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Media in the Political Process (Chapter in Patel, N & Svåsand, L (Forthcoming) Government and Politics in Malawi, Zomba: Kachere Series, University of Malawi Centre for Social Research, & Chr. Michelsens institutt)

Levi Zeleza Manda

INTRODUCTION

The ancient Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, aptly described human beings as political animals

because their lives are to a large extent determined by power relations wherever they live.

Except in totalitarian societies, citizens are involved in freely choosing their leaders. Citizens

are also free to hold their leaders accountable for their acts. They also expect their leaders to

be responsive to people’s needs. Leaders expect their people to fulfil their duties, such as

paying taxes and respecting the laws of the land. As such, leaders need to and do regularly

communicate with their constituents. They do this through personal-cum-private

communication that includes face-to-face talks, telephone conversations and letters.

However, the mass media (radio, television, books, magazines and social media) are the

fastest and the cheapest means per capita of communicating with large numbers of people

(often but erroneously called masses) scattered over a large area, such as a country, a

continent and indeed the entire world. Mass media, notably newspapers, radio, television,

and social media, play an important role in the political process. They facilitate public

participation in politics and in the formulation of public opinion. In the early 1990s, Malawi

adopted a relatively democratic political system, which included constitutional guarantees of

human rights and freedoms, such as the right to freedom of expression and the right to

freedom of the press. Since then, there has been a significant increase in the number of

newspapers, radio stations, social media and internet providers in the country. These mass

media have played a role in Malawi’s political processes mainly by providing an open space

for public debate and contributing to civic and political education. This has allowed for a

great variety of voices to be heard and a better informed populace. As is the case elsewhere,

the nature and extent of the role of the mass media in the political process are influenced by

the economic, social and legal frameworks in which the mass media operate.

This chapter discusses and attempts to answer the following questions:

What are mass media?

How have the mass media evolved in Malawi?

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What role do the media play in society and politics?

Do the mass media influence voters?

What are the challenges facing mass media in Malawi?

How are the media regulated in Malawi?

WHAT ARE THE MASS MEDIA?

Mass media are often referred to as the ‘fourth estate’ because, after the three branches of

government – the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary – they have the next most

influential role in politics and society.

Key concept: mass media

Mass media are the channels of human communication which include newspapers, books,

magazines, radio, television, and the internet.

The term mass media is closely associated with mass society theory which dates back to the

industrial revolution in Europe when large numbers of people from rural areas migrated to

industrialising places for employment. The result was that people were ‘packed together’ into urban areas where lack of community left many alienated, atomised and lonely. It was

at this time that people began to be referred to as the masses. Newspapers, pamphlets, and

eventually films and television became major sources of information and entertainment to

those masses, becoming what is now known as mass media. Although the concept of mass

society is contested today, the term mass media still refers to those communication media

catering to a wide audience whom the communicators never meet individually.

Thus, mass media have become more and more powerful since the 20th century as

technology improves and owners design sophisticated programmes to appeal to a variety of

consumers. The media are associated with facilitating or, indeed, thwarting public

participation in politics and are partly responsible for the formulation of public opinion or

political socialisation.

Some consider mass media to be an irresistible vehicle for spreading ideas, culture, and

political and economic hegemony, particularly from the USA. This is so because traditional

mass media – such as television, radio, and newspapers – did not have much space for

audience viewer resistance, rejoinder or interaction. New media, such as the internet, and

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traditional media, such as drumming, dance, and song in some African societies, have

provided more opportunities for social exchange. Indeed, some critics have argued that the

internet is the only hope for sustaining democracy in the 21st century because it enables

people of all races, classes, and genders to participate and collectively demand what they

consider to be good for their society (Thornton, 1996).

Mass media can be broadly categorised into print and electronic media. Print media are in a

form that consists of paper and ink and reproduced in a printing process that is traditionally

mechanical and photochemical. This form of media mainly includes newspapers, magazines,

books and other periodicals. Electronic media require electricity to operate, function or

communicate messages and mainly include radio, television, the internet and the mobile

phone. The internet has of late become a crucial medium of communication as it hosts and

facilitates social interactive media such as facebook, youtube, google chat, yahoo groups,

twitter, messenger, blogger, and many other chat networks. In 21st century social media

have demystified journalism. From being a reserve for trained professionals, journalism has

expanded to allow every citizen (whence citizen journalist) able to read and write to cover

an event, create a message and send to all members of a network. Politicians have taken

advantage of the presence of such media to campaign and communicate political messages.

During the soc-called Arab Spring, facebook, twitter, and youtube complemented live

television broadcasts of popular protests that led to the toppling of long-serving leaders in

Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen. Even though regime change did not occur in Iran and

Bahrain, the protests there were made known to the worldwide public via these social media,

blogs, and other internet based news-outlets.

In Malawi, the July 20, 2011 protests and resultant police killings of marchers in Lilongwe

and Mzuzu were transmitted to international audiences through youtube, twitter, facebook

and standalone online news media such nyasatimes.com, malawidemocrat.com, and

Maravipost.com even though MBCTV did not broadcast the events.

In America, Asia, Australia, Europe and parts of Africa, political and religious leaders posted

their addresses and campaign messages on youtube among other social media. To reach out

to the youth and worldwide audiences, Queen of Elisabeth of England posts her message on

Youtube and other internet based media. In Singapore, a youthful political candidate, Nciole

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Seah, used Facebook in 2011 to campaign for a parliamentary seat in that country’s parliament.

Social media in political elections (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/26/)

Contrary to fears that social media are elitist, a literate administrative chief in the rural

Kenyan region of Lanet Umoja, located 160 kilometres West of Nairobi, created a twitter

network which he used not only to invite his semiliterate, illiterate and literate people to his

village courtyard or baraza for regular community meetings but also to communicate with

his people on issues of development, village politics and culture without necessarily meeting

them in person. He also used his twitter account as a two-way “hotline” to constantly communicate with the police and his people about incidences of crime. Some of the people

in the region reported that the crime rate, particularly theft of crops and livestock, had

subsided ever since the chief connected his village to relevant authorities, including the

police through his twitter account. In an interview with the media in 2011, the chief was

quoted as saying that he would use his twitter account for civic education in future electoral

campaigns to prevent politically related violence.

(http://www.africanoutlookonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38

79:twitter-alarm-in-kenya-village-help-sheep-missing&catid=31:general&Itemid=46).

HISTORY OF MASS MEDIA IN MALAWI

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Mass media in Malawi consist of both print and electronic media (including online or web-

based news media). The history of the country’s print media can be traced back to the colonial period. Among the country’s first publications after the imposition of colonialism in the early 1890s were the Life and Work in British Central Africa and the Central African

Planter. The former was a missionary magazine politically supportive of African people’s rights and freedoms, while the latter circulated mainly among the country’s white settler farming community. The Central African Planter also disseminated research findings on the

protectorate’s main crops, especially coffee and cotton, and later on tobacco and tea (Chirwa and Manda, 2008). However, records show that Kalilole, a Chimang’anja journal, targeted

mainly at African converts to Christianity and advocated a certain measure of African

freedom (Sembereka, 1980), was published by the Mission as early as 1881 (see Chitsulo

and Mang’anda, 2011). The Mang’anja, were then the dominant ethno-linguistic group in

the present day Blantyre and Zomba area. The Livingstonia Mission at Khondowe, Rumphi,

published a Chitumbuka newspaper Vyaro na Vyara (Here and Beyond) and the Livingstonia

News in the early 20th century. For its part, the colonial administration published the British

Central Africa Gazette as its official publication. It is exists to date in the form of the Malawi

Government Gazette. Coinciding with the agitation for the end of colonialism was the

establishment by the nationalist Malawi Congress Party (MCP) of the Malawi News as one of

the country’s major newspapers which advocated for nationalist independence.

