Download - Media Institute of Southern Africa

MALAWI
State of the media in Southern Africa 2002
pedalled on its recently issued threat
that the Malawi Institute of Journalism
radio station (MIJ FM) risked
losing its broadcasting licence for
what MACRA described as anomalies
and bias in its reporting.
MACRA general counsel David
Kadwa told the press on Thursday 27
June 2002 that the problem was not
only the radio station’s content but
was also “technical in nature.”
Kadwa added that MIJ FM was
broadcasting beyond its licensed 35-
kilometre radius and moreover was
airing “news bulletins instead of news
updates” for which the station was licensed.
“The violations are technical
in nature. We are not against the content
of news but we are concerned that
instead of updates or briefs stipulated
in the licence MIJ is giving listeners
bulletins,” Kadwa stated.
However, MIJ Executive Director
James Ng’ombe described MACRA’s
arguments on the radius as not being
“scientifically practical.” “Scientifically
you can not put a ruler and demarcate
that radio waves should not
go beyond this point because they go
with the terrain. Where the terrain is
even the coverage is wider, while
where there are mountains there is
poor or no coverage. So I can say on
paper we are covering the 35 kilometre
radius,” Ng’ombe argued.
On the subject of airing news bulletins
instead of “news updates”,
Ng’ombe said his radio licence permitted
the station to carry bulletins.
He explained that an update or news
brief suggested by MACRA comes
from a bulletin. “What they
(MACRA) are saying is a jargon that
does not exist (in journalism),”
Ng’ombe stated.
MACRA wrote to the radio station
on 13 June threatening to withdraw
its licence if the station did not change
its content, which MACRA described
as inconsistent with the station’s
broadcasting licence.
MIJ FM took to the airwaves in
2001 and is fully dependent on donor
funding, especially from Denmark, a
country that controversially cut its
diplomatic ties with Malawi a few
months ago.
ALERT
DATE: 2002-09-06
PERSON(S): Bright Sonani
VIOLATION(S): Beaten
On 21 August 2002, Bright Sonani, a
senior reporter for the “Malawi
News”, was assaulted by three unidentified
men who accused him of
writing stories that were critical of the
government.
Sonani told MISA’s Malawi Chapter
(Namisa) that he was accosted by
the trio at approximately 5:30 p.m. (local
time) in Malawi’s commercial city
Blantyre.
He said the assailants called him
aside by first name stating that they had
something to discuss with him. “I
thought they were my friends but I
failed to recognise them. They tripped
me to the ground and beat me up,” recalled
Sonani. The reporter lost his cell
phone during the incident.
“I do not think they wanted to steal
anything from me. They only wanted
to assault me,” he told Namisa.
Namisa has discovered a plot by
some individuals, who they believe
belong to the ruling United Democratic
Front (UDF), to “deal” with investigative
reporters. The UDF vehemently
So This Is Democracy? 67