SECTOR 3 There is little diversity in terms of local news and current affairs programming on BTV. The television news is dominated by stories concerning the country’s most powerful leaders: the President, the Vice-President and the Minister of Defence. A directive from the Office of the President to BTV and RB 1 and 2 news departments around the time of the 2004 election was that President and the Vice-President must be covered at all events. It appears as though this order is still being followed. As mentioned in indicator 1.2, the weekly BTV political programme The Eye has ceased to be a forum for debate as the only person on the show currently is the Minister of Communications, Science and Technology or senior government officials besides ministers. Youth programming on BTV, however, does provide considerable local content. The local content in terms of films and entertainment is extremely limited, as it is cheaper for the state television station to purchase foreign content, such as the Bold and the Beautiful and Dr. Phil. “The average Motswana can’t identify with these foreign programmes – they are foreign to our culture.” There is no religious diversity offered by the state broadcaster, as only Christianity is given prominence. In terms of language diversity, both the state radio and television stations broadcast in English and Setswana. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country minimally meets aspects of the indicator. 3 Country meets many aspects of indicator but progress may be too recent to judge. 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator. 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator and has been doing so over time. Average score: 50 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2009 (2005 = 2.6; 2007 = 2.7)