission Report 186 9.7
2. Journalists have asked to report development not just politics Deputy Minister of Information, John Banda
Esperance Fundira, UNFPA country rep, George Macheka Marketing & corporate comm., Banja la Mtsogolo
(Govt) 191 10.0
3. Tobacco control Commission for more buyers, worried about plummeting tobacco quality at ARET annual conference Godfrey Chapota, GM TCC
Eric Chilembwe ARET Director
Emelesiya Kamasinda Tobacco farmer
(pvt sector) 235 12.3
4. Govt appreciate role of church in health & corruption fight
women promotion in church ministry important Rev Maere, Deputy GS BT CCAP Synod
2 unidentified Newly ordained priests
Health Minister (mentioned) guest of honour (Civil Society/Govt) 158 8.2
5. EU Micro-projects programme workshop to continue though DC not handling money Kiswell Dakamau. DC Kasungu
(Govt) 162 8.4
6. Presidential advisor advise youth against aids, relationship between govt and church Rev Malani Mtonga, presidential advisor on religious affairs (govt)
Agnew Kachingwe
Diocesan youth President (civil society) 166 8.7
Breaking news- ACB Director has been suspended Report/Statement 10 0.5
7. Development of Malawian Trade of Malawian Trust
Chrissy Kausi-Mwanza Aids Support participant
Absalom Guluza, Regional Manager South (private sector) 340 17.7
8. Prison fellowship donates books to prisons Gracian Namanja, president Prison Fellowship Malawi (Pvt sector)
Tobias Nowa, Commissioner of prisons (Govt) 151 7.9
9. Malawi National Council of Sports says not easy for a coach to produce a winning team Retired Justice Banda, Chairman, MNCS
Ganizani Payisoni
Joseph Motcha (kids comments on future of soccer in Malawi) 251 13.1
10. headlines
-parliament rejects poll body budget vote
-Passes energy &
Human rights lines 68 3.54
TOTAL 1918 100
Note: The ACB director’s suspension was not rebroadcast the following morning
Summary
Out of a total of 7481 seconds of news broadcast, the president, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) used 2338 (31.25%), while the opposition got none (0%) and other news items (parliament, foreign news, advertising etc) occupied 68.74%.
Graph showing prime time news coverage share at Television Malawi
11.0 Content Analysis- MBC Radio 1
This study involved taking five random weekday evening news bulletins from the MBC Radio 1 (17-27 July, 2006) which is touted as the mother radio in terms of experience and coverage. Only the main news, not business, sport or weather) was analyzed according to the criteria below:
Date of Analysis: 17 July 2006
Story (brief description and in running order) Who is represented Duration (seconds) Percentage
1. Malawi needs alternatives routes for imports and exports Henry Mussa, Minister of Transport
government/ruling party 165 16.0
2.Teveta and Technical skills training important for Malawi and Africa Anna Kachiko, Minister of Education ( Govt) 125 12.1
3. Malawi thanks EU for assistance in population census David Faiti, Minister of Economic Planning, Patrick Kabambe (Govt) 64 6.2
4. Malawi Chamber of Commerce and Industry against parliamentarians and judges salary increase demands Harrison Kaluwa, President/MCCI/Private sector body (Private Sector) 150 14.5
5. Opposition against salary increases for judges/parliament adjourned Report only 119 11.5
6. Minister of lands urges people to work towards development/donates food items Henry Phoya, Minister of Lands/Ruling party 55 5.3
7. MP for Nkhata Bay Central donates items to needy constituents Vuwa Kaunda, deputy Minister
(Govt) 40 3.9
8. Journalists urged to report AIDS fully and professionally Robert Jamieson, Journalist/Publisher/Trainer
Civil Society) 40 3.9
9. Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) appeals for reconciliation and talks Labour Principal Secretary, Macmillan Magwira (govt) 104 10.1
10 Bunda college workshop Agriculture principal Secretary, Kabambe (govt) 98 9.5
11 -Govt says needs alternative export routes
-Malawi thanks EU
-Skills training crucial for Africa 72 7.0
Total 1032 100
Note: The daily papers carried a story about a Molotov bomb in a catholic church in Lilongwe the previous day. The radio station did not carry the story although it was mentioned in newspaper reviews.
