Judgment No. CCZ 9/2016 35 Const. Application No. CCZ 316/2012 its journalistic purposes, achieve high standards of quality in the programmes broadcast and fulfil statutory obligations. The ZBC is not permitted but required to exercise independent editorial discretion and judgment in the performance of the functions necessary for the fulfillment of its journalistic purpose and statutory obligations. It is for the ZBC in the exercise of editorial discretion to decide whether a programme is compatible with the requirements of freedom of expression by adhering to the standards of programming prescribed in Part 1 of the Seventh Schedule to the Act. The editorial independence of the ZBC is further guaranteed by the requirement that the board to which the ZBC is accountable and has the power to appoint its Chief Executive Officer must not interfere in the day-to-day management of the ZBC. Public broadcasters, particularly when they effectively delegate editorial discretion to professional journalists, may perform their functions and fulfil statutory obligations admirably. In any case the public interest standard on the programmes broadcast by the ZBC in respect to their geographic reach, content, subject – matters, linguistic presentation, independence from governmental, commercial or any other interests and quality prescribed by Part 1 of the Seventh Schedule of the Act requires that a substantial degree of editorial discretion must remain with the public broadcaster.

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