When Malawi became a one-party state after independence, Malawi News was taken over

from the party by the country’s first president, Kamuzu Banda, who also bought a

controlling interest in The Times to become today’s Blantyre Newspapers. Both papers

defended the one-party political system and, from that period until the early 1990s, the

publication or circulation of any newspaper or magazine critical of the political system was

made illegal by numerous laws (Kondowe 1998). Among the laws were the Penal Code and

Censorship and Control of Entertainment Act which empowered the government to ban

publications that were considered undesirable usually because they contained sexually

explicit material, were critical of the ruling party and its leadership, or promoted

communism. Publications that were banned included periodicals such as the World Marxist

Review, Drum, New African and Focus on Africa and books including John Needham’s Iron

Age to Independence – A History of Central Africa, Robert Rotberg’s The Rise of Nationalism:

The Making of Malawi and Zambia, Carolyn MacMaster’s Malawi Foreign Policy and

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Development, George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and Leon Trotsky’s History of the Russian

Revolution.

In Malawi during the one-party era most mass circulation media - the Malawi Broadcasting

Corporation (MBC), Malawi News Agency, The Daily Times and the Malawi News - were

used as propaganda tools for the Malawi Congress Party and its life president, Dr Hastings

Kamuzu Banda. Like Mobutu Seseko of Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Kamuzu

was portrayed as a messiah or saviour (mpulumutsi), an invincible warrior (the ngwazi) and

benevolent protector of women (nkhoswe ya amai). Malawi was portrayed as a safe haven

where people were united; where everyone was well dressed, had enough food and shelter,

but where enemies of the system would perish. The Youth League, the Women’s League, the Malawi Young Pioneers and specialised choirs like Kamenya of Dedza composed songs in

praise of Dr Banda and the MCP. The MBC, mostly through its early morning radio

programme, Kwacha Kwayera, was for 30 years the vehicle of propaganda songs. Ironically,

since all ‘subversive’ books were banned, the praise songs were a constant reminder of people who lived in exile, notably Attati Mpakati, Kanyama Chiume (who composed some of

the praise songs for Dr Banda) and Orton Chirwa. During those years, it was difficult in

Malawi for anyone to imagine life without Dr Banda as president. Dr Banda’s ardent supporters declared publicly that all those who opposed the president would be “meat for

crocodiles”.

After Dr Banda was deposed in 1994, ironically the MBC started playing songs in praise of

the new leaders. Dr Banda’s name was replaced by the new leaders’ names. Further, musicians composed songs that extolled the new leaders. For example, Lucius Banda

composed a song, Yellow, in which he praised the leadership of Bakili Muluzi for

transforming Malawi such that if Dr Banda rose from the dead he would think Blantyre

were Johannesburg. When Bingu wa Mutharika became president, musician Josephy Mkasa

produced a song, Mose Lero, which compared the president to the Biblical Moses who led

the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt to Israel. It is worth noting that despite guarantees

of freedom in the Republican constitution, songs against Muluzi (such as Agalatiya by Billy

Kaunda) were not played on the MBC. Neither was Charles Nsaku’s song, Napolo, which said

the Mutharika, who likened himself to railtrack iron bar) who would be swept away by flush

floods (Napolo). In short, although Englund (2011) has praised MBC’s Nkhani zam’maboma

(News from the districts) for giving voice to the voiceless to vent their anger and make

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known their economic tribulations and frustrations to their local (especially traditional)

leaders, MBC has remained a politically biased institution and it is likely to remain so unless

laws governing the MBC are changed drastically.

However, the situation was transformed radically from the early 1990s with the

liberalisation of the political system which resulted in a virtual halt to censorship and a

diversification of the print media. In addition to the daily newspapers: The Daily Times, The

Nation and the Monitor, a number of regular weekly newspapers also emerged, which

included the Malawi News, the Inquirer, the UDF News, the Democrat, the Herald, the

Mirror, the Independent, Michiru Sun, the New Express, the New Voice, The Chronicle, the

National Agenda, and the Statesman.

As Table 1 below indicates, newspapers in Malawi are mostly a private family business

virtually “monopolised” by two families formerly with links to political parties. Dr Kamuzu

Banda and some of his family were linked to the MCP and later the DPP, while Aleke Banda

served as a cabinet minister in both MCP and UDF governments. However, political

affiliation may not be the key to newspaper success because other politicians tried out their

luck in the newspaper business but failed. For instance, Brown Mpinganjira and Clement

Stambuli owned the Mirror and the Monitor respectively. Both served in the Muluzi cabinet

alongside Aleke Banda, who founded the Nation during the same period. Both the Mirror

and the Monitor newspapers collapsed while the Nation developed from a weekly to daily.

President Mutharika, through his daughter, published the Guardian. Despite employing

some of the best editors from Malawi and abroad, it also collapsed. A plausible explanation

for the collapse newspapers in Malawi is the lack of financial and human resource

management skills. The success of government run newspapers has not been established

although Boma Lathu, like the privately owned Fuko, is freely distributed.

Table 1: Newspapers in Malawi as at December 2011

Newspaper Frequency Approximate

circulation

Owner

The Daily

Times

Daily

(Monday-

Friday)

15,000 Blantyre Print and Packaging LTD/Family of

late Kamuzu Banda

The Nation Daily 20,000 Nation Publications LTD/Family of late Aleke

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(Monday-

Friday)

Banda

Boma Lathu Monthly 50,000 Ministry of Information and Civic Education

Fuko Monthly 15,000 Nation Publications LTD/Family of late Aleke

Banda

Malawi

News

Weekly 25,000 Blantyre Print and Packaging LTD/Family of

late Kamuzu Banda

Sunday

Times

Weekly 15,000 Blantyre Print and Packaging LTD/Family of

late Kamuzu Banda

Weekend

Times

Weekly 10,000 Blantyre Print and Packaging LTD/Family of

late Kamuzu Banda

Weekend

Nation

Weekly 45,000 Nation Publications LTD/Family of late Aleke

Banda

Nation on

Sunday

Weekly 20,000 Nation Publications LTD/Family of late Aleke

Banda

Sky News Weekly 15,000 Sky Publications

Malawi Mail Weekly 5,000 Ministry of Information and Civic Education

(Source: Manda, 2012)

A number of magazines existed but Pride was probably the most regular. The magazines,

printed on gloss paper, full of colour advertisements, are considered too expensive for the

average Malawian to buy. Readership and circulation statistics for newspapers and

magazines are not readily available in Malawi because there is no audit bureau of

circulation.

Thus, much as democracy and the value of media in society have matured, the trend is that

the print media arena has been shrinking principally because of lack of expansion of the

advertising base, and spiralling cost of newsprint, lack of foreign exchange and other inputs.

In comparison to the print media, the electronic media has a relatively short history. During

the colonial period, there was no significant radio broadcasting that covered Malawi (then

known as Nyasaland), except for that by the Federal Broadcasting Corporation which

operated from 1958 to 1961, mainly to disseminate propaganda in favour of the colonial

administration. In 1964, the government of the newly-independent Malawi established MBC

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which operated as the country’s only radio station until the liberalisation of politics in the early 1990s. The country also had no television station until 1999, when Television Malawi

(later MBC TV) came on the scene (see Manjawira and Mitunda, 2011).

