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Media News - Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Journalists in Zambia launch country’s first breaking news site

Despite lacking essential equipment and funding, a group of journalists in Zambia has launched the country's first breaking news website. Aimed at both residents and expats, The Watchdog is staffed by three journalists, who currently report for, produce and fund the site. The site's primary aim is to cover news on a 24-hour basis - a rare objective in Zambia, its editor Lloyd Himaambo told Journalism.co.uk. Newspapers in the country 'just upload content from hard copies', while other online news sites do not source their own content reverting to 'stale news', said Himaambo. 'Newspapers in Zambia are expensive and distribution sometimes is poor, so people may get the news late, but those who are connected to the internet can access the Watchdog free and get news fast.' The group has created and maintained the site for the two weeks since launch, despite a lack of proper equipment. To overcome poor internet connectivity in the country, Watchdog staff have frequently been forced to relocate from their office to use computers at the Media Institute of Southern Africa. To complement its online efforts, a print edition specialising in investigative journalism has also been created to run and content will only be repeated on both platforms 'in rare circumstances'. The site also has plans to partner local radio stations in Zambia, which would broadcast news from the website, to reach non-internet users in areas of low internet penetration. The organisation is also targeting mobile operators to bring breaking news content to Zambian mobiles, said Himaambo. (Journalism.co.uk)

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