British high Commissioner to Zambia Carolyn Davison has observed that the media in Zambia is polarized.
Ms Davison has told journalists in an interview in Lusaka that it is difficult for one to believe what is being published in the media saying there is need for the media to be objective.
She says media biasness deprives the electorates an opportunity to make informed decisions.
She adds that the media has a critical role to play in ensuring that the playing field for all political parties taking part in the general elections is leveled.
Ms. Davison has further advised the police to conduct its operations effectively to ensure that no one feels intimidated during the election period.
The high commissioner says having an environment that is free for all political parties to conduct their campaigns is key in preventing any form of violence during the election period.
QFM
Most media and news sites are sponsored by specific political parties and thus what the master needs to hear,the editor plays to the tune.
Free,fair and unbiased press is an important pillar in the justice system.
Violence must be unequivocally challenged whether in election time or not.
ADD,UPND,NAREP and a few others,Kudos for your maturity.
Public media editorial teams must be made to account for the actions in court.
ZNBC+TIMES OF ZAMBIA+ZAMBIA DAILY FOR RB AND MMD
POST FOR Â SATA/PF
NOTHING FOR HH AND UPND
NOTHING FOR ZAMBIANS(WELL MEANING ZAMBIANS)
ZAMBIA WILL HAVE THE LAST GENOCIDE AND TRIBAL CLEANSING IN AFRICA BECAUSE THE STATED PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MEDIA CARRY PERSONAL AGENDAS FOR THEIR OWNS,NOT NFOR ZAMBIANS.Â
You are 100% Correct my friend. Viva HH
HH has got Zambian Watchdog
ZWD for HH
It is very difficult to understand why our public newspapers have sunk so low of late. My visitors from a neighbouring country after being served the Daily Mail, Times & Post asked me if they could have the standard national newspapers. They were very shocked when I told them this was it. I personally don’t support the idea of a public newspaper playing the role of a campaign tabloit for one presidential candidate. Where are we supposed to go for serious news. It is so boring. I stopped reading them.
True indeed, journalism of the khaki envelope is destroying the profession and the reputation of those who cherrish this noble art. Shame, Talowetsa utolankhani mmatope cifukwa ca makobili.
MMD supporters are busy calling HH to their bloody party,PF supporters are also busy calling HH names after they chased him(both for their campaign propaganda) BUT ALL THE ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOURS ARE NOT TO THE BENEFIT OF ZAMBIANS.
The sad thing is that Zambians have allowed themselves to be stepped on their heads and brains by RB/MMD and SATA/PF .
The Times of Zambia and ZNBC are at their worst, not even in the one-party state did they sink so low.
CRY FOR MY BELOVED ZAMBIA….WORSTE LAEDERSHIP EVER.. RB
These monkeys have failed this country,please Britain,get back your country,we made a mistake to chase you.I will never understand black people with stupidity,its like its genetically in born.
WEchipuba we your family is full of stupidity exclude all zambians
Thats why whites call as monkeys..the likes of BWEZANIs dictatorship..hinding in democracy HE IS WORSE THAN GADAFI…GOD HELP US WE REMOVE THIS MAN BEFORE WE ALL DIE…………..
White people have been dictators too, Hitler sound familiar?
Mind you Zambians, we are people of morals and respect. British Journalism is not examplery when it comes to that in general. I remember three months or so ago, I read an article in the Sun newspaper calling President Jacob Zuma, something like a “senseless polygamist and a sexaully mad Baffoon” We in Zambia let alone in Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Moz, Namibia cannot write like that becoz we respect our elders. Writting insults is not news. It’s nonsense. So what is this High Commissioner saying? Garbage!!!!!
senseless polygamist was befitting of Zuma. He was cleared of corruption on technicality. so hr is a baffoon.
your right
@ZOSA
You are the most useless blogger,think before you squash your balls on a key board..so whats your point?
ZOSA’S right actually, here in the uk all parties slag each other off!!!!!
just read the SUN, DAILY MAIL AND LOADS OF OTHER PAPERS.
It’s true both the private and public media are compromised!bt they(the west)are the worst hypocrites there media is always negative towards Africa or anything black!
Its like LT, ZNBC,DAILY MAIL and Times of Zambia are for MMD. Zambia watchdog is for UPND and postnews paper is for PF. Just observe how media coverage is been done in zambia, its true very polarised.
