SECTOR 2 2.10 Government does not use its power over the placement of advertisements as a means to interfere with editorial content. It is very rare to see a publication without government advertising as it is the biggest advertiser in Lesotho. All media outlets rely heavily on Government advertising. Since they are aware of the influence of how and where their money is spent, government is able to put pressure on media houses. The withdrawal of advertising often takes place during elections over the years several media houses have been affected with the most severe impact being on Public Eye. In 2007, when government overtly stopped advertising in Public Eye, it had to retrench staff and almost went under. Recently, however, after discussions were held between the media managers of Public Eye and certain ministers, a deal was struck that has improved the situation. 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: 1.7 (2010 = 1.1; 2008 =1.9; 2006 = 1.1) 2.11 The advertising market is large enough to support a diversity of media outlets. It is difficult to determine what ad-spend figures in Lesotho are, as there are several issues at play. There are traditional advertisers such as banks, mobile phone companies and of course the government, so the advertiser base is rather small. The culture of marketing is fairly new and so companies do not set aside budgets for advertising. “Even when you convince someone to advertise, they will agree but will insist on paying less.” A number of corporate organisations who have the means to advertise, have offices in South Africa and decisions about advertising are made by agents. The 36 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER LESOTHO 2012