Media Council of Malawi (MCM) says it has embarked on capacity building trainings aiming promoting professionalism among journalists.

MCM Chairperson Wisdom Chimgwede has told us that following the inactiveness of the council for sometime, there is need to orient media practitioners on code of ethics and guidelines.

He said: “It is imperative for the public to understand that the MCM stands between the public and the media.

“So we have been working to ensuring that the public realises that there is Media Council where they can report, if there are any complaints of any problems with the media.”

Chimgwede added that MCM will continue accrediting journalists as one way of implementing its policing role.

“That alone is going to have increase the policing role over the MCM to ensuring that everything got any errant journalists, errant media houses, there is some way somewhere we are the public can report.

“And because of that we are conducting a number of capacity building trainings to ensuring that journalists also understand what the Council stands for, why is it there was in the end, we cannot accept to have a professional that cannot be regulated,” Chimgwede said.

MCM is registered under the Trustees Incorporation Act and it is an independent, non-profit, non-political and self-regulating organization with the mandate to promote professionalism in the media industry by setting standards in the interest of the public in Malawi.

Among other objectives, MCM aims at improving the legal and policy framework that ensures a conducive environment for media and citizens to exercise their right to free expression such as access to information laws, national constitution.