Date of Analysis: 19 July 2006
Sponsored by Toyota Malawi: (40 sec commercial at beginning and close of news reading)
Story (brief description and in running order) Who is represented Duration (seconds) Percentage
World Education Day
Girls education important, government against girls abuse Education PS Fletcher Zenengeya, (government Official) 104 12.5
2. Flea markets helpful George Chaponda, Minister of Local (Government) 106 12.8
3. Zimbabwe & Malawi agree on trade terms, textile, etc Ken Lipenga, minister of Trade
(govt) 74 8.9
4. Malawi thanks Germany for Health assistance Marjorie Ngaunje, Minister of Health (Govt) 24 2.9
5. Bingu Silver Grey Foundations donates items to elderly Francis Mphempo, Trustee and government advisor, two recipients 137 16.5
6. Government plans economic growth strategy Ben Botha, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Economic Planning Ministry (govt) 50 6.0
7. Concerns about parliament adjournment Report 120 14.5
8. Retired people urge govt to consider their plight Oliver Sibale, President Retired peoples Association (civil society) 30 3.6
9. Govt against child labour Andrew Daudi, PS Labour ministry (govt) 25 3.0
11. Headlines Flea markets tom improve
No girls abuse
Zim-Mw
Malawi Watch concerned about parliament adjournments
80 9.6
Commercial Toyota Malawi 80 9.6
total 830 100
Date of Analysis 21 July 2006
Story (brief description and in running order) Who is represented Duration (seconds) Percentage
1. Czech republic ambassador to Malawi leaves Malawi Czech ambassador 148 19.6
2. President Bingu wa Mutharika congratulates Belgium on its freedom day Reports 48 6.4
3.People concerned with parliamentarians refusal to pass budget Report (Mentions PPM president Aleke Banda, DPP official Green Mwamondwe, DPP Deputy Secretary Myson Mkochi
Reverend Chakwera
Economic Justice Network Andrew Kumlira (ruling party, civil society) 374 49.5
4.Malawi receives agriculture grant from Norway Norway Ambassador
Finance Minister Godall Gondwe (govt) 49 6.5
5.Headlines People comment on opposition refusal to pass budget
60 7.9
Commercial
Toyota Malawi 76 10.1
TOTAL 755 100
Date of Analysis: 23 July 2006
Story Who is represented Duration (seconds) Percentage
1. Democratic Progressive Party disappointed with opposition parliamentarians Patricia Kaliyati
Minister of Information, Uladi Mussa, Vice President, DPP,
Godall Gondwe Minister of Finance
Hetherwick Ntaba, DPP Publicity Secretary 104 19.0
2. Seventh Day Adventist church condemns opposition for not passing budget Pastor Machilika (Civil Society) 28 5.1
3.Chiefs condemn MPs for conspiring not pass budget Chief Mkumpha,Likoma/Chizumulu Islands (George Mtafu’s constituency)
Chief Kalulu of Lilongwe (Njobvuyalema’s constituency)
(Traditional leadership) 289 52.7
4.Members of Parliament will continue deliberations Monday 24/7/06 Report 26 4.7
5. - 34 people die; 70 injured in Baghdad
-20 killed in Kirkuk (Iraq)
-19 killed in Afghanistan Report 41 7.5
6. Headlines
DPP disappointed
MPS continue deliberations Monday
34 killed etc in Baghdad Report 60 1o.94
TOTAL 548 100
Note: The news bulletin was not sponsored
Date of Analysis: 25 July 2006
Story (brief description and in running order) Who is represented Duration (seconds) Percentage
1. Parliament adjourns following petition letter circulated in parliament Chief Tsabango
(Traditional Leadership) 78 7.5
2. Demonstrations in Blantyre over MPs refusal to pass budget Unidentified men TA Changata Thyolo
Mai Masanza from Chikwawa & others from Zomba 69 6.7
3. Government defends its decision to buy BAT ground Jafalie Mussa, Minister of Youth and Sport (govt) 127 12.3
4. Ministry of Transport to bar heavy goods truck from using Liwonde barrage Henry Mussa, transport and public works minister (govt) 109 10.5
5. Merger between Malawi Promotion Agency (MIPA) and Malawi Economic and Promotion Council (MPEC) to be called MTIC/MITC (Malawi Trade and Investments Centre Ken Lipenga, Minister (govt) 113 10.9
6. Agriculture research extension trust (ARET) committed to improving tobacco quality Eric Chilembwe, ARET director
(private sector) 61 5.9
7. MCCI says international trade fayres promote trade Report 61 5.9
8. Northern region labour office investing employee abuse in
Odridge Khungwa
Regional Labour Officer (Mzuzu)
(govt) 60 5.8
9. Decentralisation not yet understood by community Blantyre District Commissioner, Charles Makanga, others
(govt) 108 10.4
10. Minibus Owners Association introduces complementary traffic control Coxly Kumange
General secretary, minibus owners association (private sector) 120 11.6
11. Headlines
-Government defends decision to buy BAT ground
-MMCI says fayre improve trade
40 3.9
Total 1036 100
Summary
Out of 4201 seconds of the news that was analyzed, government occupied 2325 (55.34%) while the Opposition was not coverage at all (0%) except as a target of blame. It was not given a change to reply as is required by professional journalism standards. Other news, which included parliamentary coverage, and advertising within the news occupied 1876 seconds (44.6%)
Graph showing prime time news coverage share at the MBC
12. Prime time (18-22 hours) Programming Diversity - TVM
The study also examined programming diversity at both the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Radio 1 (touted as the mother radio). The exercise was to find out and calculate in percentages how much time was dedicated to the categories during prime time broadcasting.
Name Total (Mon-Friday) Total Duration (minutes) % Language
Locally produced soap operas, comedies, and drama 2 (Thursday) 50 3.9 Chichewa
Regional (African)soap operas, comedies and drama 0 0 0 0
International soap operas, comedies and drama 0 0 0 0
Local music programmes 2 45
3.5 English
Chichewa
Regional and international programmes 1 30 2.3 Chichewa
Local news, features and discussion programmes 17 500 38.9 English+ Chichewa
Regional and international news, features and discussion programmes 0 0 0 0
Local sports coverage 1 30 3.5 English
Regional and international sports coverage 0 0 0 0
Other programmes ( ad hoc, e.g. parliamentary highlights, presidential diary, religion) 11 316 24.6 English with Chichewa interpretation
Total 1287 100 English and Chichewa
Table showing Peak Time content diversity at TVM during weekdays
Graphically this is what it looks like:
12. Prime time (18-22 hours) Programming Diversity – MBC 1
Name Total (Mon-Friday) Total Duration (minutes) % Language
Locally produced soap operas, comedies, and drama 3 87 9.0 Chichewa
Regional (African)soap operas, comedies and drama 0 0 0
International soap operas, comedies and drama 0 0 0
Local music programmes 4 85 8.7 Chichewa
Regional and international programmes 0 0 0
Local news, features and discussion programmes 25 494 50.8 English and Chichewa
Regional and international news, features and discussion programmes 2 57 5.9 English
Local sports coverage 1 10 1.0 Chichewa
Regional and international sports coverage 0 0 0
Other programmes ( ad hoc, eg. parliamentary highlights, presidential diary, religion) 10 296 30.5 Chichewa and English
Total 972 100
Summary
TVM and MBC 1 broadcast 33.33 prime time hours during the period of analysis. Out of these over 18 hours were dedicated to Chichewa broadcasts while the rest of the hours are for English. There is virtually no broadcast in other Malawians languages during these prime time hours.
Graph showing prime time news language use at Television Malawi and MBC 1. Note that MBC uses other languages than English and Chichewa but these are only used during ordinary time.
