MALAWI
By Robert Jamieson, Editor-in-Chief, The Chronicle
24 February 2003

THE PRINT MEDIA SITUATION IN MALAWI
Malawi can be listed among the very few African countries that have had, from the onset of democratic rule, a truly unregulated, diverse and plural media. For 30 odd years the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the Banda regime ensured that Malawians only heard what the authorities wanted them to hear which the new democratic dispensation has rejected.

THE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT
Media organisations and institutions exist such as the Journalist Association of Malawi (JAMA), the National Media Institute of Southern Africa, (NAMISA) , Malawi Chapter, the Malawi Media Workers Association (MAMWA), the Publisher's Association of Malawi (PAMA), the Media Council of Malawi and the 3 Press Clubs in Blantyre in the south, Lilongwe in the centre and Mzuzu in the north..

THE PRINT MEDIA
Malawi's print media has evolved from a single published daily title, The Daily Times (+ or - 30,000 circ then) and one weekly paper, the Malawi News (+ or - 45,000 circ then), (both owned and controlled by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) dictatorial government in 1991 to about 38 publications. The print media has been dynamic, often driven by politics. The denial of government advertising to 'opposition' papers is a case in point. The mushrooming, independent print media was drastically reduced to 3 dailies and about 12 weeklies within the space of 4 years largely due to a lack of funds.

THE PUBLIC MEDIA
The country has several public media outlets. There are two newspapers (one that appears bi-weekly called The Weekly News (+ or - 1,000 circ) and another published quarterly in the vernacular, Boma Lathu (funds permitting) and a high gloss tourism magazine This is Malawi (+ or - 2,000 circ). The Weekly News was established by government to counter what it perceived as negative reporting by the 'independent press' and to present news in a non partisan manner. Unfortunately the paper has degenerated into a mouthpiece for the ruling party and has been instrumental in the disinformation campaign prior to the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections that took place in Malawi on 15 June, 1999.

MEDIA SLANT
The public media, government publications together with the majority of partisan publications in the country toe the government line. Although some 'private' newspapers are meant to be 'independent' this position is highly questionable. A listing of newspapers in the country include:

• The Nation - daily, owned by Minister of Agriculture Aleke Banda
• The Saturday Nation - weekly , also owned by Aleke Banda
• The Daily Times - daily, owned by the opposition party, the MCP, Blantyre Newspapers but controlled by a UDF board
• The Malawi News - as above
• The Saturday Post - weekly, registered to George Tukuwa, Chief Editor of the government's The Weekly News
• The Malawi Standard - bi weekly, owned by Brian Ligomeka
• The UDF News - bi weekly, owned by the ruling party UDF
• The Chronicle - weekly, owned by Rob & Pushpa Jamieson
• The Weekly Digest - owned by Binson Nsongole
• Moni - a monthly magazine owned by the Catholic Church.
• The Lamp - a monthly magazine owned by the Catholic Church.