As with the print media, the political liberalisation of the early 1990s led to diversification of

the electronic media. By 2011, the country had one licensed national terrestrial television

station, one satellite television relay service, DSTV, owned by Multichoice of South Africa,

two public service radio network, six private commercial radio stations, four private

religious television stations, four community radio stations, and ten private religious radio

stations. Table 2 below provides the names of the electronic media stations and their

coverage.

Table 2 Licensed Electronic Media in Malawi as at February 2012

Radio/Television Station Type Geographic Coverage

MBC Radio 1 FM/AM Public National

MBC Radio 2 FM Public National

MBC TV Public 70% of national territory

AFJ TV Private (religious)

Luntha TV Private (religious) Balaka, Ntcheu, Mangochi

and parts of Zomba

Galaxy TV Private (commercial) Not yet monitored

African Bible College TV Private (religious) Not yet monitored

Channel for All Nations TV Private (religious) Not yet monitored

Gateway TV Private (commercial) Not yet monitored

Galaxy Radio Private (commercial) Not yet monitored

Maziko Radio Private (religious) Not yet monitored

Capital Radio FM Private (commercial) National, mainly urban

areas

Joy FM Private (commercial) Around Blantyre City

Power FM 101 Private(commercial) National, mainly urban

areas

Mulhakho Radio Private (cultural) Not yet monitored

African Bible College Private (religious) Lilongwe and Mzuzu cities

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Radio

Calvary Family Church

Radio

Private (religious) Around Blantyre City

Channel for All Nations

Radio

Private (religious) Around Lilongwe

Seventh Day Adventist

Radio

Private (religious) National

Radio Alinafe Private (religious) Parts of the Central Region

Radio Islam Private (religious) National

Radio Maria Private (religious) National

Radio Tigabane Community (religious) Around Mzuzu City

Trans-World Radio Community (religious) National

Dzimwe Community Radio Community (general) Part of Mangochi District

Malawi Institute of

Journalism (MIJ) FM

Community (general) National, mainly urban

areas

Nkhotakota Community

Radio

Community (general) Around Nkhotakota, Dowa,

Salima, and Nkhata Bay

Mudzi Mwathu

Community Radio

Community (general) Around Mchinji

Mzimba Community Radio Community (general) Around Mzimba and

Kasungu and Nkhata Bay

Usisya Community Radio Community (general) Around northern Nkhata

Bay and Likoma

(Source: MACRA, 2012)

It is important to note that MACRA defines community radio geographically such that only

four qualified to be called so while all religious radio stations were licensed as private

stations.

In recent years electronic media have expanded beyond radio and television and have

included the internet and mobile telephony. These are an important means by which some

Malawians acquire information about the political process. It is worth noting that news on

Malawi can be accessed via the internet, so that a person who has internet access in Chitipa,

for example, can learn about a political event long before he or she can access that

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information from newspapers, the radio or television, which may not only be slow in

reporting but may not reach such remote parts of the country due to reception problems.

The internet also provides various fora, such as Nyasanet and Malawitalk, for political

debates. Some of whose debates are in fact used as tips for indepth news reports by the print

and broadcast media. Additionally, most media in Malawi have internet based version.

Zodiak Broadcasting Station and Capital Radio broadcast live (also known as live streaming)

via the internet. There also exist stand alone internet based “newspapers” such as Nyasatimes, Malawi Democract, and Maravi Post. The internet is therefore a source of information that

may help people to make informed political choices. During the 2004 and 2009 elections,

for example, information about the various events in the electoral process was conveyed to

thousands of people via mobile phone text messages, social media such as facebook and

twitter, and online media. As has been pointed out, however, internet and internet-enable

mobile telephones are accessible to a very small number of people and therefore their impact

on politics and the political process is likely to remain minor in comparison to radio, and to a

lesser extent, television (see Chikunkhuzeni, 2011).

Key concept: social media

The term social media describes all media that are not for profit and are controlled, in terms

content generation and time of publishing, by users. The content is free as long as one can

access internet enabled media such as mobile telephones and computers. During the

2010/2011 Arab protests and revolutions that toppled the presidents of Tunisia, Libya and

Egypt, social media played a significant role because they could not be censored. In Morocco,

social media have been termed the fifth estate.

As for media regulation, Malawi qualifies as a liberal country. Newspapers are registered but

their circulation and content are not officially regulated. The Malawi Communication

Regulatory Authority (MACRA), only polices broadcasting, telephony and postal services.

THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN SOCIETY AND POLITICS

Mass media can and do play a very important role in society in general and in the political

process in particular. Here we consider their different roles and how far the media in

Malawi currently perform these roles, with particular emphasis on the political context.

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Providing general information

In society, mass media are the main channels through which people are informed about

news items: these could be social, political or cultural activities. They provide information

about a wide range of situations, events and other phenomena that affect people’s day-to-

day lives. For many people, mass media are also the only means by which they acquire

information about educational and employment opportunities; social events; births,

marriages and deaths; business; weather; agriculture and numerous other occurrences of

social significance.

In Malawi all forms of media provide this role. Events such as births and deaths appear

mainly in newspapers and are broadcast on radio; job advertisements appear mainly in

newspapers; and consumer advertising appears on television, radio and in the print media.

Since the mid 1990s, there have been attempts at MBC Radio to provide content and

linguistic diversity. For instance, there are news bulletins and short programmes in English

(official language), Chichewa (national language) Chitumbuka, Kiyangonde, Chiyao,

Chilomwe, Chisena and Chitonga. Chilomwe, Chitumbuka, Chitonga, Kiyangonde, Chiyao,

and Chisena are Malawi’s other prominent languages. MBC TV uses only English and

Chichewa while other languages in interviews are voiced over or paraphrased. MBC Radio 1

broadcasts news and short programmes in these other languages. Broadcasting at MBC 1

allocates only 520 (6.4%) minutes per week to programmes in languages other than English

and Chichewa, i.e. Kiyangonde (86 minutes/week), Chiyao (85 minutes/week), Chitumbuka

(100 minutes/week), Chitonga (85 minutes/week), Chilomwe (90 minutes/week) and

Chisena (70 minutes/week). Chisena, which is allotted the smallest quota, gets 0.9% of

broadcast time, while Chitumbuka, the most privileged of the minority languages occupies

1.2%, Chilomwe gets 1.1% and Chitonga, Chiyao, and Kiyangonde get 1.0% each (Manda,

2006).

This programming in local languages other than Chichewa leaves much to be desired,

however, as linguistic diversity is not accompanied by cultural diversity. News items are

constructed in English and translated into Malawian languages. There is virtually no news

about the political and social activities of the Sena, Tonga, Yao, Lomwe, Ngonde and

Tumbuka; the content provided in these languages is simply a translation of the Chichewa

and English programmes which focus on the main ethnic groups. In short, the beneficiary is

the president, the government and the ruling party.

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Providing entertainment

Mass media also serve society by providing entertainment in various forms, including

documentaries, films, plays, music and poetry and national and international sports events.

Sometimes a mixture of entertainment and education (‘edutainment’ or ‘infotainment’) is used to get across a particular message, such as AIDS in programmes like Tikuferanji and

Sewero la Sabata Ino on MBC 1.

Providing news about politics

The mass media are the main channels for informing people about the activities of political

events, institutions and processes. It is from radio and television broadcasts, social media,

internet-based “newspapers” and articles in newspapers, magazines and other print media

that many people in Malawi obtain information about issues being debated in the National

Assembly; activities of the president, ministers, members of parliament (MPs) and

councillors; advocacy by civil society organisations; and international political events. In

addition to providing information on politics and the political process as part of the news, it

is also common for MBC to broadcast live important political activities such as

parliamentary debates and state of the nation addresses by the president. Similarly,

newspapers such as The Nation and The Daily Times also dedicate whole pages exclusively

to the coverage of parliamentary sittings and regularly carry feature articles aimed at

describing the activities of political actors and their significance.

