SECTOR 2 developing their own news-gathering operations, and television is becoming an increasingly popular source of news as a result. The AfroBarometer opinion poll conducted in January 2011, in the run-up to the last general elections, found that 15 per cent of Ugandans got news from television on a daily basis. However, this figure jumped to 64 per cent in Kampala, and 47 per cent in all urban areas. The same survey found that, countrywide, 68 per cent of respondents tuned in daily to the radio for their news (77 per cent in urban areas, 66 per cent in rural areas), while nine per cent got news from newspapers on a daily basis (28 per cent in urban areas, 6 per cent in rural areas). According to the UAMPS, Uganda had 276 radio stations and 72 television channels8 in late 2011. Most Ugandans own a radio - a cheap FM radio set costs about UGX 5000 (USD2). “It is difficult to find an area where you cannot pick up radio”, said a panellist and another said: “People probably know me more for comments I make on the radio than for my articles in the newspaper.” The UCC puts the number of Internet users in Uganda at 3.5 million9 (roughly 10 per cent of the population). The 2011 UAMPS found that 55 per cent of Ugandans accessing the Internet did so at Internet cafes. However, the number of people accessing the Internet via mobile phones doubled between 2010 and 2011. Having said this, only 35 per cent of Ugandans have access to mobile phones, one of the lowest levels of penetration for mobile telephony in Africa. AMB panellists pointed out that, in Uganda, cell phones carry a 30 per cent tax. Seventy-five per cent of Uganda’s Internet users use the Internet for “chatting with friends”, said the UAMPS, with Facebook being the Internet site most accessed in country. However, 35 per cent of Internet users said they used the Internet for news and current affairs, with the on-line editions of the The Daily Monitor, New Vision and Red Pepper being the most popular Ugandan sites. “We have to look at which media is imparting the information”, said another panellist. “Ninety per cent of all homesteads throughout the country can access radio… For newspapers, it is usually the elite and urban centres who access them. Accessibility is limited to a certain class of people. Similarly, there is a lack of awareness about the Internet, and very few people have access to it.” 8 9 Not all of the stations are in operation. It also should be noted that the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) counting of TV channels for TV is based on the number of frequencies, So, for instance if a TV station has five frequencies, then these are recorded by the UCC as channels. This could explain the high number of TV channels in these statistics. UCC 2009/10 Posts and Telecommunications Review, sourced from: www.ucc.co.ug/endOfFYReview2011. pdf AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER UGANDA 2012 31