By Prisca Kasache

Mangochi, May 12, Mana: Minister of Information and Digitalisation, Moses Kunkuyu has called on journalists across the country to uphold ethical standards in their reporting ahead of the September 26, 2025 tripartite elections, saying the media should play a vital role in safeguarding good governance and democracy.

The minister made the call in Mangochi on Monday at the start of a two days’ workshop for District Information Officers (DIOs) and managers of community radios, on election reporting, organized by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Digitalisation.

Kunkuyu said journalists are critical in information dissemination, as such they should remain professional, ethical and impartial to ensure that the information they disseminate is accurate, balanced, and free from bias.

“The media does not only cover politics, but also provides a platform for citizens to voice out their views and opinions. As such, we would want reporters to be responsible in reporting,

“As we are approaching the elections, journalists should remind themselves that elections are sensitive, and the information they share should not lack anything,” he added.

The Minister said government is committed to upholding freedom of the press to ensure that journalists operate in conducive work environment

In his remarks, Board Director for MACRA, Isaac Songea, encouraged journalists to stay professional when reporting on the elections, urging them to be mindful of the content they broadcast and write.

He said there should be proper mechanism in place to filter out obscene and hate language that has potential to incite violence or offend public morals.

Held under the theme; Rethinking community broadcasting and ethics ahead of September 2025 elections, the workshop drew DIOs and radio managers and reporters from community radio stations across the country to equip them with skills and knowledge for ethical and professional election reporting ahead of the September 26 tripartite polls.

Maureen Kawerama from Mangochi based Dzimwe Community Radio said the election coverage workshop was ideal and relevant considering that journalist play a bigger role in reporting elections.

“The workshop is ideal, we need a lot of additional knowledge on elections as we head for the polls in September,” she said.

Among others, Mzimba, Bembeke, Kasungu, Chivomerezi, Rumphi Chanco, community radios attended the election reporting workshop at Sunbird Nkopola.

The workshops discussed topics such as; Upholding ethical standards in electoral coverage; the watchdog role of Media Council of Malawi, Digital broadcasting and the 2025 elections; combating disinformation in the age of social media, Training for the truth; strengthening journalistic capacity ahead of 2025 elections.

Renowned facilitators; Moses Kaufa, Executive Director of Media Council of Malawi, Benson Linje from the British High Commission were among those that made presentations at the two days training workshop.