The legislation was unanimously rejected by five of the country's major media organizations. The government said it would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. The state controls television as well as the mainstream newspapers, which constitute 90 percent of the print media. There are an estimated 700,000 television sets in the country and about half the population has access to them. Most newspapers are sold in the capital and in mining towns in the north and south.
Few copies reach the rest of the country and no joint distribution organization exists.
Privately owned newspapers, which have scant financial backing, have been particularly hard hit by the increasing cost of newsprint and falling circulation. In February, The Post , which receives only 35 percent of its income from advertising, was forced to double its cover price. But affairs of state ground to a halt on October 28, when coup plotters calling themselves the National Redemption Council briefly took control of ZNBC, only to be crushed by a government strike force three hours later. The following day, under a state of emergency declared by President Chiluba, police were granted sweeping powers to search homes and detain anyone indefinitely for interrogation. Since the failed coup, government pressures on the independent press, including surveillance and denial of printing facilities, have increased significantly.