Who we are

MISA Zambia, established in 1995, is a membership-based organization that promotes media freedom, freedom of expression, and ethical journalism in Zambia. Membership of MISA Zambia is open to both institutions and individuals. Click here for more information on membership.

Governed through a democratic structure comprising the AGM, National Governing Council, and Secretariat, it works with media, communities and various partners to advance its vision and mission. As part of the regional MISA network across 11 SADC countries, it aligns with the regional vision of a pluralistic and free media. Its 2025–2029 strategy is guided by the core values of Virtue, Innovation, Transparency, Adaptability, and Objectivity –VITAO.

Our core values

MISA Zambia is guided by the core values outlined below in its business. We have adopted innovation as an additional value.

1. Honesty – We are open, straight and truthful in all matters relating to fulfilling our vision and mission
2. Integrity – We do what we say, and say what we do. We keep our word in all matters pertaining to the performance of this strategic plan at all levels
3. Ethical conduct – We uphold high ethical and professional standards
4. Objectivity – We are impartial, neutral and non-aligned to any opinion or stance, be it religious, political, socio-economic, etc. that our various beneficiaries, target groups, partners, funders, including government of the day in our day-to-day conduct of this strategic plan at all times
5. Transparency – We adhere to the principles of transparency in our operations
6. Accountability – We are committed to be prudent in all our dealings with the various resources entrusted among ourselves and the people we serve. Our books remain open, and our conduct
7. Innovation – In the ever changing global environment, we shall always endear to embrace new approaches of advancing our core aims via adopting new methods, embracing technology for the advancement of our aims, vision and mission.

MISA Zambia Mission

To promote an ecosystem that supports resilient media and freedom of expression in the face of high paced technological advancement through research, capacity building and advocacy in the interest of strengthening democracy, good governance and development that leaves no one behind in Zambia.

MISA Zambia Vision

An ecosystem that supports resilient media and robust freedom of expression in Zambia.

MISA Zambia Development Goal

Strengthened democratic governance and inclusive development in Zambia through empowered media and community-driven communication.

Our Approach

Central to MISA Zambia’s work is the Rights Based Approach (RBA) and Results Based Approach.  MISA Zambia’s 2025–2029 Strategic Plan adopts a Rights-Based Approach (RBA) to ensure all interventions uphold international human rights standards, emphasizing equality, non-discrimination, participation, accountability, and the rule of law. It aims to empower media and communities to claim rights and influence development through capacity building and inclusive decision-making. Simultaneously, it employs a Results-Based Management (RBM) approach to ensure that all activities lead to measurable outcomes aligned with the organization’s vision and mission, using tools like log frames and MEAL frameworks to enhance accountability and impact.

What we do

Our work at MISA Zambia includes:

Media and freedom of expression monitoring
MISA Zambia conducts its own media monitoring and also maintains links with a number of sources to identify, document and publicise incidents where freedom of speech and the media has been violated, as well as victories that improve freedom of expression in Zambia.
We post these alerts on our website as well as on social media. We also publish these incidents in our quarter State of the Media Report in Zambia and annual So This Is Democracy? report.

Training
MISA Zambia strives for a media environment where media workers are competent, critical, accountable, sensitive to gender and aware of their responsibility to society.
We support this by providing training for journalists and editors, students, civil society, and new media and citizen journalists.
Some of our past training courses included how to report on elections and human rights, how to accurately and ethically report stories involving children, and helping civil society leaders communicate in the media.

Research
We conduct regular research on matters of media freedom, freedom of speech, and on more specific topics such as how the local media is reporting on the national interest stories and the pro-democracy movement.

Our regular publications include:

• Freedom of Expression (FOX) Report – quarterly reports analysing the media environment in Zambia
• So This Is Democracy annual report documenting incidents of media freedom and free expression violations throughout the year
• African Media Barometer
• Transparency Assessment Reports

Advocacy
MISA Zambia strives for a free, independent and diverse media sector. Our advocacy programme works to build coalitions of people and organisations who will support MISA’s vision for a free media and join us in lobbying against laws and regulations that restrict free expression.

Our successes
MISA Zambia is considered a relevant actor in the development processes of the country.

These include:

• the enactment of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and the Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Amendment Acts of 2002.
• advocacy that led to broadcast media growth from two radio stations in 1996 to over 150 registered radio stations in 2020 in Zambia.
• establishing community structures called Radio Listening Clubs that use radio to advance community needs and seek duty bearers’ interventions and accountability.
• capacity development of community media to produce quality content that increases the quality of national discourse with the intention of contributing to Zambia’s development and good governance.
• strategic litigation to have unconstitutional sections in the Penal Code struck-off the statues. Section 67 of the Penal Code, which made it a crime to publish false news, was struck off when MISA Zambia challenged its constitutionality in court.
• advocating against state media regulation and assisting Zambia’s media to develop a media self-regulation mechanism called the Zambian Media Council (ZAMEC). A ZAMEC bill was developed and submitted (December 2019) to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services (MIBS).
• contributed towards maintaining citizens’ digital rights by ensuring that a proposed 2018 Cyber Crimes and Security bill was not passed due to the none-consultative approach in the development of the bill; and due to its clauses that would criminalise several actions in the cyber space as pertains the right to freedom of expression, privacy and access to information.