14.0 Recommendations for transformation campaign
14.1 Editorial independence
Fifteen of the 18 respondents to the questionnaire on opinions about the national broadcaster recommended that for the MBC and TVM to become public broadcasters in name and deed, there is need for the two stations to be given editorial freedom. They recommended that this could be achieved by making the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) free from political influence. Board members, the respondents suggested, should be appointed through a public hearing like is the case with South African public institutions. Further they recommended that the management of both TVM and MBC should be appointed on merit rather than for an individual’s political allegiance. Once MACRA, MBC and TVM boards and top management staff are appointed on merit, they will be able to work professionally and treat all Malawians equitably.
13.2 Revisit and amend Communications Act
Thirteen respondents suggested that the Malawi Communications Act (1998) should be revisited because it gives too much power to politicians to directly or indirectly interfere with the operations of MACRA, TVM and the MBC. They argued that since the president appoints chairpersons of management boards of the three institutions, they cannot work professionally and independently of the executive, the minister of information and the Cabinet. The fear was confirmed recently when President Mutharika addressed a public rally in Blantyre. He said: “I hear [the Director of Public Prosecutions Ishmael Wadi] says he is independent. How do you become independent from someone who appoints you?” (Nation, 11/08/06). Earlier the Minister of Information, Patricia Kaliati, argued that the government could not pay the MBC for airtime used during its live coverage of parliament because she
“thought they (Malawi Broadcasting Corporation) are a state-owned institution. So we can’t pay [the MBC K40m] for [covering parliament live]. It was MBC’s social responsibility as a public broadcaster.”
One would be misled if one thought that it is only politicians that equate public with state or government. Writing in the Nation of 26 July 2006, Kanthunkhako Jere urged for more funding for the MBC and TVM so that they continue making known the government development agenda and policies. Jere further said the president and his party had a right to use public media because there is only “one state President.” Jere’s point was reminiscent of assertions made in the Daily Times of 10 February, 2000 by Clement Stambuli, then Minister of Information:
Politicians who are not in government should not expect that there will be a time when they shall be covered live. That will not be possible and that will not happen. That is a privilege of the incumbent party… [not just for this party in government] but any other regime that may come in [future].
The respondents also said that the amendment to the Communications Act should include written and published guidelines guaranteeing the public broadcasters editorial independence and good conditions of service that will prevent them from corruption and political polarization.
14.3 Campaign for public awareness to influence change at MBC and TVM
Five respondents recommended that media freedom and professionalism advocacy institutions such as the Media Institute of Journalism (MISA) and Media Council of Malawi, Malawi Communications Authority (MACRA) should come together and come up with an awareness programme to inform the public about its right to demand public services from the national broadcasters because presently not many Malawians know that they can actually influence the state broadcasters to open up. One even suggested that political parties should challenge the MBC and TVM so that they are covered equitably, particularly during elections.
It would appear that not many people know that MBC and TVM were licensed as public broadcasters with the mandate to inform, educate and entertain. However, unlike what the Communications Act says about the role of the MBC during elections, the license conditions do not oblige MBC and TVM to cover elections. But if they choose to, they are urged to follow the Third Schedule of the Communications Act.
14.4 Public Broadcasting media monitoring programme
Three respondents suggested that a monitoring programme be created and funded by parliament and donors to monitor the performance of MBC and TVM and intervene immediately there is too much departure from the public broadcaster mandate. They also suggested that MBC and TVM directors general should be answerable to the public by reporting directly to the parliamentary committee on the media, which should also oversee TVM and MBC implementation of their licence conditions. Power of the state over TVM and MBC should thus be curtailed or completely removed.
14.5 Funding
Three respondents suggested that MBC and TVM should stop accepting commercial advertising or sponsored programmes because these force programme producers to ignore culturally important programmes in favour of paid-for programmes which (as we have seen above) dominate prime time and relegate the rest to ordinary time when people are not listening or watching. They suggested that a trust similar to the BBC Trust should be created where donors and the state should put money to run the stations. Some had a diametrically opposite suggestion, that is, that the MBC and TVM should run as commercial entities with no funding from the government or the public purse. It is worth noting, however, that, while studies have shown that advertisers have a strong influence over the quality of programming, there are several public broadcasters like RTE (Ireland), South African Broadcasting Corporation which run on a commercial logic but remain professionally and legally public broadcasters. While the BBC gets 95% of funding from the state, it still makes 5% out of advertising (www.eu.wikipedia.org).
14.6 Staff Training
One respondent suggested it would take time for the staff of the MBC and TVM to change their working format because change takes time to be accepted. Therefore there is need for training courses for management and editorial staff on the role, management and programming for public broadcasting. It would appear that MBC staff is not aware that the Communications Act forbids them from commenting or expressing its own opinion (section 87.2c ) but the station continues to write and read comments every Friday. This is a result of old habits refusing to die. Therefore, a refresher course would assist long-serving editors and management that their mandate as public broadcasters has changed.
14.6 Content and linguistic diversity
There are attempts at TVM and MBC to provide content and linguistic diversity. For instance, there are news bulletins and short programmes in English, Chichewa, Chitumbuka, Kiyangonde, Chiyao, Chilomwe, Chisena and Chitonga. English is Malawi official language while Chichewa is the national language. The majority of Malawians is comfortable with Chichewa, while in all administrative communication and correspondence English is used. Chilomwe, Chitumbuka, Chitonga, Kiyangonde, Chiyao, and Chisena are Malawi’s other prominent linguistic groupings. TVM uses only English and Chichewa while other languages in interviews are voiced over. MBC Radio 1 broadcasts news and short programmes in these other languages.
Out of 8085 minutes of weekly broadcasting at MBC 1, only 520 (6.4%) minutes are allocated to programmes in languages other than English and Chichewa.
MBC 1 weekly quota allocation in minutes for programmes in English and Chichewa
These other languages and cultural programmes, (the 6.4. %) are allocated time as follows:
MBC 1 weekly quota allocations in minutes for programmes in Malawian languages other than Chichewa
Chisena, which is allotted the smallest quota, gets 0.9% of broadcast time, while Tumbuka, the most privileged of the minority languages occupies 1.2%, Lomwe gets 1.1% and Tonga, Yao, and Ngonde get 1.0% apiece.
