requires resourcefulness and resilience as it is hard to compete against the government supported media, which does not have to rely on advertising revenue as they are guaranteed an income from the government. This impacts negatively on the privately owned media, moreso because the cost of advertising in government media is considerably lower and this is aggravated by the fact that the revenue is often not collected by the government media publications. Due to high printing cost and reduced revenue, most privately owned publications have reduced their print run. The Botswana Gazette is the only publication to have increased its print run from 16 000 to 20 000 over the last eighteen months. The majority of Government adspend is allocated to their media and specifically to their flagship paper The Daily News. The Daily News is government’s most widely circulated publication and is distributed for free. Over the years Daily News has evolved from a four page black and white to a full colour 32 pager. As the biggest employer and business entity, government is also the largest advertiser and uses this as leverage. Papers deemed to be critical of government may have their advertising pulled out and companies in the private sector, who want to keep in favour with the authorities, are also encouraged not to advertise. At the time of the AMB discussion there were allegations that the government was going to place an advertising ban on the Mmegi and the Sunday Standard for their reporting of the death of John Kalafatis, who was allegedly gunned down by state security agents suspecting him of being a criminal. With one of the strongest currencies in the region, Botswana is perceived to be one of the rich middle income countries, yet print publications are inaccessible to the majority of the citizenry for various reasons: · Print publications are centred around Gaborone and a few other urban locations whereas private media organizations have inadequate distribution networks. · At Pula 4 a newspaper the cost of newspapers is considered prohibitive for the majority of the population. · A large number of print publications are in English, while the majority of the population is Setswana speaking. Broadcasting around the country is dominated by state-owned television and radio stations and so, many Batswana are restricted to a certain viewpoint. “The content of government media is very selectively chosen and carefully choreographed to meet the needs of the powers that be … Radio Botswana does not tell you all that is happening in the country; but mostly what is happening in the [ruling party, Botswana Democratic Party] BDP. They are timid in reporting on anything critical of the government.” 8 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2009