Coverage of Human Rights Issues in Malawian Newsrooms: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Abstract This paper is a study of 14 media houses in Malawi and it looks at coverage of human rights issue from various dimensions. A questionnaire was administered to journalists of diverse levels at these media houses to gather data concerning the research. The targeted media houses are located in the main urban centres of Malawi and include radio, television and newspaper publishers. The findings indicate that training, lack of specialised units in newsrooms, inadequate reference materials and reluctance by officials to give out required information are some of the issues that are hampering coverage of human rights stories in the country. The paper also looks at suggestions made by journalists to help improve reportage of human rights in Malawi. It then makes recommendations based on evidence gathered through the questionnaires on how the media and other concerned stakeholders can work together for better human rights reporting in the country.