BREAKING. Zambia the host nation of the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2012.

Zambia and its capital Lusaka will be the host nation for the prestigious CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2012 this year.

The African nation will be playing host to a phalanx of photographers, reporters and journalist from print, radio, television and the internet across the continent and well as executives from the pan-African pay TV platform MultiChoice and the global news channel CNN who will attend.

It will be Zambia's first time hosting the African continent's most prestigious awards ceremony recognising journalism - often an extremely difficult, arduous and dangerous calling - being done on the continent.

It will be the 17th time that the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards are being held with journalists and newsgatherers awarded prizes in several categories for excellent work, as well as the CNN MultiChoice Journalist of the Year award.

The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2012, an annually televised event across Africa on CNN International (DStv 401), will be held at the new ultra modern Government Complex Convention Centre in Lusaka in Zambia.

Press freedom in Zambia has been less that sterling - journalists have often been harassed and assaulted over the past few years here - but Zambia's private press has made huge advances the past 21 years. Zambia is currently ranked 86 on the Press Freedom Index for 2012 (down from 82 last year). (South Africa is ranked 42 on par with Botswana and down from 38th last year).

Yesterday the Zambian government - unrelated (or perhaps not?) to the news of Zambia hosting the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2012 - said freedom of the press has been included in the draft of the country's new constitution. The minister of Information, Broadcasting and Labour said press freedom in Zambia will be explicitly recognised and that media organisations in Zambia should go about their activities and enjoy press freedom.

CNN and MultiChoice who are the primary sponsors of the award ceremony as well as the media and journalism workshop and conference week leading up to every year's CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards, sees it as an opportunity to help foster press freedom in countries where the award ceremony is held.

It happens through not only the training of journalists and thinktank sessions tied into the programme, but also brings prestige to governments and countries. With official attention from government's who get bragging rights about hosting a journalism event, it simultaneously cajoles hosting governments to make public promises regarding bigger freedom of the press as well as other media pledges during the week.

The week long event is also an economic boost for the host city, with the host city and country always getting big tourism exposure through the condensed gaggle of media who attend and often still file stories while they're there, or afterwards.

As opposed to the South African government which wants to push through a draconian and much-maligned Protection of Information Bill (or so-called Secrecy Bill) which the South African government wants to use to clamp down on journalists and which will dimish South Africa's press freedom, Zambia has a Freedom of Information Bill.