Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (Johannesburg) 9 November 2011 analysis Zambian media organisations have broadly welcomed the decision by the government to sell 35 percent of the shares in state-owned media houses. The Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA), the Zambia Union of journalists (ZUJ) and the Press Association of Zambia (PAZA) agreed that the move was a step in the right direction and would help to improve the performance of the public media. MISA-Zambia chairperson Daniel Sikazwe said that the share sale – if implemented – would allow for more independence and re-capitalization of the media institutions since the people who invested in them would demand a more ethical approach and coverage of a broader range of issues. “These media organisations would no longer be owned by the government on behalf of the public since the public would also have a direct stake,” he said, adding that the move would restore public confidence in the state-owned media. PAZA executive secretary Patson Phiri said it was a landmark decision to float shares in public media institutions. Phiri said the trend in most Africa countries was to manipulate the public media for their own political benefit. He added that the sale would be a good move because “those who will invest in the media will ensure that they are re-financed.” Be the first to Write a Comment ! More News on allAfrica.com Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement
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Govt to Sell Shares in State-Owned Media
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