The time allocated for programming in local languages other than Chichewa is arguably enough considering that the majority of Malawians speaks and understands Chichewa. However, the problem is that linguistic diversity is not accompanied by cultural diversity. News items are constructed in English and translated into Malawians languages. There is virtually no news about the Sena, Tonga, Yao, Lomwe, Tumbuka and Ngonde people. If the news in English is about the President, it will be the same in Chichewa and other languages. In short the beneficiary is the President. At TVM, the news programme, Nkhani Mwachindunji (News Bulletin) is broadcast a day after the main 20.00 hours news bulletin.
It could be suggested that MBC should decentralize its operations so that the Mzuzu studios produce their own programmes and broadcast them to people who speak and understand Chitumbuka and other northern region languages. The Lilongwe Studios could cater for language and cultural programmes for central region communities. The Zomba studios should be repaired and cater for Southern region cultural and linguistic communities. The stations could come together during main bulletins. This is the format Radio France, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, etc uses.
This programming decentralization should be accompanied by decentralized funding, management and editorial decision making. The main news would come from MBC headquarters at Chichiri, Blantyre
To feed into the decentralized programming, the Malawi News Agency should be fully funded or privatized so that it has functional radio, print (wire) and television departments, which will gather politically neutral news, produce programmes for the MBC and TVM and other stations. There is a market for externally produced programmes.
15.0 Strategies with government, the media and civil society
The government of Malawi has already shown commitment to public broadcasting by passing the Communications Act, the Parliamentary and Presidential Act, the Local Government Elections Act, in which the role of the MBC and TVM are made clear. Further, the creation of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) to take charge of regulatory issues from government, the granting of public broadcasting licenses to TVM and MBC are indications of goodwill on the part of the Malawi government. Malawi is a signatory to African and SADC protocols on information, culture, public broadcasting and media diversity. There is need to have a law that will domesticate the international and regional legal instruments Malawi has signed.
The parliamentary committee on the media is very active. Contrary to some people’s assertions, parliament withholding of 50% of funding to MBC and TVM proves that the lawmakers want a neutral and professional public broadcasting service in Malawi.
MISA and other organizations should see the Malawi parliament, available legal instruments and institutions as partners and work together towards amending the Communications Act and creating media policies that guarantee editorial independence and working conditions for public service broadcasters.
In his review of 2004 parliamentary and presidential elections, Tim Neale (2004) suggested that political bias of public broadcasters stems, in part, from lack of clarity vis-à-vis the role and mandate of the said broadcasters during elections and recommended that the role and mandate should be part of electoral law in Malawi.
16.0 Conclusion
Although limited in scope, this study has revealed programming deficiencies and difficulties at the MBC and TVM. They do not qualify as public broadcasters. But the opportunity and legal environment for them to transform into public broadcasters are there.
17.0 References
Article XIX. 2003. Broadcasting Policy and Practice in Africa. London: Article
XIX
Bussiek, C & B.2004.The Media: making democracy work: Tool Box 2:
Broadcasting Regulation. Windhoek: FES
Bussiek, C & B.2004.The Media: making democracy work: Tool Box 3: Public
Broadcasting. Windhoek: FES
Chikunkhuzeni, F.1999. Towards an Understanding Programming at the
MBC. Unpublished MA thesis. Rhodes University, South Africa
Forbes, D. 2005. A Watchdog’s Guide to Investigative Reporting.
Johannesburg: KAS
KAS. 2003. SADC Media Law: A handbook for Media Practitioners. Vol.1.
Johannesburg: KAS
Louw, R. 2004. Undue restriction: Laws impacting on media freedom in the
SADC. Windhoek: MISA
Manda, LZ. 2004. Covering the Elections in Ott ,M (ed) Power of the Vote:
2004 parliamentary and presidential elections. Zomba: Kachere
Neale. T. 2004. Malawi’s Media- 2004 and Beyond in Ott ,M (ed) Power of the
Vote: 2004 parliamentary and presidential elections. Zomba: Kachere
Ngwale, M. 2004 Malawi All Media Survey. Blantyre: Marketpoint
Opoku-Mensah, A. 1998. Up in the air? The state of Broadcasting in Southern
Africa. Lusaka: PANOS Southern Africa
Ramadi, G. 2006. Is your national broadcaster a public service
broadcaster? Transforming state broadcasters in Southern
Africa to public broadcasters. Paper presented at a
conference on Parliaments and Broadcasting reforms in
the SADC Region, 25-28 April, 2006, Swaziland.
