At present, government departments use mainly the government-owned Daily News for their
advertising, with a lot of business going there, including tenders, advertorials and all other
types of traditional advertising. This has been taken up with government and now the private
press is getting a small share as well because some people in government seem to be ignoring
the instruction.
Government media even solicit advertising from the private sector and advertising agencies.
They charge either lower or nominal rates only, thus encouraging more advertisers to go to
government and not to private media.
A study by panelist Dr T. Balule on public sector advertising in the private media showed that
there is need for safeguards against government manipulation of the private media. He also
found that most advertising is being placed in government media and not in the private sector.
Government should make the process more transparent. There is no market research to guide
advertisers on which market to target.
SCORES:
Individual scores:
Average score:

2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
1.3

2.13. The advertising market is large enough to maintain a diversity of media
outlets.
ANALYSIS:
Titles which have long been on the market and have developed a brand for themselves manage
to survive more easily than new entries into the field. There are varied estimates on the overall
ad spend, with one going up to P400 million. Internet, radio and others have not yet explored
the advertising market thoroughly enough.
The advertising market is large enough despite government’s destabilization tactics and new
titles are coming up all the time.
SCORES:
Individual scores:
Average score:

2, 3, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4
3.0

Overall score for sector 2: 2.0
Sector 3.

3.1

Broadcasting regulation is transparent and
independent, the state broadcaster is transformed into
a public broadcaster.

Broadcasting is regulated by an independent body adequately protected
against interference, particularly of a political and economic nature.

So This Is Democracy? 2005

-198-

Media Institute of Southern Africa

Select target paragraph3