in eSwatini has improved over the years, there are still challenges with regards to accuracy and fairness. Issues such as unbalanced stories, misquotes, exaggerated headlines as well as spelling and grammatical errors mar reporting standards. Another challenge is the skewed reporting of eSwatini society. The media do not always fairly represent all voices in society, including minorities. For instance, women’s voices in the media continue to be marginalised to a great extent while content continues to be male-dominated. Similarly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) issues are not often covered by the media and when they are, they are reported in a negative way. Persons with disabilities are also marginalised both in news content and in the newsrooms. Self-censorship and corruption, which are common in newsrooms, also affect media professionalism and the integrity of the news. Panellists pointed to the extremely low salaries combined with the poor working conditions of journalists as a cause of corruption. Corruption is not only prevalent amongst the lowest paid journalists, but also occurs with editors and managers. The close relationship between the media and political or business elites contributes to corrupt behaviour in the higher echelons of the media. Lack of ‘access to information’ legislation ensures that accessing public information is difficult. The Official Secrets Act and other cultural practices restrict the media in their efforts to obtain information and report freely on the activities of government. Accessing information for ordinary citizens, particularly those in rural communities, is not easy. In 2007, the government released a draft Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Bill, however, 11 years later, the Bill has not been passed. Accessing information is becoming easier across the continent and eSwatini is no exception. Individuals in urban areas have turned to social media such as Facebook and Twitter to access news that is not censored or to bypass mainstream media. According to Internet World Stats1, eSwatini has 446,000 internet users; this is relatively high in a country of 1,367 million people. It is estimated that there are about 170,000 Facebook users, while mobile phone penetration is about 78% (approx. 1,02 million). Although social media is being used more widely and has become an important platform for expression, prices for data remain high and unaffordable for most citizens. eSwatini has no broadcasting legislation that governs the sector. A Broadcasting Bill that has been in the making for 12 years is yet to be legislated. The latest version of the Bill – introduced in 2016 – did not materialise when parliament was dissolved in that year. The Communications Act of 2013 established a commission to oversee the broadcasting sector, but in the absence of enacted broadcasting legislation, there is only so much that the commission can do. eSwatini, together with Zimbabwe, thus remain the only countries in southern Africa without an open and liberalised broadcasting sector. 1 6 Internet World Stats available at https://www.internetworldstats.com/. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ESWATINI 2018