Appendix 1: TVM Weekly Schedule
TVM \ WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
6:00 VOA
6:30 Mwatidzutsa Mwatidzutsa Mwatidzutsa Mwatidzutsa Mwatidzutsa
7:00 Live Live Live Live Live Manna Mapemphero
7:30
8:00 TVM News TVM News TVM News TVM News TVM News TVM News Melody Hour
8:30 VOA VOA VOA VOA Islamic Hour News Outlook
9:00 Nkhani Mwachindunji VOA
9:30 TVM Sport/Zakwathu
10:00 VOA Tikambe
10:30 French Corner
11:00 Mbiri
11:30 African Stars Church & Hot Potatos
12:00 News Hour News Hour News Hour News Hour News Hour Life in the KICC
12:30 News Out Look News Outlook VOA News Outlook News Outlook USA Science Man
13:00 DHL Soccer Show
13:30 Tisanthule Kanthu nkhama
14:00 Mwaswera Budget
14:15 Mwaswera
14:30 VOA VOA VOA Sport
14:45 Variety
15:00 Live
15:15 Show
15:30
15:45 Repeat
16:00 Pingu Kids Buzz Kids Buzz African Soccer
16:15 Tellybabies Show Variety
16:30 Zamakolo Chuma Chobisika Chuma Chobisika Africa Explorer
16:45
17:00 Oprah Oprah Oprah Oprah Oprah Melody
17:15 Hour
17:30 Show
17:45
18:00 Nkhani Nkhani Nkhani Nkhani Nkhani Nkhani Nkhani
18:15 Mwachindunji Mwachindunji Mwachindunji Mwachindunji Mwachindunji Mwachindunji Mwachindunji
18:30 KICC KICC KICC KICC Youth Magazine Church & Hot Beautiful Savior
18:45 Potatoes Chilengedwe
19:00 Season of Grab a Business Report African Stars Islamic Guide Ufulu ndi Udindo Phungu
19:15 Favour Tip Commercial Window
19:30 Ufulu ndi Udindo Umoyo Music Splash Ufulu ndi Udindo Time of Power Music Splash Power for the Hour
19:45 TVM Sport Carlsberg
20:00 TVM News TVM News TVM News TVM News TVM News Week in Review TVM News
20:15
20:30 Phungu Get to Know Tikambe Tikuferanji Ntetezeni Hot Seat Inter- Gospel
20:45 Zakwathu Mix
21:00 Amayi Through the Camera Life Mbiri Super League Superstory Makwelero
21:15 Chilengedwe in the Soccer Show 12
21:30 Crossrhythms Ufulu ndi Udindo USA Crossrhythms DHL Socccer
21:45
22:00 Nkhani Nkhani Nkhani Nkhani Nkhani Nkhani Nkhani
22:15 Mwachindunji Mwachindunji Mwachindunji Mwachindunji Mwachindunji Mwachindunji Mwachindunji
22:30 VOA VOA VOA VOA VOA VOA VOA
22:45
23:00
23:15
23:30
23:45
0:00
MONDAY TUESDAY WED THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUN
Note: Sometimes VOA is replaced by DW TV.
Appendix 2: MBC Radio 1 Weekly Prime Time Schedule
Time Mon Tues Wed Thurs Frid Sat Sun
18:00 News and Newsreel News and Newsreel News and Newsreel News and Newsreel News and Newsreel News Bulletin News Bulleti
18:20 Uko ndko Kudya Dziwani za Mardef Mbwezera (18:15) Music Comment/Opinion 18:15
What’s on/Kulinji? Dombolo Nkhuombolana Ulimi wa Phindu
18:35 Cheni Cheni nchiti Mwana Alirenji Chimvano cha mabvu (18:45) 18:30 Mmudzi mwathu Ndiufulu Wanga (18:30 sewero la sabata ino (18:30) Pabwalo 18:30
19:00 Nkhani ndi malipoti Nkhani ndi malipoti Nkhani ndi malipoti Nkhani ndi malipoti Nkhani ndi malipoti Nkhani Nkhani ndi malipoti
19:20 Parliamentary highlights Zimene nyuzipepala zalemba Parliamentary highlights Parliamentary highlights Ndemanaga Za ulimi ndi Misika (19:10) Dziwani za TB
19:30 Tisanthule nzotheka Zimachitika Parliamentary highlights Parliamentary highlights Parliamentary highlights Zimachitika Mwana Alirenji
19:57 Programme Parade Chichewa) Programme Parade (Chichewa) Programme Parade Chichewa) Programme Parade Chichewa) Programme Parade Chichewa) Programme Parade (Chichewa) Programme Parade (Chichewa)
20:00 News and Reports News and Reports News and Reports News and Reports News and Reports News uletins News and Reports
20:10 Mauthenga a Chisoni Mauthenga a Chisoni Mauthenga a Chisoni Mauthenga a Chisoni Mauthenga a Chisoni Mauthenga a Chisoni Mauthenga a Chisoni
20: 20 Zimene nyuzipepala zalemba Mayi wa makono Zimene nyuzipepala zalemba OCGAM / Sport Theatre of the Air Newroom Malawi (19:30)
20: 35 Science adventure Mayi wa makono OCGAM / Sport Theatre of the Air Newroom Malawi Focus on the Nation (20:30)
21:00 Nkhani za m’mboma
Nkhani za m’mboma
Nkhani za m’mboma
Nkhani za m’mboma
Nkhani za m’mboma
Nkhani za m’mboma
Nkhani za m’mboma
21:10
21:40 Islamic guide Spotlight on Africa
Apaulendo
Writers Corner International Crossroads
Apaulendo
Malawian dance Beat Sports special/Nkhani za Masewero Sports special/Nkhani za Masewero
Kalondolondo
22:00 Nyimbo zoyiwalika Tidziwane ndi Oyimba Zochititsa Chidwi Jazz Beat Afro Beat Personal show Chorus for Sunday
(Based on official MBC Radio 1 weekly schedule. Modifications made based on programmes monitored)
Appendix 3: Civil society views on state versus public broadcasting
Questionnaire on opinions of the transformation of the state broadcaster in Malawi into a public service broadcaster
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
(a)While it is indeed true that political interference has greatly contributed to free and independent reporting by state broadcasters, self-censorship also plays an upper hand.
(b) One of the concepts of democracy is a society, which freely meaningfully participates in running their own affairs and have open and free flows of information to make informed choices. Our state broadcasters do not give the citizenry enough choice to make important decisions concerning their lives
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
Self censorship manifests itself in different forms e.g fear of reprisals from media owners, government, advertisers, powerful people or when the journalist is seeking favours and also when journalists want to be seen as politically correct in the eyes of the government, media owners, advertisers and other influential people
Freeing MACRA from the government grip. MACRA has to be independent and recruitment of its officers including the board should not be done by political appointment. Deliberate media policies should be instituted to govern free operation of broadcasters
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
Level: there is little access to the public broadcasting media by opposition parties apart from that the are seen to be on government side
Equity: No
Election coverage: Not fair but has improved
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
N/A
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
Our state broadcasters have long lost public credibility because they are perceived mouthpieces of the ruling party.
