As one way of promoting the broadcasting industry and ensuring quality programming MACRA has partnered with the university of Malawi (CHANCO) to establish a content studio at the institution of higher learning.
The two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding which cements a working relationship that will see the construction of content studios which will be equipped with a state-of-the-art digital camera, multimedia editing suites, media storage servers, lighting, workstations and fiber optic Gigabit Ethernet Network Switches.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony MACRA’S acting director general Henry Silika stated that the studio will be a tool in which broadcasters in the county will achieve their license condition of airing 60% of local content in their programming.
“we noted that despite have the 60/40 license condition for content, most broadcasters air foreign content, because they lack the capacity in terms of training and resources mobilization for local content production. It is our hope that with the establishment of these studios broadcasters will gain access to the necessary training as well as resources for local content production” Silika said.
In his remarks the acting principal for the university of Malawi Dr. Samson Sajidu said that the partnership is a fulfillment of one of the college’s strategic which is to partner with the industry to ensure social economic growth.
“I would like to show my appreciation to MACRA for funding this project, the project will go a long way in improving the quality of our graduates whom with the coming in of the content studios will be able to put theory into practice and in turn provide positively to the growth of the communication sector.
Dr. Sajidu assured the Authority that the college is well equipped with well learned human resource who are eager to train broadcasters in the art of local content in a bid to improve the quality of broadcasting in the country.
The University of Malawi is home to the faculty of humanities which is a center for Language Studies (CLS) and oversees a community radio Chanco Community Radio. The faculty offers various courses including Bachelor of Arts Media for Development and Bachelor of Arts Communication and Cultural Studies all which train students in the art of communication.
