Justice Minister complaints anti-government bias on private media: ‘We shouldn’t only blame MBC’
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Samuel Tembenu has asked representatives of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) that they should not only look continued bias against opposition parties by taxpayer-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) but also watch private media, claiming its coverage of the government is biased.
Tembenu raised the complaint when he led the Government Technical Team (GTT) meeting the quasi-relogious governance watchdog on the dialogue process over resolutions of the 5+1 All-inclusive Stakeholders’ Conference held in June which, among others, proposed local government and national elections reforms.
The Minister accused some private media for the harshest criticism to President Peter Mutharika and his administration.
He said the private media diminishes the role of the government in good news but “dumps” on it when the story is bad.
“We shouldn’t just deal with MBC but the media because the important point is to give correct information to the people,” he said.
Tembenu said on the biasness of MCB, government will work with the broadcaster’s board as per provisions of the Communication Act to ensure their coverage moves from propaganda to be impartial, fair and balanced.
President Peter Mutharika appointed the GTT following the outcome of an audience the quasi-religious institution had with him on April 21, 2016 where PAC presented resolutions from its February 2016 Fifth All-Inclusive Stakeholders Conference.
The two sides met at Capital Hotel in Lilongwe.
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The Minister is talking as if he is from another planet. The private media is doing exactly what MBC is not doing. Infact MBC is doing a deservice to the President and DPP by putting a total blackout on MBC to those they believe to be different from them and feeding Malawians with what they already know. My grandson was asking me this evening “kodi zowona kuti a president manja awo ndiwolumala, samatha kuwawongola, akuti alibe mano ndechifukwa satha kulankhula? Muzawawone pa tv”.
Mbc has to be punished by parliament by revorking its act basi
The Minister is out of order .Private media is not run by public funds.
Its called Public Affairs Committee NOT Private Affairs Committee
“He said the private media diminishes the role of the government in good news … ”
When does GoM ever have TRUTHFUL good news for us? All we ever get are fairy stories.
Isiyeni Zidiak, Times, even Joy yanuyo, Galaxy yaniyo. Nkhani ndi MBC – ndalama zathu sizingamagwilire ntchito 36% of Malawians called DPP, noooooo
My perception as an outsider is that private media is ALWAYS biased towards left-wing, God-hating liberal views. And this website is no different, promoting wickedness and trying, through its writing style, to change Malawians to support wickedness such as the sodomy and abortion and to become against God. MBC may be biased, it is state-run so of course it is, but don’t think for one second that the “free media” is not biased. The media is trash, period.
a nduna mukungowona mbali imodzi bwanji mbc ndiya aliyense koma timangoona za dppp zokha basi simungatengere chitsannzo chabwino chaku southafrica sabc 1 ndiyaboma koma timaona nkhani zawo samangoika zaboma zokha ayi even a china julius malema timawawaonanso akuoneka pakanema wa boma koma kuno zazii
We fund MBC through our taxes bwana Tembenu hence have a say on it. Not on private broadcasters.
PAC has no mandate on private media. MBC is a governmrnt entity run on Malawians taxesincluding private media’s taxes hence the focus!!
I applaud Honourable Minister Samuel Batson Tembenu on his observation relating to the biases of the MBC and private radio stations and his bold move to ensure that MBC’s coverage is impartial, fair and balanced.
Propagating propaganda deserves resistance, for it violates the most basic rules of fair democratic political communication. It freely uses lies and deception to persuade. Should people be taught to critically evaluate propaganda messages, then they will be able to reject propaganda as unfair and false.
Carl Becker, quoting Edward C. Pease, explains that:
“The democratic doctrine of freedom of speech and of the press … rests upon certain assumptions. One of these is that men desire to know the truth and will be disposed to be guided by it. Another is that the sole method of arriving at the truth in the long run is by the free competition of opinion in the open market. Another is that, since men will invariably differ in their opinions, each man must be permitted to urge, freely and even strenuously, his own opinion, provided he accords others the same right. And the final assumption is that from this mutual toleration and comparison of diverse opinions the one that seems the most rational will emerge and be generally accepted.”
Why worry about private broadcasters? we do not fund them. They can do what they want and say what they want as long as they are within the law. Our concern is MBC because we fund it with our taxes
A Tembenu ndiamaona ngati ndinu ozindikila, we complain the way MBC does because its our money Mr!!!its for Malawians!!
zakuvutanitu eti ! mwayiwala ….