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Mass media in Malawi consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines and Internet-based Web sites. Malawi also has a growing music industry. Media is either privately owned or government owned.
Malawian radio broadcasts in two bands: FM, AM. National Radio stations include MBC 1 and MBC2 that are run by Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. [1] Privately owned radio station includes Zodiak Broadcasting Station, and Capital Radio Malawi. [2] [3] The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has recently issued licenses to new radio broadcasters to expand radio offerings in Malawi. [4] This includes Matindi, GoodNews, and Mwadama.
Television in Malawi is regulated by MACRA.Though Malawi Television penetration is low. The country boasts 20 television stations by 2016 broadcasting on the countries digital network MDBNL, e.g. [4] This includes Times Group, Timveni, Adventist, and Beta.
The motion picture industry in Malawi is in its infancy but there have been a few developments over the years that have given rise to film festival and individual films. There is a Malawi International Film festival that began in 2009. [5] [6] The most well known director has been Shemu Joyah is a producer and film maker from Malawi who produced Seasons of a life. [7] Malawi's most well known actors include Michael Usi and Tapiwa Gwaza. Cinema can be viewed at indoor movie cinemas or at the drive-in movie cinema.
The Malawi News Agency (MANA) is the largest news network in Malawi. It was established in 1966 to provide and produce news content to the country from the government. It also gathers news from around the country. Its online news content launched in 2012. [8] [9]
The oldest privately owned newspaper in the nation is The Daily Times. The widest circulated national papers are The Daily Times and The Nation. Both are sold in most Malawian cities. Many of the newspapers have also branched out online and have online versions with credible content.
There has also been a growth of online newspapers. This includes privately funded papers owned by Malawians in the Diaspora such as Leeds, England based Nyasatimes, Atlanta, US based Maravi Post and Blantyre-based Malawi24. [10] [11] [12]
Malawi has both English language and Chichewa magazines that circulate nationally, regionally or within a city.
There has been an increase in Malawians on social media, particularly on Twitter, Facebook. There has been a steady growth of Malawian bloggers as well. [13] Social Media has been an important tool for transparency in Malawi. It has been linked to influencing the outcome of the constitutional crisis in 2012.
Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi and formerly known as Nyasaland, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south and southwest. Malawi spans over 118,484 km2 (45,747 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 19,431,566. Malawi's capital and largest city is Lilongwe. Its second-largest is Blantyre, its third-largest is Mzuzu and its fourth-largest is its former capital, Zomba. It was the first capital city of Malawi before being changed to Lilongwe.
Communications in Malawi includes the country's postal, telephone, television, radio and internet services.
The kwacha is the currency of Malawi as of 1971, replacing the Malawian pound. It is divided into 100 tambala. The kwacha replaced other types of currency, namely the British pound sterling, the South African rand, and the Rhodesian dollar, that had previously circulated through the Malawian economy. The exchange rate of the kwacha undergoes fixed periodical adjustments, but since 1994 the exchange rate has floated. In 2005, administrative measures were put in place by Bingu wa Mutharika to peg the exchange rate with other currencies. Banknotes are issued by the Reserve Bank of Malawi. In May 2012, the Reserve Bank of Malawi devalued the kwacha by 34% and unpegged it from the United States dollar. The currency was further devalued by 25% by the central bank in May 2022 followed by another 44% devaluation in November 2023 raising inflation rate in Malawi.
The music of Malawi has historically been influenced by its triple cultural heritage of British, African, and American music. Malawians, known for their history as travellers and migrant workers, have contributed to the spread of their music across the African continent, blending it with various musical forms. A significant factor in this musical amalgamation was World War II, during which soldiers transported music to distant lands and brought it back, leading to the popularity of guitar and banjo duos as dance bands by the war's end. Both instruments were imported. Additionally, Malawians working in mines in South Africa and Mozambique influenced the fusion of music styles, giving rise to genres such as Kwela.
The Daily Times is a daily newspaper published in Blantyre, Malawi. It is the oldest newspaper in the country, founded in 1895 by the Central African Planter. Around 1900, it was rebranded to Central African Times, a weekly publication and later to Nyasaland Times. With the Malawian independence in 1964, it simply became The Times, and finally the Daily Times in 1972.
Nyasa Times is an online newspaper providing Malawian news, founded by Edgar Chibaka in 2006. It began reporting in late 2006. According to its own website, it received "over 8 million hits per month" in 2010.
Theo Thomson is a Malawian born singer, songwriter. Thomson is owner of the Blantyre-based Matalala Recording Studio. He lived in the UK, where he gained an interest in music with rapid artists productions performing and moved back to Malawi to expand his music career. His father is a former DJ and owner of Fm 101 Power radio Oscar Thomson. He is also the grandson of former Malawian Minister of Trade and Industry, Harry Thomson.