The Ministry of Information, MACRA together with Namisa and other media stakeholders should (1) develop a media monitoring programme (2) create awareness, knowledge and understanding of the principles of state broadcasting (3) form a task force to advocate alongside NAMISA, parliamentary media committee other stakeholders for a revised legal base for a true state broadcaster (4) conduct refresher courses to improve the quality of news and its credibility (5) the public broadcasters should open up airwaves for public debates on their operations to gain knowledge and understanding on how they are perceived by the public (6) call for a conference to discuss ways to improve the policies, working conditions and the output of the news and current affairs departments for the broadcasters and how to fend off government influence. From the conference would be strategies to create a democratic state broadcasting system (7) Fight for the enactment of the Communications Act.
========================================================
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
-They are not quite independent. They still answer to the needs of one sector of society. Their freedom is on paper. On a scale of 1 – 5, 5 being highest score, I would give 2
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
3.
Self censorship is there when it comes to reporting political matters, but nothing of the sort when it comes to culturally and morally sensitive matters which matter most in our modern society where moral decay is even promoted and left unchecked as compared to political issues
4. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
Here, the state broadcaster miserably fails. The score is 1. Opposition Parties have a raw deal and election coverage is never ever fair.
5. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
No influence. I doubt if the legal frameworks on the land have provision for me as an individual to have any such influence. The best is to look at the Communications Act and if it does not provide for the individual influence, then it has to be reviewed and provision made for.
6. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
Revoke the entire Act under which the state broadcaster was instituted and re-enact under different regulatory mandates, other than government.
Questionnaire on opinions of the transformation of the state broadcaster in Malawi into a public service broadcaster
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
To the extent that they are not political plants and that they have the professional capacity to defend their decisions to or not to air, and produce balanced programmes. Unfortunately the majority of journalists at the state broadcaster have political or religious links to politicians, and rise through the ladder of the same politicians. The professionals leave before making any impact, and the chuff reaps the fruits of their loyalty. There can be no free reporting.
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
Self-censorship is the order of the day at the state broadcasters because one does not know who is watching him or her.
To help journalists there, do the following:
a. Define to them to who they are accountable to; the government of the day or the public?
b. Regular refresher courses needed to influence change, because many in positions are resistant to change.
c. Refine the Act regarding broadcasting.
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
Unless political parties make ‘noise’ there will be a black out on opposition parties. There is no equitable coverage the system does not allow innovations among state journalist, but directives. Election coverage tilt heavily in favour of the ruling party of the day.
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
No influence at all. Let there be more debate on the issue and this would conscientise the public to demand their fair return on their taxes.
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
a. Re-do the enabling Acts
b. Allocate funding for training and retention of the trained staff
c. It should abolish advertising, but be fully funded under a trust.
Questionnaire on opinions of the transformation of the state broadcaster in Malawi into a public service broadcaster
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
HONESTLY THEY ARE NOT FREE TO REPORT INDEPENDENTLY
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
YES SELF CENSORSHIP EXISTS.
MAKE THE STATE BROADCASTER AUTONOMOUS, INDEPENDENT & PROFESSIONAL.
JOURNALISTS SHOULD SHED OFF BELIEF THAT THEY CAN ONLY SUCCEED BY LEANING TOWARDS ANY POLITICAL PARTY.
APPOINTMENTS TO KEY POSITIONS SHOULD NOT BE POLITICAL BUT MERITOROUS
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
PARTIES DO NOT HAVE EQUAL ACCESS. ELECTION COVERAGE IS NEVER FAIR BECAUSE OF BIAS TOWARDS THE RULING PARTY.
LET INDEPENDENT BODIES LIKE ELECTORAL COMMISSION, MEDIA COUNCIL, PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON MEDIA ETC PLAY A WATCHDOG ROLE AND HAVE POWER TO EFFECT PUNITIVE OR REMEDIAL MEASURES.
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
NO INFLUENCE. LET THE BROADCASTER BE ACCOUNTABLE TO PEOPLE VIA PARLIAMENTARY SUB COMMITTEE OR ANY OTHER INDEPENDENT BODY. LET INDEPENDENT BODY RECORD VIEWS OF LISTENERS AND HAVE THEM AIRED AND DEBATED ON RADIO JUST LIKE THEY DO IN KANTHU NKHAMA PROGRAMME
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
LET IT BE ANSWERABLE TO THE PUBLIC, DEPOLITICISE APPOINTMENTS, MAKE IT MORE AUTONOMOUS AND INDEPENDENT & ALLOW OTHERS TO PLAY SCRUTINY ROLE
Questionnaire on opinions of the transformation of the state broadcaster in Malawi into a public service broadcaster
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
They aren’t free at all as their jobs are at the mercy of the. Promotions prospects too depend on their being seen to be pro-ruling party. So naturally they cannot report independently. They want to report what their pay masters want to hear, even if it is not necessarily a true reflection of what is on the ground.
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
Yes it does exist; but for improved free reporting the state broadcaster has to be de-linked from the state in terms of funding as well as administratively. But perhaps we should scrutinize how most of the journalists at the state broadcaster found their way their: some of them got jobs on recommendation from powerful politicians, hence they want to pay them back by reporting only positive things about those people.
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
I think the access is reasonably good. The political parties in my opinion are equitably covered. Smaller parties, with limited resources, will of course naturally have less access than relatively bigger ones.
Election coverage is NOT fair to all. There is a lot of interference from ruling parties normally. Sometimes facts are deliberately misrepresented to suit the wishes and aspirations of those on the ruling party side.
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
Powers of the state over the broadcaster need to be reduced or removed completely. The current boards of directors for instance are nominated by ruling party, so they must be its sympathisers. A neutral board, composed of representatives of all major parties in the country would be a better option.
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
• Staff recruitment and promotion should be transparent and on merit
• De-link it from government; let it run as a commercial entity---
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
Very little if any at all. News coverage is clearly biased in favour of government and when an opposition party member/politician is interviewed they doctor the news- reporting only the positive side of government leaving what they consider is not in favour of the government. A recent example is what Hon Aleke Banda lamented in the Nation Newspaper over MBC’s biased reporting of his statement reacting to the State President’s National address on the budget crisis recently. A friendly chat with members of staff at TVM reveals that they are not free to broadcast news freely and objectively and they say they are not surprised with the opposition’s reaction to the state broadcasters’ 2006-2007 budget.
