ABSTRACT

The media in Zambia have been in a state of uncertainty since Zambia reinstated democratic governance in the early 1990s. Despite promising initial steps to deregulate the media that started under President Chiluba’s government in the mid-1990s, achieving these objectives in successive years has proved difficult. Successive governments have exhibited increasing aversion towards free and independent media, instead increasing efforts to regulate. This is significant, because comparisons with Kaunda’s autocratic era before 1991 cast the state in a friendlier light towards the media, defying normative theories. After both the Media Ethics Council of Zambia and Zambia Media Ethics Council (ZAMEC) failed as self-regulatory mechanisms in the mid to late 2000s, current state efforts have turned to create a hybrid statutory self-regulatory framework. This is a challenge because Zambia’s democracy has come under pressure from increasing political intolerance. Furthermore, while media professionals support the idea of regulation to strengthen professionalism, they often disagree on the value of statutory self-regulation and its implications. This study used the In-Depth Interview approach on 23 media professionals and documentary analysis to sketch the history and future implications of media regulation efforts in Zambia. Results show a checkered past but present an even more complicated future. The history of the Independent Broadcasting Authority shows that the proposed statutory self-regulatory framework presents more challenges to the media than ever before. This paper aims to contribute to global media studies and specifically the problems of regulation, the state, and media freedom in an African context.

摘要

自 1990 年代初赞比亚恢复民主治理以来，赞比亚的媒体一直处于不确定状态。尽管在 1990 年代中期在奇卢巴总统的政府下开始的解除对媒体管制的初步步骤很有希望，但事实证明，连续几年实现这些目标很困难。历届政府都对自由和独立的媒体表现出越来越多的反感，反而加大了监管力度。这很重要，因为与 1991 年之前卡翁达的专制时代相比，国家对媒体更加友好，无视规范理论。在赞比亚媒体道德委员会和赞比亚媒体道德委员会 (ZAMEC) 在 2000 年代中后期都作为自律机制失败后，当前的国家努力转向创建混合法定自律框架。这是一个挑战，因为赞比亚的民主正面临着政治不容忍日益增加的压力。此外，虽然媒体专业人士支持通过监管来加强专业精神，但他们往往不同意法定自律的价值及其影响。本研究使用对 23 位媒体专业人士的深度访谈方法和纪录片分析来勾勒赞比亚媒体监管工作的历史和未来影响。结果显示了一个曲折的过去，但呈现出更加复杂的未来。独立广播管理局的历史表明，拟议的法定自律框架对媒体提出了前所未有的挑战。本文旨在为全球媒体研究做出贡献，特别是监管、国家、