In the same way that media can be used to fully inform the public, they can also be used to

misinform the public by not providing all the facts, distorting the truth, ignoring some

politicians or simply lying about a situation or event. Unfortunately, this happens in Malawi

for a variety of reasons:

Some media are operated as businesses and therefore ethical issues and politically

charged topics are sometimes ignored in pursuit of business and profits.

Some media are politically polarised and therefore often present partisan political

information. Media are mostly owned by politicians and are therefore vehicles of

partisan information instead of providing a public sphere for all and thereby ensuring a

level political playing field.

Some journalists are unethical, corrupt, or easy to bribe and are willing to twist stories or

not cover issues which are in the public’s interest if they are given the right inducements.

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Some journalists are ignorant or lack the necessary training to be good journalists. As a

result, their coverage of issues can be shallow and distorted.

Social media users do not have any code of ethics and as such easily send information

that distorts the truth.

Providing a ‘public sphere’ Key concept: public sphere

A public sphere is an open space for all citizens to air their opinions and ideas, which is

essential for a free and open society.

In politics the media provide what Habermas (1989) calls the ‘public sphere’, an open space for people to discuss their ideas freely and democratically. Habermas compares this space to

an agora, an open space in the ancient city of Athens, Greece, where people gathered to

debate social and political issues. In elections, the mass media can provide a forum for

political debate among the candidates, parties and the electorate.

This public sphere role of the media is also evident in Malawi. Radio phone-in programmes

are the most obvious example of this. Some of the most popular of such programmes are

broadcast regularly by Capital Radio, FM 101, and other private radio stations which invite

members of the general public to telephone and give their views live on air on subjects of

immediate topical interest selected by the stations. Many radio stations and TVM have

debates by panels of experts or lobbyists covering a wide variety of subjects, including

matters of political significance such as the conduct of politicians, political institutions and

the citizenry. Some print media also publish articles or letters by members of the general

public giving their views on issues of the day. By facilitating public debate and providing

space or airtime for people to express their views, mass media in Malawi make a significant

contribution to the forming, holding and expressing of public opinion; something that is

important in any political process.

The media help set political agendas by proposing what they consider worthwhile and

popular when political parties fail to come up with tangible issues. The Politial Index weekly

supplement in The Nation is a case in point.

Protecting democracy

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The media can promote accountability in the same way as do pillars of integrity such as

anti-corruption bureaux, human rights commissions, ombudsmen and civil society. The

media can help to prevent elected representatives and the executive arm of government

from abusing their power by exposing misuse of office, incompetence and corruption,

among other social ills. The media do so by providing information about government affairs

(including the views of the opposition) to the public and thus linking citizens to their elected

representatives. Because the media frequently expose dubious government actions,

governments are compelled to explain their decisions and actions to the public. The media

can also contribute to the accountability of civil society and the private sector. Civil society

groups such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private sector institutions such

as corporations are inclined to conduct themselves more ethically and efficiently, if they feel

the watchful eye of the media is on them.

In elections, the media can play a vital part in ensuring that the electoral process is

conducted in a free and democratic manner by denouncing electoral irregularities and by

monitoring and reporting results. It is for this reason that freedom of the media and

expression during the electoral process is considered one of the conditions for free and fair

elections.

If mass media are allowed to perform their role effectively, they can contribute to ensuring

accountability and good governance on the part of the government and public sector, and

sound business and economic activities on the part of the private sector, all of which are

prerequisites for development.

In Malawi, the potential is there for the mass media to provide this all-important watchdog

role. However, legally not all mass media have an obligation to play this role. Private and

community radios do not have specific legal obligations to contribute to the political process

in any particular way. In contrast, the MBC, which is supposed to be a public service, has

specific legal obligations that compel it to promote a democratic political culture and

democratic political processes. Section 87(1) of the Communications Act (Act No 41 of

1998) requires MBC to provide public broadcasting services in accordance with a number

of principles, including ‘the encouragement of free and informed opinion on all matters of

public interest [and] respect for human rights, the rule of law and the Constitution of

Malawi’. Section 87(2) of the same act expressly requires MBC to ‘function without any

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political bias and independently of any person or body of persons…support the democratic process…provide balanced coverage of any elections; and…have regard to the public interest’.

The media played a commendable watchdog role in the open/third term issue by keeping the

issue alive by constant coverage. There are many other critical issues, such as corruption,

where media played a useful role leading to the arrest, prosecution and incarceration of

some powerful people although others with close links to those governing the country were

left untouched.

Questioning the state of governance

During the history and evolution of journalism, journalists have criticised, commended and

even endorsed government policies and state of governance through several genres:

Editorial comments, specialist columns, comic strips, and cartoons. Innocent as they appear,

cartoons have been employed in newspaper, on radio and TV, to illustrate stories and

provide humour, diversion and socio-political commentary. Compared to the Malawian

cartoonist of the 1990s (see Chirambo, 1998), the cartoonist of the 2000s is bold, politically

involved and highly sententious. For example, cartoons such as Ayobe and Point of Order

(which replaced Brian Hara’s politically charged cartoon series, Town and Country Rat),

Puludzu, Zaya Kunkhongo and others have challenged political and helped some of them to

rethink their actions. The cartoons below provide evidence of this role.

Amtchona (Weekend Nation 14–15 May 2005)

17

In the above cartoon, a politician who has just returned from a sitting of parliament is asked

whether parliamentarians discussed such important issues as water, schools, famine, and

roads. His answer is that they discussed whether to confirm the appointment of an Inspector

General of Police. He mockingly asks them if they have any more questions since he has to

ride off in his Mercedes Benz as he wishes to go and watch DVDs!

Of late political leaders have been criticised, through different cartoons, for their failure to

handle issues like academic freedom, shortage of foreign exchange and fuel in Malawi. For

example, in the Puludzu cartoon published in the Daily Times of 10 November 2011, a

leader’s slogan and campaign are questioned. The cartoonist even evaluated the politicians

and found their performance wanting as the Puludzu cartoon of 3rd November 2011 shows.

Puludzu (Daily Times, 10 November 2011)

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Puludzu (Daily Times, 3 November, 2011)

The police and other civil servants have also been subjected to humorous criticism. In the

first Ayobe cartoon published in the Nation of 27 October 2011, the police ask a motorist to

stop but he refuses because the signpost says it is forbidden to stop in that area. Police often

break traffic laws, for example, when they drive official police cars with worn out tyres.

However, the cartoonists are more critical when it comes to corruption amongst the police

(Ayobe, Nation, 3rd January 2012).

Ayobe (Nation, 27 October 2011)

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Ayobe (Nation, 3 January 2012)

Police are also depicted as abetting crime. The Zaya Kukhongo cartoon below depicts a

scene where poor people come to procure subsidised fertiliser and other farm inputs.

Officers are selling the fertiliser at K2500 instead of K500. When the poor man complains

and threatens to report the public servants to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ATIKOLA

BULUKU), the public officer says the Anti-Corruption Bureau officers do not get to rural

villages. Says the Officer: “If they come here, who will stay in their offices? Give us K3000.

We also need to benefit from the government!” Thus the cartoon is not only about

corruption but also about police negligence of duty or cooperation in crime and failure of

the anti-corruption officers to detect corruption in rural areas.