Henry Mussa was a Member of Parliament for Chiradzulu District Malawi. He also served as Deputy Agriculture Minister. He was also an MP for Chiradzulu East under a Democratic Progressive Party Ticket.
The 2012 Malawian constitutional crisis occurred from April 5, 2012 - April 7, 2012 after senior members of the Democratic Progressive Party-led cabinet failed to notify the public of the death of the sitting president, Bingu wa Mutharika on April 5. Instead, cabinet ministers held a series of meetings in Lilongwe, Malawi without vice-president Joyce Banda with the aim of undermining the constitution and Banda's succession to Presidency. News confirming his death had, however, quickly spread across the country through word of mouth, cellphone text messages, Malawian bloggers, Twitter, Facebook, and on listservs by the end of the day on April 5, 2012. Therefore, the failure to announce his death resulted in speculation over the real health of the president and over whether the succession procedures would be followed as outlined in the constitution. According to the constitution, the vice-president takes over but there had been no official word on a successor or communication with the vice-president. Amidst growing speculation, the Cabinet announced that the president's brother, Peter Mutharika, the foreign minister, was the new President of the party on April 6. The Cabinet only announced his death two days after his death, after which Banda became Malawi's first female President.
Vitus-Gregory Gondwe is a Malawian journalist, editor and media consultant. He also runs his own social, music and business analysis blog. He is known for his investigative stories. He also writes on Business news. He has been a contributor to several newspapers in Malawi, and has worked for the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation as correspondent. He is a Malawi correspondent for the Associated Press, as well as a regular correspondent for BizCommunity and BiztechAfrica. He has contributed to a number of news sources worldwide since 1993. He also regularly writes about freedom of Press and the media industry.
Francis Kaphuka known professionally as Hyphen and formerly as Young Kay is a popular Malawian hip-hop artist that is known for fusing local Malawian folk songs with international genres. He is known for his vibrant sound and ability to mix Chichewa and English lyrics eloquently in his rhymes. This has earned him recognition as one of Malawi's best lyricists. He has been voted as Malawi’s best rapper twice Joy FM fans and in 2021 was crowned King of Malawian Hiphop by the audience of one of Malawi's biggest online platforms, Mikozi Networks. He was introduced to Malawian audiences under Rush records with the single “I’m Home” and his popularity grew to solidify his place as one of Malawi's greatest hip-hop artists. He has had subsequent hits since then. His song “zipepese” number 2 on FM 101 Power’s urban music chart. In 2010 he collaborated with Malawian born rising act Onesimus Muzik on a track titled "Beautiful" He also collaborated with Lucius Banda, Tigris, and Maskal on track "Malawi Goodlife" in 2011.
Zodiak Broadcasting Station is a privately owned radio station in Malawi. It was founded in 2005 by Gospel Kazako. The station has more than 25 transmitting sites and reaches the whole of Malawi. Nearly 60% of its programmes are broadcast in Chichewa, Malawi's main language, with few others being addressed in Chitumbuka. One of its most popular shows is a talk show 'Tiuzeni Zoona'.
Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera is a Malawian politician and theologian who has served as President of Malawi and minister of defence since June 2020. He also serves as minister of defence per Malawian constitution, he has served as the leader of the Malawi Congress Party since 2013. He was President of the Malawi Assemblies of God from 1989 to 2013.
Malawi Airlines is the flag carrier airline of Malawi, based in Lilongwe and with its hub at Lilongwe International Airport. It was established in 2012 after the liquidation of Air Malawi, the former national airline. Ethiopian Airlines operates it under a management contract and owns 49% of the airline after it emerged as the winner following competitive bidding.
Gospel Kazako is a Malawian entrepreneur who in 2005 founded the Zodiak Broadcasting Station, the most popular radio station in Malawi. He is also known as a poet.
Martha Kwataine is a Malawian health and human rights activist, and the founder and former executive director of the Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN).
Shepherd Bushiri also known as Major 1 is a Malawian preacher, prophet, businessman, motivational speaker, and author.
Hip-hop culture in Malawi is relatively young. The genre is a marriage between local and western sounds. Prior to 1994, Malawi was living under a single party regime where censorship of media was heavily employed. Upon gaining freedom in 1994 the country began getting exposed to more western media and hip-hop which was gaining a global audience permeated its way into Malawian society.
Geoffrey Kapusa was a veteran Malawian television and radio broadcaster and presenter. He was known to have started a television music show called 'Malawi Music Splash' programme on Malawi's MBC state television in early 2000s. He was known as Mr. Splash as a result of his flagship TV music show. Kapusa worked for Malawi Broadcasting Cooperation (MBC) before a brief stint with Times Group.
