IN protest against the exclusion of online publications and cartoonists by this year’s Misa Awards after repeatedly calling for their inclusion, MaraPost refuses to acknowledge and publish the results of the 2012 Misa Awards.

Misa, an acronym for the Media Institute of Southern Africa, says it champions media freedom. At MaraPost we believe that online publications and cartoonists play a role in exposing threats to media freedom. We also believe that sometimes online publications do a better job than traditional and mainstream media -- resource-rich newspapers and electronic media -- Misa chooses to recognise.

Just as Misa thinks it’s free to pick favourites and keep the rest of us out, MaraPost reserves the right not to publish what Misa considers worth telling the world about. After refusing not to publish the 2012 awards, we sure as hell know that Misa will not even notice it simply because online publications and cartoonists don’t exist in Misa's universe.

This boycott will end the day Misa will wake up to the strong aroma of fresh coffee!
 
Patrick Mwanza, Editor, The Maravi Post.