SECTOR 4 Since the passing of the Media Practitioners Act in December 2008, and the fact that the act establishes a statutory body, called the Media Council, people who are aggrieved by something in the media and wish to complain are not sure which body should be approached in the case of a complaint. “Some members of the public feel that a self-regulatory body has no teeth, while a statutory body can punish people.” Section 14 of the Media Practitioners Act states that the Media Council’s complaints committee can order that an apology or correction be published; warn or reprimand a media practitioner; impose a fine on a media practitioner; suspend a media practitioner from working for a specified period or even deregister a media practitioner. “Self-regulation in the media pushes the industry to do things they wouldn’t: it pushes people to be more professional.” The Press Council is an under-resourced voluntary organisation that is battling with administrative issues, such as ensuring that the members have paid their annual fees. “The introduction of the Media Practitioners Act is a threat to the Press Council. Can both bodies exist? The members need to determine how it can survive and be sustainable … The more people see the Media Council as a controlling measure, the more they will support a self-regulatory body. Self-regulation in the media pushes the industry to do things they wouldn’t: it pushes people to be more professional.” 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: 2.9 (2005 = 3.6; 2007 = 3.3) AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2009 57