SECTOR 2 at US$2 - and most people prioritise bread over newspapers. Wide distribution of print media is restricted by the high cost of transport and the limited buying power of readers. South African magazines and newspapers like the Sunday Times, Business Day, The Sowetan and Mail & Guardian are available and have a sizeable market in Zimbabwe. The Sunday Times (which costs only US$ 1.00) and Mail & Guardian have special Zimbabwe editions. Broadcasting Broadcasting in Zimbabwe has been described as “narrowcasting” because the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation has a monopoly over the airwaves. It operates one television channel and five radio stations. A second (commercial) television station was launched in April and is to carry mainly programming (not news!) provided by the South African private TV company e.tv. There is no other broadcasting operator in the country. In remote areas it is difficult to get any broadcasting service – radio or television. It is believed that ZBC television covers only 20 to 25 per cent of the country and radio 30 to 35 per cent. The lack of access to electricity and regular blackouts also affect access to broadcasting. Externally based radio stations are enjoying considerable popularity. These are Voice of the People (VOP), Studio 7 (a Voice of America programme produced by Zimbabweans), SW Radio (broadcast from London and produced by Zimbabweans in exile) and Zicora (Zimbabwe Community Radio) which broadcasts from South Africa. All four use short wave for transmission. Their impact is limited by the shortage of SW radio receivers and their limited broadcasting periods between one and two hours per day. Internet There are more and more internet cafés springing up everywhere and wireless hot spots located at coffee shops and hotels have made internet far more accessible. According to latest figures reported by Internet World Stats, internet penetration (the percentage of people using the internet) stands at 10.9 per cent. Very recently mobile telephone company Econet introduced mobile internet technology but this was only available for a limited period. Internet access is still confined to a small elite audience. The Interception of Communications Act, passed in August 2007, legalises the surveillance of all communication including internet traffic (see indicator 1.10). AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZIMBABWE 2010 31