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Zaya Kunkhongo (Malawi News, 12 November 2011)

Cartoonists have also commented on international issues such as the invasion of Libya in

2011. According to a Weekend Times cartoonist, the invasion was motivated by the West’s desire to “milk” Libya of its resources.

Weekend Times, 11 November 2011

The newspaper cartoonist has been so effective in their political commentary that President

Mutharika once responded to a regular Nation cartoon, Point of Order, that actually

mocked the “fictional’ protesters who planned to march in the streets in protest against a

continued dry spell. He responded that he did not make rain. Malawian cartoonists have

21

been recognised. In 2012, a foreign embassy asked them to form an organisation to protect

their work and even invited them to display their work in Lilongwe.

Cartooning has also been used by the MBC. The radio programme, Makiyolobasi, has been

described by MBC management as radio cartoon meant to entertain radio listeners but it has

been unique in its one-sided criticism of the opposition and praise for the president.

Although an evaluation of the effect of the MBC’s radio cartoon has not yet been carried out,

Makiyolobasi has helped politicians to be careful about what they as their words could be

used anonymously in a radio programme similar to Makiyolobasi.

Providing civic education

In addition to promoting accountability through publicising actions and decisions by the

government, civil society and the private sector, mass media also affect politics through their

contribution to political socialisation of citizens. This is done mainly by educating the public

on key aspects of politics and the political process, such as the responsibility of the state and

the rights and duties of citizens. This civic education plays an important role in aiding the

development of democracy because it empowers citizens to demand accountability by the

state and to exercise their rights effectively and perform their obligations fully.

The media also provide specific information related to particular aspects of the political

process. For example, in elections, the media can serve as a key source of political

information about specific candidates, political parties, policies and ideologies. This enables

voters to make informed choices. They can provide a forum for political debate among the

candidates, parties, and the electorate. They can also encourage all citizens including the

disadvantaged in society to take part in elections.

Since Malawi revived genuinely competitive elections in 1993, mass media in Malawi have

played a significant role in providing voters with information on various aspects of the

electoral process, including the legal rights and duties of voters, policies of contesting

parties, personalities of candidates, the conduct of campaign meetings and the general

administration of the electoral process by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).

Manda (2005) noted that while public radio and television were clearly biased towards the

ruling party, private media tried to offer objective voter education during the 2004 general

22

elections. The trend continued in later elections. Despite the agreement, publicly signed in

2008, between the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and the Media to report all

candidates fairly (http://www.mec.org.mw/Elections/CodesOfConduct/MalawiMedia/),

electoral observers and the MEC media monitoring unit concluded that TVM (MBC TV) and

MBC (Radios 1 & 2) dedicated more time to the DPP candidate who doubled as incumbent

president and presidential candidate. The short message system (SMS) on mobile phones was

also used by private individuals to urge people to vote for specific candidates. In their

pullouts ‘Poll Alert’ and ‘Political Index’, the Daily Times and The Nation newspapers,

respectively, carried summaries or discussions of party manifestos or profiles of presidential

candidates.

Mediating in conflicts

The mass media can be a useful tool in mediation, as when they aid conflict resolution and

pacify belligerent communities. In Malawi this role has been minimal in the media except

for occasionally asking communities or politicians to live in peace with each other. For

example, the phone-in programmes on most radio stations have been used to tackle burning

issues and protagonists are invited to the studios to respond directly or face each other.

However, through hate speech, the media can also foment intertribal conflicts as Radio-

Télévision Libre des Milles Collines did in Rwanda in 1994, which action led to the

internecine massacre of over 800 thousand Hutus and Tutsis. Conflict can also erupt as a

result of media’s unfair treatment of certain political or ethnic entities. This process of

deliberately trivialising some people or issues with the aim of stereotyping others and

creating a monoculture is called symbolic annihilation (Tuchman, 1978).

Manipulating the public

Because of their potential to influence people’s knowledge and views, the media may not only be used to help citizens to make up their own minds on issues, but they may also be

used in a negative way to deliberately shape the opinion of the public into accepting

economic, political and social relations of power which benefit the powerful as normal. This

use of the media is called propaganda. As Hilter’s propagandist Josef Goebels once put it,

‘When you tell a lie often enough, [people] will believe you’. In the same way, journalists and media owners may circulate oppressive ideas. As a result, instead of educating the people to

throw off economic and social oppression, the media can subtly train the masses to accept

their shackles and even to see them as normal (see Chomsky & Herman, 1988). Thus, the

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media can become purveyors of ideas that benefit particular elites such as the rich, the

ruling elite, and the educated to the detriment of the poorly educated. Propaganda can also

be used to extreme and destructive effect by stirring up hatred against a particular race or

ethnic group to benefit the ruling elite, as Hitler did in Nazi Germany against the Jews, and

the Hutu extremists who used Radio-Télévision Libre des Mille Collines to demonise the

Tutsis and even to incite Hutus to kill Tutsis.

Antonio Gramsci (http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-gram.htm) described the environment in

which the media and the public accept the oppressive ideas or ideologies of the powerful as

the dominant hegemony. The mass media, coupled with religions training institutions,

seminaries and madras, film, music and theatre production houses like Hollywood are

efficient and powerful vehicles or apparatuses of public control and propagation of ideology.

They function subtly in delivering the dominant ideology. Althuser (1989) called them

Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs). Politicians are aware of the power of the media to

change the dominant ideology by, for example, providing contesting opinions, setting a

political different agenda and exposing power abuse. This explains, in part, why elites (the

government, businesses, and politicians) often try to control the media through ownership,

censorship and even arrests and murder of journalists

In Malawi’s history propaganda has been used by all governments to some extent, but it was mostly used during the one-party era of President Banda as we have already discussed in this

chapter. The difference between hegemony and propaganda is very thin. While hegemony is

delivered subtly (such as in schools), propaganda is disseminated overtly particularly during

electoral campaigns.

DO THE MEDIA INFLUENCE VOTING PATTERNS?

Soon after the announcement of the results of the 2004 election, The Nation asked its readers

whether the public media influenced their vote. The responses to the questions appeared in

the newspaper’s ‘Political Index’ of 1 June 2004. It concluded that only one person out of ten

doubted the influence of the MBC on the outcome of the 2004 vote.

From the responses given by The Nation’s readers, one may be tempted to conclude that the

mass media (MBC in the case of Malawi) influenced people’s choices during elections.

24

However, if we consider the following facts, it is not clear that mass media in Malawi do

have such considerable influence among voters.

In 1993 the MCP was in control of all public media but still lost the referendum on

whether the political system in Malawi ought to be changed to a multiparty system. (In

fact, the Central Region was the only region to have a majority in favour of the one-party

system advocated by the MCP).

In 1994 MCP was still in control of all public media but lost the general election (the

Central Region voted for the MCP, the Northern Region for AFORD, and the Southern

Region for UDF).

In 1999 UDF was in control of the public media, but only got majority wins in the

Southern Region.

In 2000 UDF was in control of the media and won local government elections but there

was voter apathy particularly in the Northern and Central Regions.

In 2004 UDF was in control of the media and the UDF presidential candidate won but

the MCP got more seats (despite lack of media support) and independent candidates won

even where the UDF and public media dominated. The Northern and Central Regions still

voted against the UDF.

In 2005 President Mutharika of the UDF party was in control of the public media but his

official UDF candidates lost by-elections in his own constituency in Thyolo and in the

vice president’s constituency in Nkhota Kota.

In early 2006 President Mutharika formed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP),

which later contested in six by-elections and won all.

