Media of Malawi

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Media of 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.

Malawi Country in Africa

Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. Malawi spans over 118,484 km2 (45,747 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 18,091,575. Lake Malawi takes up about a third of Malawi's area. Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi's largest city; the second largest is Blantyre, the third largest is Mzuzu and the fourth largest is its old capital Zomba. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area. The country is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa" because of the friendliness of the people.

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Radio

Malawian radio broadcasts in two bands: FM, AM. National Radio stations include MBC 1 and MBC2 that are tun 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.

Frequency modulation encoding of information in a carrier wave by varying the instantaneous frequency of the wave

In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation (FM) is the encoding of information in a carrier wave by varying the instantaneous frequency of the wave.

Amplitude modulation in amplitude modulation, the amplitude (signal strength) of the carrier wave is varied in proportion to the waveform being transmitted

Amplitude modulation (AM) is a modulation technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. In amplitude modulation, the amplitude of the carrier wave is varied in proportion to that of the message signal being transmitted. The message signal is, for example, a function of the sound to be reproduced by a loudspeaker, or the light intensity of pixels of a television screen. This technique contrasts with frequency modulation, in which the frequency of the carrier signal is varied, and phase modulation, in which its phase is varied.

The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation is a state-run radio company in Malawi. It was founded in 1964. It has two radio stations, Radio 1 and Radio 2, and transmits on FM, Medium Wave and Shortwave frequencies and Online.

Television

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 Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) is the communications regulatory authority in Malawi. It was established as an independent regulatory organization in 1998 as part of the Communications Act. It oversees Malawi's Telecommunications,Broadcasting, Postal Services, and Internet.

The Daily Times is a daily newspaper published in Blantyre, Malawi. It is the oldest newspaper in the country, founded as the monthly Central African Planter in 1895. Around 1900 the title Central African Times was adopted, and weekly publication. Later the title was changed again, to Nyasaland Times. With Malawian independence in 1964 it became simply The Times, and finally the Daily Times in 1972.

Motion pictures

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.

Shemu Joyah Malawian producer and director

Charles Shemu Joyah is an award winning producer and director from Malawi. He was born in Zimbabwe. His third movie, The Road to Sunrise, was selected as the Malawian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.

Michael Usi is a Malawian movie actor, playwright, politician, and musician. As an actor, he is most famously known for his role as "Dr. Manga" in the film Dr. Manga. He is also the director of the MBC TV series Tikuferanji.

Tapiwa Sylvia Gwaza is a Malawian actress popular for her role as lawyer in the Malawian film, Seasons of a Life. She is currently pursuing roles on the Malawian stage and is looking forward to acting in other Countries.

Newspapers

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 Malawi News Agency (MANA) is the national news agency of Malawi. It is overseen by the Ministry of Information. It is administered by the Director of Information and Civic Education. It is the largest news network in Malawi and has offices in all regions and districts in Malawi.

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.

The Nation is a newspaper based in Blantyre, Malawi, owned by Nations Publications Limited. It began distribution in July 1993, and became a daily newspaper in 1994. Its sister newspaper Saturday Nation, now called Weekend Nation, was launched in 1995. It has a circulation of many thousands of copies.

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]

Magazines

Malawi has both English language and Chichewa magazines that circulate nationally, regionally or within a city.

Social Media

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.

See also

Related Research Articles

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MBC may refer to:

Music of Malawi has historically been influenced through its triple cultural heritage of British, African, and American music. Malawians have long been travelers and migrant workers, and as a result, their music has spread across the African continent and blended with other music forms. One of the prime historical causes of the Malawian musical melting pot was World War II, when soldiers both brought music to distant lands and also brought them back. By the end of the war, guitar and banjo duos were the most popular type of dance bands. Both instruments were imported. Malawians working in the mines in South Africa and Mozambique also led to fusion and blending in music styles, giving rise to music styles like Kwela.

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Nyasa Times is an online newspaper providing Malawian news, founded by Edgar Chibaka, who remains its Managing Editor, assisted by Thom Chiumia. It began reporting in late 2006. According to its own website, it received "over 8 million hits per month" in 2010. The publication has on numerous occasion been at loggerheads with the Bingu wa Mutharika government. Mutharika accused former president Bakili Muluzi of bankrolling the online media outfit to publish false stories to tarnish the image of the government. Muluzi denied the accusations.

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.

Agnes Penemulungu is a Member of Parliament for Lilongwe South in Malawi. She was elected on President Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party ticket.

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.

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 75% of its programmes are broadcast in Chichewa, Malawi's main language. One of its most popular shows is its Chichewa talk show 'Tiuzeni Zoona'.

Malawian Airlines

Malawian Airlines Limited 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.

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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.

Chipiliro Gama more famously known as Shepherd Bushiri, known as Major 1 or Prophet Shepherd Bushiri, is a Christian preacher, motivational speaker, Author and businessman from Malawi. He founded and leads a Christian non-denominational evangelical church known as the Enlightened Christian Gathering. The church has headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa with branches in other African countries and around the world. Tens of thousands of people are attracted to the church every day. He describes the church as a Prophetic Ministry based on the principle that God cares and loves people and wants to speak directly to them.

References

  1. Freedom House 2015.
  2. http://allafrica.com/stories/200101080121.html
  3. About Zodiak Malawi Archived January 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 Misa-Malawi hail JB govt for issuing 15 broadcasting licenses | Nyasa Times Malawi breaking news in Malawi Archived 2012-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
  5. AFRICAN WOMEN IN CINEMA BLOG: Villant Ndasowa, a pioneer in Malawian cinema
  6. About MIFF Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine
  7. New Malawian film gets first nominations at international festivals | Nyasa Times Malawi breaking news in Malawi
  8. Malawi News Agency to be online , says Director of Information | Nyasa Times Malawi breaking news in Malawi Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Malawi News Agency Online - About Malawi News Agency
  10. Nyasa Times Editors Seek Asylum in Britain
  11. About the maravipost | Malawi News Archived 2012-06-23 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Malawi News sources". AllAfrica . Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  13. IPS – Social Media Activism Takes Root in Malawi | Inter Press Service

Bibliography