SECTOR 4 4.3 The media cover the full spectrum of events, issues and cultures, including business/economics, cultural, local and investigative stories. There is a notable effort to render a diverse representation of all spheres of in society. However, investigative journalism has not yet taken root. There was one journalist, Rafael Marques, who tried to develop some sort of investigative journalism, but such efforts were short-lived. The participants were of the opinion that investigative journalism in Angola is obstructed by the state secret laws and the secret of ongoing judicial proceedings. News coverage of rural areas is weak because quite often there is a lack of resources, in addition to the precarious state in which roads are in most of the countryside. With the expansion of the RNA signal, there are production centres in the rural areas that receive the station’s main signal and then retransmit it into the localities, where there are centres staffed with RNA employees who also act as correspondents helping to collect and disseminate a large amount of rural information. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 2.5 4.4. Equal opportunities, regardless of race, social group, gender/sex, religion, disabilities and age are promoted in media houses. Apart from a legal provision which prevents people under the age of 18 from taking up employment no one is barred from working in the media as a result of their race, gender, physical disability, religious belief or party affiliation. However, the media cannot free themselves from the influence of certain social factors: Social relationships as well as family connections, which are of great significance AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ANGOLA 2010 117