In 2009 President Mutharika and the DPP had a landslide electoral victory. Like all

suiting governments did before, the DPP was in control of all government media (MBC

radio and TV) and they got the endorsement of all eminent chiefs. Additionally, the DPP

used social mobilisation techniques unheard of in the history of campaigning in Malawi.

A mobile video van, a fleet of sturdy jeeps, pick-ups and buses toured the whole country.

Some seemed convinced that the media made the DPP win. However, the same campaign

tactics were used in the 2009 and 2011 by-elections in Zomba to fill the seat vacated by

the Vice President Joyce Banda and that which fell vacant following the death of

Professor Moses Chirambo in the Rumphi central constituency. However, the DPP,

which had won overwhelmingly in both constituencies lost to an independent candidate

in Zomba and an AFORD candidate in Rumphi, both of whom had virtually no resources

at their disposal.

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In short, incumbent presidents tend to use the state media for political purposes in general to

build the image of their party as well as for electoral purposes in particular to win votes.

However, this does not always work in their favour.

This goes to show that, contrary to what most people believe – that is that media influence

voting by playing on the psyche of voters – field research has consistently shown the media

to have only limited effects. In 1960, after an extensive review of the ‘effects’ research, Klapper wrote that the media could not have direct effects as there always were predisposing

factors. He said the media were not the sole cause of effects (see Kunczik 1988). Further,

Klapper wrote:

Persuasive mass communication functions far more frequently as an agent of

reinforcement than as an agent of change. Reinforcement or at least constancy of

opinion is typically found to be the dominant effect. (1960, cited by Morley 1992:

48).

Schramm (1974) who, in the 1960s, believed the media were information multipliers and

could change behaviour and modernise poor societies, also acknowledged that the media

audience is active and negotiates the messages it confronts.

He wrote:

‘The social aegis under which the message comes, the receiver’s social relationship to the sender, the perceived social consequences of accepting it or acting upon it must

be put together with an understanding of the symbolic and structural nature of the

message, the conditions under which it is received, the abilities of the receiver and his

innate and learned responses’ (Schramm 1974: 7)

Thus, Klapper and Schramm’s observations could be helpful in understanding why there seems to be a hazy relationship between media use and election results in Malawi since

1993. However, it must be emphasised that the fact that there seems to be no empirical

evidence to suggest that media influence voter behaviour does not mean that media have no

influence on human behaviour and attitudes. Action research by Farm Radio International

proved that those who regularly listen to radio are five times more likely to change their

behaviour and adopt a new habit (Farm Radio International, 2011). Studies evaluating the

26

impact of Radio Listening Clubs on local communities have also shown that because of

participating in the clubs, communities are able to speak out against economic problems and

challenge their political representatives such that in target areas in Zimbabwe, Zambia and

Malawi where the Radio Listening Clubs have existed for over five years, essential

infrastructure (water points, trading centres, police units, school blocks, and footbridges),

has been erected. In the same areas, women have been reported to speak out against

domestic violence, and suppression of freedom of expression (Warnock, 2001; Banda, 2006;

Manyozo,2005; Manda, 2011; Chimala, 2011). Thus, as Neuman and Guggenheim (2011)

have observed, media have long term and cumulative effects on human behaviour.

Summary

Mass media can have both a positive and a negative influence in society and politics.

The media has the potential to play a positive role by:

providing civic education on people’s rights and electoral processes. providing checks and balances and playing the role of a pillar of integrity and whistle

blower against abuse of power and corruption, thus helping promote good governance.

helping in mediating and solving conflicts by giving the belligerents a voice and acting

as a negotiation forum in times of politically motivated conflicts.

The media has the potential to have a negative role by

misinforming or deliberately distorting the truth out of business, political reasons or

because some journalists are biased and lack journalistic skills and education.

being used as propaganda tools by elites for a variety of reasons, but often to ensure

society as a whole accepts the status quo although it is not beneficial to the masses, or, in

extreme cases, to incite division or hatred between different ethnic groups, political

parties, or races.

In terms of the media’s potential to influence voters, research indicates that their impact in this respect is limited. They tend to reinforce rather than change the way people vote.

MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS AND THEIR IMPACT

It is also worth noting that the mass media in Malawi have affected politics through the

activities of some of their various associations. Examples include the Journalists Association

of Malawi (JAMA) which, in the past, organised debates among political contestants during

27

elections, and press clubs such as the Lilongwe Press Club which has been involved in civic

education and public debates on issues affecting the nation. Also active in directly promoting

good governance are specialist journalism organisations such as the Forum for

Environmental Communicators (FECO), the Media Association for Human Rights

Advancement (MAHRA) and the Media and Aids Society Organisation (MASO) and the

Journalists Association against AIDS (JA AIDS). The Malawi Chapter of the Media Institute of

Southern Africa (MISA Malawi) has been very active in the political process by promoting

and defending freedom of the media and proposing bills to change laws unfavourable to free

media practice in Malawi. MISA Malawi has defended journalists who have suffered

harassment or arrest. Experience in Malawi has shown that media associations can make an

important and direct contribution to the political process by actively engaging in civic

education and promoting transparency and accountability.

The Media Council of Malawi was very instrumental in establishing links and agreements

between the media, the MEC and political parties on fair coverage of elections. The

Photographers Association of Malawi (photama) has also been instrumental in training

photographers in taking news worthy and ethical photographs. The Journalists Union of

Malawi (JUMA) has also trained journalists in election reporting among other areas.

These trainings has been important during elections because it has helped journalists take

balanced and politically relevant pictures that illustrate the event.

CHALLENGES MASS MEDIA FACE IN MALAWI

Failure to provide universal access

If only a few people have access to radio, television, newspapers, magazines and other mass

media, the majority will have limited knowledge about the activities of political actors, will

not be able to fully participate in public debate, and will not be able to make political choices

that are fully informed. Fortunately, in Malawi, access to the most ubiquitous medium, radio

is not a problem as in some villages people have formed radio listening clubs. They save

battery power until when they need the radio most. However, access to electronic media is

hampered by expenses incurred in powering up radio sets and buying television sets.

According to some estimates, 64 to 80% of the population in Malawi has access to radio sets

while for television and newspapers, the ownership figures are dismal (see Malawi

Government, 2009). Access to print media is hindered by not only the cost and uneven

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distribution of newspapers, magazines and other publications but also low levels of literacy,

particularly among women, only 54% of whom can read, compared to 75% of men. In

addition, most mass circulation newspapers in Malawi are elitist because they are written in

English which is understood by a relatively small sector of society (Hall & Ham 1994).

Political interference and harassment

Since mass media have the potential to be used to influence public opinion and the political

choices that people make, their ownership and control are often sought by those who hold or

aspire to have political power. The political views of those who own and/or control

particular media will normally determine the manner in which the media will perform their

various roles as described earlier in this chapter. The political inclination of the owners of

any particular radio or television station, or newspaper, magazine or any other print

medium is likely to influence or affect the way the media report news and their degree of

openness. In some cases, such bias may be subtle.

Most scholars of mass media agree that the political biases of owners and controllers of mass

media limit the ability of the media to inform members of the public about the activities of

political actors, provide the space for public debate, and assist the public to make informed

political choices objectively. In relation to print media in Malawi, it is worth noting that both

of the country’s daily newspapers are owned by companies that are associated with prominent politicians. As noted earlier in this chapter, The Nation and the Daily Times are

published by companies associated with power and politics in Malawi. Partisan ownership is

also evident in relation to electronic media. Not only are most community radio stations,

such as Radio Maria and Radio Islam, operated by religious groups that use them explicitly

to promote their faiths, but a number of private radio stations are also owned by politicians,

including a former president whose company operates Joy Radio FM and the son of a

prominent opposition politician who has a controlling interest in Power FM 101 radio

station.