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
I’m not clear what kind of self-censorship you are referring to. Nevertheless, I believe that there is very strict censorship on what is broadcasted on these state controlled broadcasters. I believe that it is not easy for journalists to be free in these media houses. There is need to review both internal and external policies including conditions of service so that journalists are well protected and adhere to their professional ethics and enjoy the freedom of expression that the constitution gives them. An Independent professional body of journalists should be put in place to over see the work of reporters in these media houses and other non state media houses. This body should be given mandate to review media policies and handle issues of journalists including their general conditions of work.
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
There is lack of equity in covering various parties. Election coverage is absolutely biased.
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? I do not have any at all. If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence? Refer to (2) formation of an independent professional body with mandate among other things to regulate, protect, speak for etc the media and communications industry.
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster? The public other than the state should control these broadcasters. Once again a public based professional grouping should be instituted to over see work at these media houses.
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
Only to the extent that it is not negative towards the government or the ruling party and/or its agents
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
Yes it does. You need an independent board that can protect and enhance professionalism. In the absence of that, who wants to risk their livelihood?
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
Parties not covered equitably. Only covered when there is negative news
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
Need to have a civil representation
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
Change the Act to have remove the powers of the executive in hiring and firing and give those powers to a more representative civil body
Questionnaire on opinions of the transformation of the state broadcaster in Malawi into a public service broadcaster
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
I would give it a 10 percent out of 100
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
It exists a great deal but it is learning from past experience. A number of them have been subjected to unjust treatment
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
Never ever before.
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
I believe so because we some of our creativeness has been stolen and used by public broadcasters
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
It’s not even a public broadcaster rather a state broadcaster. I would rather have a law that stipulates that public broadcaster should be funded because government but no politicians should have a hand in the appointment and running/control of the service
Questionnaire on opinions of the transformation of the state broadcaster in Malawi into a public service broadcaster
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
They are not free at all
There are two groups there
• Those employed to serve Muluzi who now fear being fired any time they step out of line
• Those that were not stooges of the previous administration, but fear loosing their jobs all the same
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
Yes for the same reasons as above.
Create an independent broadcasting authority that would look into how this is being run.
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
No access. Parties are treated differently. If party in power owes money no action is taken, but when an opposition party owes money there are no further airing of its programs
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
No. for the people employed there to stop fearing for losing their jobs or regarding critics as possible take-overs from their jobs
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
By the creation of the independent broadcasting authority whose commissioners are elected by the general public and stakeholders.
Questionnaire on opinions of the transformation of the state broadcaster in Malawi into a public service broadcaster
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
I do not believe that journalists are free at the state broadcaster. Being a state controlled entity, journalists are naturally compelled to favour the government of the day in their reporting for fear of their contracts being terminated prematurely. There is a possibility that journalists look at precedents, and they fear being victims of similar mishaps
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
3.
I believe self-censorship exists to a certain extent. There is need to review the relevant law to ensure that journalists are well protected from the legal view point. I also think that Malawians can learn from other nations whose state broadcasters are operating to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.
4. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
The state broadcaster is not easily accessed by parties from the opposition side. Since the state broadcaster is casually seen as an entity owned/controlled by the ruling government/the ruling party, most of the employees at the state broadcaster naturally tend to play their game in favour of the ruling party. The ruling party is seen as the boss of the employees’ pay-master
5. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
-As an individual, I do not have any direct influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run. If certain actual authority/power were given to me legally, I could have the direct influence.
6. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
-To come up with some proper law that will create a level playing field for all stakeholders including the public, employees, the private sector, government, political parties, non governmental organisations, religious groups, etc. ‘Wide consultations’ would be a recommended approach when proposing the proper law
Questionnaire on opinions of the transformation of the state broadcaster in Malawi into a public service broadcaster
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
Journalists in state media are in most cases directed on what to cover
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
Yes. Self censorship does exist and sometimes journalists who have not adhered to this are penalised. Journalists in state media should always remember that the state media belongs to the state and hence to the public. No single individual should claim ownership.
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
In Malawi access to the state broadcasters has always favoured the ruling parties. The current president started with a commitment to change this but this is not evident yet.
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
No. The parliamentary committee on information should review the programming and make recommendations that should be followed by the public broadcaster. Failure to implement the recommendations should result into dismissal of the director of the public broadcaster.
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
The director general should be report to the parliamentary committee on information and the committee should regularly evaluate the operations of the public broadcaster and make recommendations that should be followed by the public broadcaster. Failure to implemement the recommendations should result into dismissal of the director of the public broadcaster.
.========================================================
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
Less free because they first check whether what they intend to report is favourable to their political masters. News to them is largely concerned with who first, rather than what.
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
There is a lot of self-censorship. They should abide by the Third Schedule (S.52) of the Communications Act of 1998 which provides a code of conduct for broadcasting services.
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
Have no access, even for paid up adverts. The biggest problem is that there is a fallacy that the State President must always be covered live, all the time. This is a big loophole because during elections, him and his cronies misuse this privilege and start campaigning.
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
No. Maybe use MPs to withhold funding and force the broadcaster to start to learn to cover public events. Mind you, public is not synonymous with government.
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
No need to re-invent the wheel. Start following the guidelines of the Communications Act of 1998. It is straight forward and simple.
Questionnaire on opinions of the transformation of the state broadcaster in Malawi into a public service broadcaster
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
They aren’t free at all as their jobs are at the mercy of the. Promotions prospects too depend on their being seen to be pro-ruling party. So naturally they cannot report independently. They want to report what their pay masters want to hear, even if it is not necessarily a true reflection of what is on the ground.
