ZAMCOM calls for recognition of veteran journalists as Zambia turns 50

THE Zambia Institute of Mass Communication Educational Trust (ZAMCOM) has urged journalists in the country to remember veteran journalists as they commemorate world press freedom day. ZAMCOM executive director Oliver Kanene says as Zambia celebrates fifty years of independence, it is imperative to acknowledge the efforts journalists continued to play in both media freedom and national development. THE Zambia Institute of Mass Communication Educational Trust (ZAMCOM) has urged journalists in the country to remember veteran journalists as they commemorate world press freedom day.
 
In an interview with the Lusaka Star, ZAMCOM executive director Oliver Kanene said it was important to look back and appreciate the work of journalists, dead or alive who worked to develop the Zambian press.
 
“It is good to appreciate where we are coming from as a media fraternity. We should be able to pay homage to those fallen heroes who started and fought for press freedom in Zambia,” he said.
 
Kanene noted that as Zambia celebrated 50 years of independence, it was imperative to acknowledge the efforts journalists continued to play in  both media freedom and national development.
 
“It is the Veteran journalists to whom today’s media owe allegiance to, because they worked during the hardest times like stone throwing, cha cha cha and other activities to ensure that the Zambian people were informed,” he explained.
 
World Press Freedom Day is celebrated worldwide on the third of May annually and this year’s theme is, ‘Media Freedom for a Better Future: Shaping the post-2015 Development Agenda.’
 
Meanwhile, the ZAMCOM Executive Director advised media practitioners to be truthful, ethical and professional in the coverage of news.
 
Kanene further urged media practitioners in the country to remember and show support to their colleagues in prisons.
 
He wondered why the Zambian media industry have not condemned the arrest of aljeezira journalists in Egypt to show their concern on the matter as journalism required team work.
 
Three al-Jazeera journalists were recently arrested in Egypt and have been accused of spreading false news and of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.
 
Kanene has since called for an end to the harassment of journalists and media practitioners stating that the media played a vital role in providing checks and balances to the government.