SECTOR 4 4.6 Owners of established mainstream private media do not interfere with editorial independence. In many cases in Lesotho, the owners of media houses are also the editors of the media product so the lines are crossed very often, because the two roles are difficult to separate. “We do interfere. We rely on advertisers, so when a journalist writes a scandalous story about one of my biggest advertisers, I will have to take out that story.” Owners interfere because they need to be careful about what is written or published. These owners also have other business interests such as providing supplies for government tenders, so they are very careful about what they write about and what they will not write. “For instance, if a government minister has been corrupt in his or her ministry, misusing funds or fraudulently getting government money and you have proof, but that minister could have an influence in your acquiring that particular tender, then you shelve the story.” There are issues with Vodacom service, but there will not be any reports about the issue, because the company takes out full page ads on a regular basis. It’s the same with Econet, who recently retrenched a large number of staff. When transport in a media house has to be shared, the marketing people get preference to visit their clients “because it’s about your salaries.” 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: 1.0 (2010 = 2.1; 2008 = 1.1; 2006 = 1.0) AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER LESOTHO 2012 57