Be professional, media urged

Mr Lubinda warned media houses against patronising the independence the government has been promoting and that his ministry would work to stem any form of breaches.

Mr Lubinda was speaking at a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday [16 December 2011] following complaints received from members of the public on the coverage of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) television Born-and-Bred Awards show last week on Friday.

The minister said the government had asked for a detailed report from both ZNBC and the police inspector general Martin Malama to help address the issue.

Mr Lubinda said members of the public would be informed on the next course of action after studying the reports.

The organisers of the Born-and-Bred Awards show, the minister said, failed to meet the requirements of decent broadcasting.

He said organisers allowed nudity and irresponsible conduct, directly contradicting their mandate to air responsible content.

"Since coming into office about three months ago, the PF Government has been urging the media to operate freely, independently and above all, professionally. But the freedom the media are currently enjoying does not mean that they should forget about their responsibility to the public," Mr Lubinda said.

He said the conduct of both the organisers and the patrons with regard to alcohol consumption and dressing did not meet the public expectation especially that it was a live programme.

Mr Lubinda said members of the public had also been inquiring as to why the national broadcaster allocated more time dedicated to one programme.

"Many viewers were also concerned about the length of time accorded to this programme on television. So many hours of live transmission were devoted to the programme," Mr Lubinda said.

Zambia Association of Musicians (ZAM) chairperson Maiko Zulu who attended the briefing said the problem in the management of arts-related events had increased because the National Arts Act that sets out guidelines on such matters had been neglected by the industry.

He also proposed that the arts sector should fall under the ministry of information because the ministry of community development was not suitable.

Mr Zulu said his association had written president Michael Sata asking that the industry be transferred to the ministry of information and tourism which was very relevant to managing the sector.

Source: allAfrica.com