Media Bodies in Zambia submit that self regulation remains the only alternative though in need of overhauling

Zambian media bodies, requested to make submissions to the Parliament Committee on Information and Broadcasting on “The role of the media in national stability and the efficacy of the Media Ethics Council in protecting and promoting media ethics”,  have submitted that there is need to overhaul the Media Ethics Council of Zambia (MECOZ) to make it effective but have reiterated that self media regulation was the only option if Zambia wanted to maintain freedom of expression and access to information in the country.

Among the organisation invited was MISA Zambia which made its submission on 8 May, 2009.

MISA Zambia submitted through its Chairperson Henry Kabwe that there was need for Zambia to continue having self-regulation regardless of the fact that Media Council of Zambia (MECOZ) had not performed to expectation because it was an internationally recognised standard for the media to be self-regulated.
 
Kabwe said that though the mainstream media’s conduct and compliance with the Electoral Code of Conduct of 2006 was not adequate during the 2008 October presidential by-election, Zambia could not enact laws to regulate the ethical conduct of the media.
 
He stated that there were sufficient laws which govern media conduct and included aspects for redress when parties are aggrieved. He said parties that felt unfairly covered could have used their rights provided in the Electoral Code of Conduct of 2006 to seek redress through the Electoral Commission of Zambia or the Courts of Law.
 
He explained that if media were subjected to statutory regulation, the likelihood of the freedom of expression being gagged was high.
 
And making a submission on the same topic University of Zambia Mass Communication Department Lecturer Gerald Mwale echoed the same sentiments but added that there was need for MECOZ to return to the drawing board to rework its outreach strategy to win the confidence of society.
 
Mwale said there was need for MECOZ to convince the media that subscribing to it was of their own good. He said that the redrafted MECOZ constitution should address the weaknesses raised by journalists.
 
He urged MECOZ to support and join forces with journalists who desired to raise professional standards and thus strengthen the social standing of journalism.
 
Appearing before the same committee on 7 May, 2009, Catholic Media Services (CMS) Executive Director Fr Paul Samasumo, said that the fact that some media organisation were not part of the organisation was because MECOZ was still in its formative stage.
 
He said the onus was on MECOZ to sufficiently repackage and market itself to woo rather than beat organisations into submission. Fr Samasumo said even organisations that were not part of it saw value in the organisation.
 
He reminded the Parliamentarians that statutory regulation of the media should be avoided at all costs. He said standards of ethics were best developed and applied by the media fraternity.
 
Zambia Union of Journalists (ZUJ) Morgan Chonya has described MECOZ as a cornerstone of the system of self regulation to which the industry had made a binding commitment.
 
He also advised the government to cease controlling the public media such as the Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail so that they could return viability. He said the two papers were not selling at present because of their content.
 
“The two newspapers are not selling because of the content and people are not buying because of government censors

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