UPND leader, Hakainde Hichilema has called for free and healthy media

The United Party for National Development, UPND says free and healthy press is needed to counter the dynamic and ensure that the journalistic bar is set high.
UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema says in a press release to Breeze News today that it is the journalists struggle to break through into international media because the quality of work is limited by the constraints placed on them by the Government and their superiors.
Mr Hichilema says the routine use of media for self-serving and personal battles presents a challenge that must be overcome.
He has stated that the first step must be a clear commitment from Government, opposition, civil society and business to non-interference and support for the professionalism and independence of journalists and editors.
The UPND leader says supporting and enabling Zambian journalists to engage in good quality and independent journalism has never been an important issue.
He says in recent years the incidence of journalists being intimidated by those that are supposed to protect them has become all too common, while editors that value and protect the independence and journalistic integrity of their staff struggle to maintain their positions in the face of external pressure.
Mr Hichilema has reminded the PF, Patriotic Front Government that the press does not exist to only serve their interests.
He says the growth of blogs and social media platforms is rapidly changing the media landscape and while bringing with it many positive results UPND is concerned with the rise in the level of hate speech on such forums.