The sustainability of a free press in Zambia’s Third Republic: a case of the Zambia Daily Mail and The Post newspapers.
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Date
2015
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Abstract
This study sets out to explore the sustainability of a free press in Zambia. The main objective
is to contribute to the debate on factors affecting the political and economic sustainability,
advertising in particular and independence of newspapers in a small media market. For this
purpose, the study uses a case of the Zambia Daily Mail and The Post newspapers. Using
political economy analysis, the thesis uncovers the nature and form of the media system; the
factors influencing the independence and freedom of the press; the type, the extent, resources
required for the sustainability of a free press and the role and impact of policy interventions for
creating an enabling environment for a free press in Zambia. The thesis acknowledges that
global transformations are pushing media systems around the world towards the liberal system
of market-driven de-regulated, convergence and commercialism. Similar claims are made that,
like any other, the Zambian media market is not immune to these trends, and is in transition to
integrate with the global trends. It, however, stresses that the degree and extent to these
transformations varies from region to region, and country to country. However, irrespective of
some signs of evidence of this transformation, Zambia is a small country with a small media
market, subjecting it to different influences from affluent Western countries. It has therefore
been argued that country-specific conditions in the media and communication environment
such as a country’s media and communications infrastructure, and more rudimentary
characteristics including market size, growth rate, profitability and competition should be taken
into consideration. In this vein, the thesis also contends that the influence of the global trends
in the political economy of communication on the Zambian media system has not been
subjected to adequate academic examination. In fact, this observation is extended to most third
world African countries. As a result, this has led such countries to either be left in the margins
or be subjected to sweeping generalisations made about Western societies. Therefore, the thesis
advocates evidence-based approaches for conceptualising the political economy of
communication.
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.