Teachers’ Union (BOSETU), as well as the umbrella organisation, the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO). In the exercise of law making, consultations with stakeholders may happen and have in various occasions happened, for example the government involved stakeholders in initial discussions on the Media Practitioners Act (MPA). However, this is viewed as a “façade of consultation” since once the legislation is drafted; the stakeholder input is generally not included. The country’s media landscape has two daily newspapers – the state-owned, free Daily News (with a national circulation of 65,000), and Mmegi (with a circulation of between 11,000 on Mondays to Thursdays and 22,400 on Fridays). Government owns the biggest media companies in Botswana and has the widest distribution in the country. However, it was noted that its content on radio has outdated programming, one-sided reports and little diversity. In terms of broadcasting, there are six radio stations in Botswana: the governmentowned Radio Botswana 1 and 2 (the latter has more of a commercial focus), and the private and commercial stations Duma FM, Gabz FM, Yarona FM and Voice of America. Most of the private radio stations broadcast countrywide and some stations, such as Gabz FM and Yarona FM, as well as Radio Botswana, are streaming their content over the internet. Podcasting is not very common in Botswana. In the past two years, at least three private newspapers have closed down: the weekly Francistown Blue Jacket News; the fortnightly private newspaper, the Tswana Times; and the Independent Informer which is erratic. None of the state-owned print media entities (Daily News, Kutlwano, and the Botswana press agency) have independent boards of directors, and there is direct political interference in editorial matters. Botswana still has no community media – print or broadcasting. The advertising ‘cake’ is very small in Botswana, and the government remains the main advertiser, followed by parastatals, which are viewed as an extension of the state, followed by big business - arguably, a further state extension. A Competition Commission was expected to be established during June 2011, around the time of writing this report, following the passing in 2010 of a law governing competition. However, the Competition Act seems to be shrouded in secrecy, or at least a lack of publicity, as the panellists were unclear about its contents or its implications on media entities. Where gender balance in the media is concerned, a Genderlinks Gender and Media Progress Study released in February 2011 indicated that women comprised 20 percent of all sources of media content – an increase from 16 percent of a similar research conducted by Genderlinks seven years earlier. However, the report states, “Out of 80 percent of all news sources, men in Botswana still prevail in the news.” Women’s voices are also largely heard in ‘soft’ beats, such as health and 6 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2011