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
Yes it does exist; but for improved free reporting the state broadcaster has to be de-linked from the state in terms of funding as well as administratively. But perhaps we should scrutinize how most of the journalists at the state broadcaster found their way their: some of them got jobs on recommendation from powerful politicians, hence they want to pay them back by reporting only positive things about those people.
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
I think the access is reasonably good. The political parties in my opinion are equitably covered. Smaller parties, with limited resources, will of course naturally have less access than relatively bigger ones.
Election coverage is NOT fair to all. There is a lot of interference from ruling parties normally. Sometimes facts are deliberately misrepresented to suit the wishes and aspirations of those on the ruling party side.
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
Powers of the state over the broadcaster need to be reduced or removed completely. The current boards of directors for instance are nominated by ruling party, so they must be its sympathisers. A neutral board, composed of representatives of all major parties in the country would be a better option.
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
• Staff recruitment and promotion should be transparent and on merit
• De-link it from government; let it run as a commercial entity
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
Journalists at the state broadcasters are not free at all to report independently on the news of the day. This is reflected in the black out on certain news pieces, especially that which is critical of government. Statements from the leading politicians, especially those on the government side, make it very clear that they expect the state broadcasters to ‘serve the government of the day’ – meaning giving a positive spin on government news and negative spin on any news to do with the opposition parties.
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
Due to political pressure, journalists at the state broadcasters work in an environment of fear. Fear of the powers that be and fear of colleagues within the institution who are nothing more than government apologists. In Malawi’s narrow labour market, there is always the fear that if a journalist ‘strays’ from the government line, he or she is likely to lose one’s job. The natural thing then is for journalists to self-censor. Very few have been bold enough not to. I personally have encountered journalists who warn me in advance to be careful in what I say in my interviews with the state broadcasters.
Unless the public media is transformed to remove the political influence that comes through the Ministry of Information, I am afraid the state broadcasters will continue to self-censor. The media laws (MACRA) needs to be revisited to provide greater independence to the state broadcasters. Journalists themselves at the state broadcasters need to be bold enough and say no to being used. I am saying this because sometimes, the self-censorship is purely due to a lack of work ethics on the part of the concerned individuals and perhaps a failure to realise that being a state broadcaster simply means serving all Malawians, not particular politicians or political parties. Greater independence through proper and efficient use of advertising revenue would also minimise the political pressure on the state broadcasters.
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
The state broadcasters give us all saturation coverage of the State President and his political party. There appears to be perception that as long as the President says or does anything, that is news. This is often at the expense of the real news. The opposition are only featured mostly in a negative light, unless the newsmakers say something complimentary to government. In other words, there is no balance in the coverage of political news at all. The same applies to election coverage: the opposition have to rely mostly on the independent media as a medium of communicating messages to the wider public. Meanwhile, the ruling party always gets the biggest chunk of positive news coverage. This is a major concern when one considers that the hallmark of any democracy is the opportunity that exists for the opposition to win elections.
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
I have no influence at all. If I said something controversial, it would not get aired. And when journalists at the public broadcasters pre-determine that your statements might not be complimentary of government, then they would not even bother to call you up for an interview. Fortunately, I do not seek to influence them at all!!
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
a. Strengthen the mandate of MACRA
b. Recruit professional journalists, not party-apparatchiks at the state media. In other words, appointments should be made purely on merit.
c. Retrain the personnel (including senior personnel) at the state broadcasters (especially MBC) on the role of the media in a democracy.
d. Maximise advertising revenue and institute proper mechanisms for utilising such revenue to compliment government funding.
e. Introduce (resurrect?) Media Council of Malawi with more regulatory powers
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
--Basically Journalists can be said to be free to cover events in State Media agencies, however conditions such as newsroom editing, individual perceptions and advancement opportunities have limited this freedom------
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free in their reporting?
3.
-------Self censorship is very evident based on how Journalists would want professional favours. In an environment where remuneration is very low, opportunities such as Presidential foreign trips have led to people competing for party of Government loyalty. To the extent that even senior managers would struck off potential stories to please some quarters. Self –censorship can only be solved through professional training and ethics set and monitored. Journalism has become one of the most disgraced professionals in the country due to self-censorship. An urgent remedy would be a media independent regulatory body that even punished biased reporting.
4. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
The ruling parties have enjoyed monopoly over radio and television even rallies covered by Malawi News Agency at district levels. This has not changed even during elections.
5. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
---Not particularly, but need to introduce an open feed back system to support the state media
6. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
-----State Media should be under the Authority of Parliamentary Committee and the Operations boards appointment should be done
1. To what extent do you believe journalists at the state broadcaster are free to report independently on the news of the day?
They are largely not free to independently report on news- they give the impression that the ‘Big Brother is Watching you’ syndrome pervades the operations of the public broadcasters
2. Do you believe self-censorship exists at the state broadcaster and, if so, what recommendations do you have for helping journalists to be more free
in their reporting?
Self-censorship is the order of the day because it would appear that freedom to independently report on issues only exists on paper as journalists find themselves in a situation in which they fear dismissal or reprisals should they act otherwise. Reviewing the regulatory legislation including reforms as to who should appoint the MACRA board might be the first step in dealing with the present problem. The law should clearly stipulate safeguards for journalists who find themselves on the ‘wrong side’ of powers that be.
3. How do you assess the level of access of the various political parties to the state broadcaster? Are parties covered equitably? Is election coverage fair to all?
An attempt has been to do so but the problems alluded to in 2 make it difficult for the public broadcasters to equitably cover issues from all political parties. During elections the party in power is given more than their fair share of coverage oftentimes on the pretext of covering the head of state’s government functions which essentially are campaign rallies.
4. Do you have any influence over the way in which the state broadcaster is run? If not, what do you believe could be done to increase that influence?
Yes, but it is often in the form of recommendations which can be ignored. Perhaps (take it as Adams’ personal opinion) if the Commission was granted powers to make determinations which are enforceable by Courts of law the influence of the Commission over the running of state broadcasters.
5. What recommendations do you have to transform the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster?
Law reform as proposed in 2 might be helpful.