I have been a support of ZNBC for a long time and often praising them for the news and information they give. Now given the magnitude of political scenarios Zambia is going through right now, I understand that ZNBC is struggling to balance the political playing field for all political parties involved in this year’s elections and to change how Zambian people are receiving the news from ZNBC mighty be difficult. Lately ZNBC is perceived favoring MMD, hence, I cannot let it go of my understanding that it’s also the job of ZNBC to inform the nation about positive issues opposition parties who are participating in this year’s elections are talking and campaigning about. Such as infrastructure development, education, health, justice, zero tolerance to corruption etc.
continue from #14 used to enjoy a good coverage of ZNBC news, but the priorities of coverage lately astounds and frustrates me and many Zambians. Having to hunt for national news buried in the back headlines for MMD makes me question the value of people paying TV fees to ZNBC, because it’s not only MMD cadres and supporters who pay these TV fees but even opposition supporters pay.
Am afraid that ZNBC is giving up its credibility as anything but a mouth piece for MMD rather than a quality national public media station. And this feels like loss for our country and a doubtful recipe for potential violence during and after this year’s tripartite elections coming 20th September, 2011.
PF HAS LOST TWO SEATS ALREADY AND MANY MORE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SEATS, HOW DO DO YOU HOPE TO WIN. PF HAS REALIZED THAT THEY ARE LAGGING BEHIND IN THEIR CAMPAIGN AND HAVE STARTED CAUSING CONFUSION. GO RUPIA WE ARE BEHIND YOU THEY HAVE NOTHING TO SAY NOW AFTER YOU HAVE SHOWN THAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF DEVELOPING
Comment according to what is being discussed. People are not talking about LOST SEATS HERE. The issue is about our Zambian media. Be relevant.
This give the opportunity to start a new newspaper in Zambia free of political intereferences. Where are the businessmen interested in the media? After the election, an opportunity will have been lost. My advise to the Zambian Watchdog is go for weekly print newspaper now because seem to be little neutral. After the elections, will have captured a land share of the media market in Zambia. Many people do not believe what is written in the post and govt newspapers except cadres for PF and MMD. It is sad?
#16 Dzikomo…………………..continue dreaming. Its your right, but…..do watch this space
I strongly believe that there is need for all political leaders to grow up; by this I do not mean in size and stature but in the way they behave.
How can you as a leader encourage violence openly and feel proud about it????
Zambian media is at its worst this time around. All the newspapers, ZNBC Radio and TV have been turned into political party propaganda tools. This is shameful indeed. But then what do you expect from products of poor institutions such as Evelyn Hone College and the UNZA Mass Communications Department?
Surprising how all fail to call a spade a spade … they find it easy to mention Times, Daily Mail and ZNBC but fail in include the PF newspaper (Post). It is the worst of all. This issue of saying it is a private newspaper is misplaced. The paper is simply not contributing to leveling the playing field. What about Muvi TV, Mobi Tv, QFM, etc are they not private? Chaona munzako chapita, mawa chilipali iwe (what goes around comes around). Lets call for equity even when you are being advantaged at the expense of others.
ha ha.when i read this article i laughed. typical of ms davison to talk about journalists and the media in zambia while it goes on in the uk. The majority of papers like the sun, or sky tv are owned by the likes of rupert murdoch. he even owns the newyork times and fox news in america. politicians have always had a strong link to media tycoons such as murdoch . as it is claimed that he uses his papers in the media to discredit any politician he does not want in power. he supported cameron in the last election and every article produced by his papers was to make blair and gordon browns labour look bad! ITS ONLY RECENTLY WITH THE FALL OF THE NEWS OF THE WORLD THAT CAMERON HAD TO DISMISS HIS CLOSE ASSOCIATION WITH MURDOCH. so i’d ask ms davison doesnt the same happen in your country?
i watched a documentary on that one, you are write!
The Post Newspaper and Fred Mmembe are the worst. It is amazing how they have black listed the best candidate Zambia has ever had in HH & UPND just for personal reasons. People please don’t let Mmembe run your lives. He is imoral and a failure in life. He like Sata is also a thief. They have both failed to run stable marriages. How do you expect them to lead Zambia by example. Please vote wisely this year. Vote for HH & the Real Change team. Vote early and vote often. But if you must vote for Satan, please do so only once. Please!
