“While others imitate we originate,” is part of Mr Fred M’membe’s credo that guides him in running the newspaper, The Post in Zambia that he is Editor-in-Chief and founder of. With an intelligent chuckle M’membe relayed this to RAP 21 as he spoke about the ways his paper has developed into becoming the country’s leading newspaper.

Alongside the emergence of a multi-party political scene, which shepherded the independent press into a freer era, The Post was launched as a weekly Friday newspaper on 26 July 1991. Today it is a daily newspaper with a circulation of 50,000 copies and has an estimated readership of 550,000 people. The paper’s audience is countrywide, although 50 percent is located in the capital Lusaka.

M’membe has fashioned a multi-faceted approach to build the paper’s broad audience cutting across all rungs and sectors of the population. “What we cover has to reach and include everybody, starting with the taxi drivers,” M’membe said.

People have been drawn to its unique editorial mix of complex political, economic, and social coverage and debates as well as to satirical pieces and entertainment. Though M’membe suggested that the paper’s success lays more in the methods of how to relay the information.

“The way to survive was to be independent and to stay committed to the principles of press freedom,” M’membe stressed. “We have also had to try and survive in a hostile environment and to do this we need to maintain the support of our people,” he continued. To this end, the “originate” in M’membe’s doctrine refers to utilizing modern techniques, such as online subscriptions, as well as finding and delivering honest and accurate information to its readers.

To succeed at reaching such high standards the newspaper staff has depended on professional trainings for learning both better reporting skills and advertising techniques. Initially, the newspaper depended on organisations such as the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) to financially facilitate trainings. Today the newspaper funds its own trainings and is doing everything possible to expand financially and become even more viable. Trainings are also extended to journalists outside of The Post in attempts to bolster the entire independent press industry in the country.

With The Post’s high journalistic standards the paper has “come up with [their] own kind of journalism.” “We do our own thing. We have our views, we express them, and we stand on our grounds,” M’membe said. When mistakes are made though, the paper’s staff does their best to make swift corrections.

While The Post has enjoyed unprecedented success in the country it concurrently grapples with the array of obstacles that face most newspapers in Zambia. Foremost, The Post pays a price for its independence. The newspaper has grown out of a very constraining environment where “the government has done everything to destroy the news,” M’membe remarked. Initially, as the paper evolved the government tried to completely cut The Post off from all of their affiliates and deprive them of valuable advertising. M’membe stated that this period has ended though; the government is now well aware of the stronghold The Post has in the country.

Though continuing until today are still the deep-seated legal constraints and government intimidation tactics imposed on the paper’s staff. Reporters and editors from The Post have been charged with treason and espionage, though no legal actions against the newspaper have succeeded. Press freedom, M’membe says, will be an ongoing battle even with all of the improvements he has witnessed.

Today, M’membe says it is the people who commit crimes that run away and target attacks against The Post. “Those who seek justice see us as partners or helpers.” To circumvent the former M’membe shared with RAP 21 their strategy: to report the truth-a position that can be lawfully, morally, and politically defended. For more assurance, though, two lawyers, including M’membe who is also a lawyer, read each article in The Post before publication.

Opposing government constraints, M’membe also said, “The government cannot destroy us. No government can wipe out The Post. The Post was not given to us by anybody, so no one can take it away.” The paper’s complex and often disagreeable relationship with the government has also made the paper stronger. He explained that sufferings, jailings, and arrests have been a main contributor in making his name for the paper. “We took persecutions and prosecutions in a dignified manner,” M’membe said.

Another major obstacle in running the newspaper has been equipment and maintenance costs along with the limited purchasing power of people in the country. Zambia is small country (752,614 square km) with a poor population where 70 percent of people live on less than $1 US a day. As a result, many people cannot feasibly buy a newspaper.

M’membe expressed the paper’s hopes of lowering the cost of the paper, which is around 70 US cents an issue. Though it is currently not possible with the high expense of printing the newspaper in the country’s single printing press located in Lusaka.

To boost funds The Post has creatively started a courier service alongside the distribution of the paper across the country. Also, over the past 18 months a partnership with Zambia Airways has formed where they use advertising space and reporters get to travel at no expense. M’membe informed RAP 21 that these two steps have greatly reduced transportation costs and have assisted in overcoming the difficulties of poor road infrastructure in the country.

Looking into the future, M’membe hopes to see other newspapers in Zambia continue to expand and follow his lead in originality-to seek the truth and present it in a modern fashion to appeal to and inform the widest possible audience.