relation to rights and opportunities for women and men in the media.
SCORES:
Individual scores:
Average score:

4.6.

1, 2, 2, 3, 1, 2, 2, 3
2.0

Journalists and editors do not practice self-censorship.

ANALYSIS:
A tendency to self-censorship still persists among some journalists, who deliberately omit
facts, resulting from a party-political legacy. This trend is only slowly giving way to the greater
openness that Angolan society is enjoying today with the advent of multi-party democracy.
SCORES:
Individual scores:
Average score:

4.7.

1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
1.0

Owners of private media do not interfere with editorial independence.

ANALYSIS:
To some degree, owners interfere with editorial independence, typified in the way the news
material is treated – be it in newspapers or at radio stations.
SCORES:
Individual scores:
Average score:

4.8.

2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1
1.4

Salary levels and general working conditions for journalists and other
media practitioners are adequate to discourage corruption.

ANALYSIS:
There is a table of salaries for public servants and public media workers, but there is also an
obvious policy – especially in the state media – of favouring staff members connected to the
ruling elite by providing them with goods beyond the financial possibilities of media workers,
and there are cases where remuneration is made outside of these standards. In the public/state
media, salaries range from 100 US$ to about 4,000 US$. In the private media, salaries are
relatively low, ranging from 50 US$ to about 2,000 US$. At Rádio Ecclésia, one of the few
broadcasters totally independent of the state, salaries range from 50 US$ to about 1,000 US$.
Recently, the Angolan Journalists’ Trade Union negotiated with the management of the various
media outlets a collective agreement that defines salary levels for the various categories of
journalists. In accordance with this table, salaries range from 200 US$ to 1.200 US$. These
figures have been overtaken by salary increases in the state media and therefore the table is
now under review.
Generally, the majority of journalists cannot afford the bare necessities, making them vulnerable to corruption. As for working conditions, these are rudimentary, with inadequate technical
equipment. There are cases of shortages of work materials and in many radio stations the
So This Is Democracy? 2005

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Media Institute of Southern Africa

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