# 9 xyz , Are you racist? why call black people stupid? saying black people are genetically stupid is such a pathetic thing to say!
It is really unfortunate that the other candidates do not have any media outlets. One would think that only RB and Sata are running in this election. Who covers HH?
no 3 Zambian watchdog for UPND
She forgot to mention the News of the World in the UK that has been hacking into people’s phones including a missing girl who was murdered. The journalists cleared her messages which led her parents to believe that she was still alive when in fact she had already been murdered. I dont think we should be taking advice about journalism from somebody who comes from the UK, where politicians were afraid to say anything against Rupert Murdoch even though they were aware of the dubious practices of his papers.
Times and the like who are govt owned you’ve heard what the british have observed. Banda your days are nearly over!!!!!!
Diplomats and diplomacy are funny.They’ll get into your business,tell you to behave,to shut up or to GTFO in such a way that you actually look forward to doing it.
There are 2 main reasons: the calibre of Zambian journalists leaves much to be desired due to the lack of a University graduate course in journalism or media studies – most Zambian journalists cannot even spell; and Zambian newspapers are unable to recruit and retain the best journalistic and writing talent due to low wages in the industry.
Ka tracy ka chinyo,how many times are  you lessermortals  going to challenge us to watch your funny spaces.the news wont change.sata cant win.and the fact will  still remain remain that he has failed too field candidates in all the constuencies.finito
They have a point. Where are the live debates and uniform grilling questions for all the candidates? These should have been organised by the media. The media has an important role to play in democracy by giving the voter a chance to make an informed decision. This is supposed to be the most interesting time to watch and read about the different visions, records and plans of all the candidates. Right now it is like a football game (elections) is being played and the referee (media) is missing.
#26 what about the Post?
The Post has now sunk to the level of panga wielding UNIPist/PF cadres. The High Commissioner is actually saying that she is not inspired by the Post either. And my opinion is that the Post is actually worse than the public media, at least we know that the Times of Zambia is a government paper, but what can the Post say for itself as an “independent paper”?
#30 and 31, you are absolutely right. The post lost their objectivity and credibility a long time ago when they decided to become a PF door mat. The Post, Â as so-called independent paper is supposed to be impartial to all candidates, so that voters can wisely choose the best candidate. It makes no sense that the Post keeps on promoting retreads like Mulongoti, Mangani and Mpombo.
The brand of journalism Mr Mmembe is practicing is clear evidence that the man is a certified nutcase. The levels of intellectual corruption in his publication are beyond belief. The recent editorial comment on Libya shows how little importance he and his minions place on research.
@11 &21, I’m sure you want to show that you know something about the UK media, no problem about that but I think its also fair to acknowledge the fact that Zambian media is NOT what is expected of good, balanced media coverage.
#21 you are spot on my friend. It is much easier to point at the log in other people’s eyes and forget the tree in your own eyes. the British media has nothing to teach other countries in terms nPolitical neutrality. I live here and study the Bristish media so I know what I am talking about. But for some people like #9 with some complexes and an attitude of what is white equals good there is always the self bashing mentality. Shemuna bane!!!
#3 I fully agree with your observation. It is true both the private and state media carry their own agendas to please their masters. If you take the state run media (ZNBC, Daily mail & Times of Zambia.) it has been very difficulty for these institution to break from the one party scenario in which the one party state used the media to communicate to the so called “Masses” a message of development programmes it was undertaking. What ZNBC, Daily Mail & Times media need to do is adopt a strong role of public media. Instead of crying foul the opposition political parties need to push this formerly through parliament so that editors of public media are appointed by a parliamentary committee (representing all political parties in parliament) on broadcasting. British media?
# 32 Ine ndiwansele .Every time you insult a lady like that just know that it’s your own mother you are insulting because that’s the door you used to come out of your mother.You can’t just think as a normal human being?
The high commissioner has rightly observed. The media in Zambia has inclination and this has been amplified by the government media tendency. Public media could you conduct yourselves professionally to wash off all the dirty from your faces so that you will be fit to be called professionals! If you do that it will not be difficult for the private media to follow suit.
#23 you are right its typical hypocritic of the western world for Ms Davison to condem the press in Zambia when her own country is faced with media scandals. It makes me sick to write her statement. She must get a grip. Every tabloid and electronic media editors in this world worship their master and they disseminate agendas of their masters.
Hi, just wanted to say i liked this article.