In Malawi, politics does not affect mass media only in the case of print media and private

and community electronic media. Political interference also accounts for the well-

documented breaches by the MBC of its legal obligations to encourage free and informed

opinion on all matters of public interest, to function without any political bias and

independently of any person or body of persons, and to provide balanced coverage of any

29

elections. Political interference with the operations of the MBC is possible largely because it

lacks sufficient structural and operational independence. By law, the president appoints

members of the board of directors of MBC and decides on their chairperson. In turn, the

board appoints the corporation’s director general (although one was directly appointed by

the president). The operational independence of the MBC is limited in that it relies on

parliament for its core funding, which it supplements through the sale of air-time to

advertisers.

The MBC makes a valuable contribution to the political process in Malawi through various

programmes that provide information and facilitate debate of matters of public interest.

However, there is evidence that it tends to promote the partisan interests of the president and

ruling party, particularly during elections. In the 2004 elections, for example, the observer

mission of the European Union systematically monitored coverage of the elections by various

media and concluded that MBC had shown ‘overwhelming bias’ in favour of the ruling

coalition, allocating 97.7% of its electoral coverage air-time to UDF/AFORD/NCD and 89.6%

of air-time to the ruling party’s presidential candidate. No remarkable change was noted in

succeeding elections. As Manda (2005) points out, the private media were also biased

against the government.

A further constraint on media freedom has been the systematic harassment of journalists by

political forces and others. Such harassment has included the detention of journalists. In

other cases, journalists have been assaulted or had their equipment damaged by political

party activists who were unhappy with the coverage of their parties by particular media, and

on at least one occasion a number of soldiers invaded the premises of a newspaper,

intimidated staff and damaged equipment because the newspaper had published an article

critical of the army.

Legal constraints and regulation

Chapter 4 of the Constitution of Malawi, which is usually referred to as the Bill of Rights,

guarantees freedom of expression, freedom of the press and freedom of opinion. Every

person in Malawi is free to express him- or herself and publish his or her opinions. In

addition to having a Bill of Rights in its constitution, Malawi has signed up to a number of

treaties which guarantee freedom of expression. Such treaties include the 1948 Universal

Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which, in Article 19, says, ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this includes freedom to hold opinions without

30

interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas though any media and

regardless of frontiers’. As a member of the African Union, Malawi is equally bound by Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, adopted at Nairobi in 1981, which entitles every individual to receive information and to express and disseminate his or

her opinions within the law.

Despite the freedoms and rights guaranteed by the constitution and various treaties, the

freedom of mass media in Malawi is constrained by a number of laws and economic and

other factors. Like all other former British colonies, Malawi inherited most of the laws in

force today from the British. These laws have not changed much since independence, and

include those that purport to restrict the freedom with which mass media may gather and

publish information and opinions. Many of these laws seem to contradict the spirit of the

constitution regarding freedom of the press.

It is true that the validity of any law which is inconsistent with the constitution may be

challenged in court. Nevertheless, laws such as that of libel and the penal code not only place

limits on media freedom in order to legitimately protect the rights of others, but also have a

chilling effect on the media by encouraging an undue amount of self-censorship.

Indeed, the spirit of crusading journalism, which is characterised by investigation into

corruption, has died away since the institutionalisation of multiparty politics due to

government fines. Several senior ministers have been involved in shady deals since Malawi

reverted to multiparty politics. The Democrat newspaper uncovered the Field York Scam

regarding the purchase of notebooks for the free primary school education introduced by

the UDF in 1994. It also covered the alleged abuse of resources at the Reserve Bank, where

huge sums of money were used to build brick fences for a staff house. The Chronicle has also

tried to unearth a lot of dirt involving public servants. Unfortunately, the newspapers were

sued for defamation and the result has been devastating for the media. The Democrat shut

down although the Minister responsible for the Field York Scam was retied and jailed using

the same evidence for the Democrat was made to pay damages. The Chronicle, a bitter critic

of the Mutharika administration folded in 2006. The publisher accused the Guardian,

owned by President Mutharika’s daughter, of unfair labour practices by offering

employment to almost all employees of the Chronicle. However, despite massive government

support in terms of advertisements, the Guardian also closed shop in 2012. This seems to

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confirm further the fact for mass media to succeed management skills are more important

than political backing.

In addition to the presence of laws that restrict media freedom, there is an absence of laws to

facilitate the gathering of information. Although the constitution provides that every person

has the right to have access to information which is held by the state or any of its organs,

there is no legislation which provides for the mechanism and procedures for applying for

such access. In general, the army, police, prisons, and most government institutions have

become less secretive and have public and media relations officers who speak on behalf of

those organisations and periodically brief journalists. Nevertheless, journalists still

experience delays in crosschecking information because only the appointed spokespersons,

and no other officer, speak for their institutions. In any case, in the absence of access to

information legislation, public officers may deny the media critical information and thereby

limit the public’s right to be properly informed.

The operation of mass media requires regulation in order to ensure that in playing their role

in the political process, the media do not exceed the limits of their freedoms and act in

accordance with legal, ethical and other applicable norms. In Malawi, there is a

fundamental difference between the regulation of print and that of electronic media. The

former is done largely through self-regulation which involves the media themselves

formulating a code of ethics which is enforced by a body established by the media. This does

not mean that journalists become immune from the laws of the country but that violations of

professional ethics are primarily settled within the media. In practice, the foundations for

self-regulation among print media in Malawi exist in the form of a code of conduct and the

Media Council of Malawi which is mandated to enforce it. The code is available for free at

www.mediacouncilmalawi.org.

In contrast to the print media, the electronic media is heavily regulated by the state. The

regulation of broadcasting in Malawi is the legal responsibility of the MACRA and is

governed primarily by the Communications Act (Act No 41 of 1998). The act grants MACRA

wide powers to regulate broadcasting, including that of planning the use of, and allocating

radio frequencies. The act obliges MACRA to perform a wide range of related functions

including licensing broadcasters; providing advice to the minister of information on

broadcasting regulations or policies; and monitoring activities of broadcasting licensees to

32

ensure their compliance with the terms and conditions of their licenses and applicable

regulations.

The board of directors of MACRA is appointed by the president who also chooses the board’s chairperson. The director general is appointed by the minister of information who also

approves the appointment of the deputy director general. Although MPs, government

ministers, and party functionaries are disqualified from appointment to the board, the

secretary to the president and secretary for information are ex officio members and the

board is answerable to the minister of information who is answerable to the president. Legal

experts have argued that this is likely to influence its decisions on who should be licensed or

not or which license should be revoked or not.

In addition, MACRA has failed in its responsibilities because it has not enforced the law

against the MBC when the latter has failed to provide impartial broadcasting as required by

its public service broadcasting obligations. This may be because MACRA itself is as

vulnerable to political interference as is the MBC, since its board of directors and director

general are appointed by the executive branch of government and has among the members

of the board senior civil servants, albeit in an ex officio capacity. This may limit its

independence in relation to enforcing the Communications Act in cases of pro-government

and pro-ruling party bias by MBC. It may also explain why MACRA left TVM (later MBC

TV), whose board of directors is also appointed by the president, to operate without a license

or statutory mandate from 1999 to 2004.

The regulatory framework for broadcasters in Malawi also includes a code of ethics which is

appended to the Communications Act and lays down norms which would facilitate a positive

contribution to the dissemination of information about the political process, facilitation of

public debate and contribution to the making of informed political choice among the public.

