SECTOR 4 There is considerable mobility and poaching of skilled staff within the media sector. Sometimes skilled journalists are lost to South African media companies or to corporates in Botswana because small, privately owned media houses cannot meet the salaries offered by these competing firms. “To have stability in your company, you need to pay people to stay, but the reality is that it is very difficult to compete with salaries offered by government and banks.” Generally those working for the state-owned media earn more than those in private media companies, especially with regards to the total packages they are offered while mainstream private media companies are “quite competitive”. A number of small newspapers struggle financially and sometimes salaries are not paid for months. Editors of these publications sometimes earn the same amount as an entry-level journalist elsewhere. Commercial radio stations mostly do not employ presenters fulltime, but use freelancers who often have more than one job. Scores: “...it is very difficult to compete with salaries offered by government and banks.” 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: 2.7 (2005 = n/a; 2007 = n/a) 4.9 Media professionals have access to training facilities offering formal qualification programmes as well as opportunities to upgrade skills. Analysis: For the past six years the University of Botswana has been offering a four-year Bachelor of Journalism (BJourn) degree. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2009 65