Repository logo
 

Background Paper: Politics and Interactive Media in Zambia


Type

Working Paper

Change log

Authors

Simutanyi, Neo 
Fraser, Alastair 
Milapo, Nalukui 

Abstract

This background paper provides an overview of the history and context of interactive media and public opinion in Zambia. It is prepared as part of Politics and Interactive Media in Africa (PiMA) - a collaborative study involving the University of Cambridge, University of Nairobi and University of Zambia. The main objectives of the PiMA project are: (a) to explore the extent to which media interactivity is widening (and deepening) political participation in Africa; (b) to investigate how public opinion is collected and represented by African media and for what (and whose) purposes; and (c) to establish the extent to which public opinion expressed via interactive media affects accountability mechanisms and policy-makers’ behaviour. The primary purpose of this background paper is to provide a political and policy context to the Zambian case study, and introduce the history and context of interactive media in Zambia. The paper is organised into four sections. The first section provides a brief history to the evolution of broadcast media in Zambia. The second section outlines the legal and policy context of broadcasting in Zambia. The third section discusses the state of interactive media in Zambia and its attendant challenges. The fourth section examines the state of public opinion formation through media platforms.

Description

The PiMA Working Papers are a series of peer-reviewed working papers that present findings and insights from Centre of Governance and Human Rights’ (CGHR) Politics and Interactive Media in Africa (PiMA) research project (2012-14). The project, jointly funded by the ESRC and DFID (ES/J018945/1), focuses on expressions of ‘public opinion’ in broadcast media via new information and communication technologies (ICT) such as mobile phones in Kenya and Zambia. PiMA examines the political implications of such interactions in the two African countries, with a view to drawing conclusions of wider significance to practitioners and policymakers. Series Editors: Sharath Srinivasan, Stephanie Diepeveen

Keywords

Zambia, Politics, Interactive Media, mobile phones, Africa, African media, television, radio, ICTs, participation, public opinion

Is Part Of

Publisher

CGHR, Dept. of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge

Publisher DOI

Publisher URL

Sponsorship
PiMA was jointly funded by the ESRC and DFID (ES/J018945/1)