Among the relevant norms are those which require broadcasters to report news truthfully,

accurately, objectively and in a balanced manner. During any election period, the media

should ensure equitable treatment of political parties, election candidates and electoral

issues; separate opinion, supposition, rumour or allegation from fact in reports; and to

present differing points of view when broadcasting controversial issues. The code also

entitles broadcasters to comment on and criticise any actions or events of public importance.

However, for various reasons, this code of ethics has not always been adhered to and there is

33

evidence of biased and inaccurate reporting mostly due to political partisanship and bribery

(so-called logistics, chipondamthengo or chequebook journalism in Malawi, brown

envelopes in Kenya, and envelopementalism in India,), and not lack of training as was the

case previously as many journalists have since gone through professional journalism

training.

Economic constraints

Harsh economic conditions have also constrained media operations. According to

Kanyang’wa and Mkwaila (2011), Malawi’s stringent media regulatory practice has

restricting new entrants into the media arena. Advertising, which is the lifeline of newspaper

printing and broadcast material gathering in Malawi, is hard to come by. Most of the

newspapers that have folded since 1994 could not survive because clients who had hitherto

purchased advertising could no longer do so due to the poor economic environment, which

includes lack of foreign exchange and exorbitant costs of importing newsprint, audio

recorders and studio equipment.

Lack of professionalism

As mentioned previously in this chapter, biased, incorrect or poor reporting in mass media

can be a result of journalists being poorly educated, trained or dishonest. In all their formal

training journalists are taught to abide by a code of ethics and professional standards which

demand that journalists be fair, objective and thorough in their reporting. However, some

journalists deliberately do not adhere to this and argue that nobody eats mass media ethics.

EVALUATING THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN MALAWI’S DEMOCRACY

The USAID Centre for Democracy and Governance sums up the role of the media in politics

and democracy, in particular, as follows:

‘Access to information is essential to the health of democracy… First it ensures that citizens make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation.

Second, information serves a “checking function” by ensuring that elected representatives uphold their oaths of office and carry out the wishes of those who elected them’. (1999: 3)

Despite their many failings and weaknesses, the Malawi media have been generally

instrumental in keeping the country’s democracy afloat by playing the function of an integrity pillar. Some mass media outlets play a more important role than others. For

34

instance, the media owned by the government has tended to be biased towards those in

power. In contrast, despite difficult working conditions, private, community, web-based or

online media and social media have generally been diligent in contributing to the political

process by facilitating transparency, accountability and the rule of law through the

provision of information about the political process, providing a platform for public debate

and helping people to make informed choices. The government though thought some

community radio stations were biased towards opposition parties.

Despite their contribution to the political process, mass media in Malawi have to improve.

Critics point out that mass media in Malawi still display insufficient analysis of issues, failure

to follow-up on stories, unethical behaviour among journalists and occasional political bias.

Others also point at the tendency during elections to focus on personalities rather than

raising issues of critical importance to the well-being of the population such as access to

clean water, access to land, equity in development and good quality education. Some critics

have even accused some media of being deliberately dishonest and wilfully failing to

promote positive human values.

The media in Malawi also face many problems as mentioned in this chapter, such as poor

overall coverage, political interference, economic constraints and legal challenges.

Despite the high expectations from the public, it must be acknowledged that democracy and

independent media in Malawi are relatively young and therefore one should expect the

media to have teething problems. In any case, media can never be free from criticism. Even

in older democracies such as the USA, France, and India, many accuse the media of bias,

arrogance, lack of education, sensationalism, and adversarial attitudes towards government.

What is important is that media in a democracy must observe objectively, explain issues

exhaustively and avoid being politically partisan if they are to succeed in their role as

guardians of democracy and engage the powerful and hold them accountable for all their

decisions.

In short, mass media play several vital roles in society and in the political process. When the

mass media exercise their franchise responsibly, they provide critical information, contribute

to civic and political education, and provide an open space for public debate.

35

SUMMARY

It is clear that the mass media have been at the centre of political communication in Malawi

since the colonial period. Mass media are a key part in the political process, whether they

play a positive role or a negative one in the political process. Mass media in Malawi have a

long history during which their freedom and diversity have been determined by the general

political environment, such as the existence of a one party state and then its replacement by

a liberal political dispensation. Currently mass media in Malawi provide information about

the political process, afford people the platform for engaging in public debate and assist

them to make informed political choices, including during elections. However, the political

interests of those who own or control mass media do affect their ability to discharge their

responsibilities properly, as is evident in the performance of the MBC. The constitution

guarantees media freedom but, in practice, its exercise is constrained by a number of

restrictive laws, a harsh economic environment and a political culture of intolerance to

dissenting views.

QUESTIONS

1. Describe two critical roles of the media in Malawian society.

2. In what ways are the mass media important in elections?

3. Give Malawian examples or cases that support the view that the mass media are whistle

blowers and pillars of integrity.

4. What constraints do mass media face in Malawi today?

5. What are the constraints of using social media and online “newspapers” in the political

process in Malawi?

6. How important are media associations in the political process?

7. Explain in your own words, the following terms: mass media, fourth estate, agenda

setting, public sphere, hegemony, propaganda, and community media.

8. Some people accuse the mass media of fomenting political chaos in Malawi because of

their failure to analyse issues properly and their propensity to tell lies. In your view,

could government function without the media?

9. Some people believe courts have been too harsh towards the media by instituting high

fines and punishing the media with laws which are in conflict with the republican

constitution. Explain whether you agree or disagree with the sentiment.

10. Discuss what effect mass media have had on voting during elections in Malawi.

11. Imagine that one day all media decide to suspend their operations. Describe the day.

36

Glossary

Commoditification (of News) Treating news as market goods.

Community media Media established and run by local communities

Hegemony This exists when the cultural, religious and/or political

ideas of one group of people dominate a society. The

media are often used as conduit for such ideas

promotion.

Media effects Real or perceived influence of the media. Researchers

have theorised but hardly found direct (hypodermic

needle), limited (minimal). Some have argued there are

no effects while others, particularly Marxists says the

effects are cumulative and long term.

Online journalism/media Interactive internet based journalism/media. Online

journalism as sometimes also referred to as New Media.

Propaganda The spreading of information and/or news to

manipulate people’s ideas and feelings

Social Media Mass Media and social media share a lot in common

but social media often refer to internet based media

where any user can generate and publish content

without censorship and the filters that are common in

the editorial process of mass media news.

Soap (opera) A series of dramatised radio or television episodes of a

story.

37

Symbolic Annihilation A media editing and production process, particularly

common in Malawi during election campaigns, in

which certain people and/or ideas are deliberately

trivialised; that is, they are stereotyped to appear bad,

socially unacceptable, useless, untenable and unhelpful.

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Further reading

Chimombo, S., and M. Chimombo (1996) The Culture of Democracy, Zomba: WASI

Publications

Kondowe, E., Kishindo, P. and Mkandawire, F. (2011), Journalism Practice in Malawi:

History, Progress, and Prospects. Lilongwe: UNESCO-Malawi

Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) (2003), Political Communication, Lilongwe: Konrad

Adenauer Foundation (TYP Series)

McNair, B (1999), An Introduction to Political Communication. London: Routledge.

Ott, M. et al (eds.) (2000), Malawi’s Second Democratic Elections: Process, Problems, and Prospects, Blantyre: CLAIM

Ott, M. et al. (eds.) (2005), The Power of the Vote: Malawi’s 2004 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections, Zomba: Kachere

Reinhardt, H. and N. Patel (2003), Malawi’s Process of Democratic Transition, Lilongwe: KAS