education, while they are barely heard in sports, politics and economics and not at all heard in media reports concerning mining and housing. In terms of affirmative action policies for women and vulnerable groups, the state media can be said to be progressive in comparison to the private media. There are more women than men working at Radio Botswana, and the broadcaster also employs a visually impaired announcer. “The State media has a deliberate policy that where it can accommodate the vulnerable groups, it will.” Of great importance to note is that by and large Botswana journalists are not corrupt and “have a very high standard of moral integrity” considering that most of them are poorly paid, with freelances/stringers greatly affected. However, there have been a few instances where journalists from the private media have had to be removed from their beat due to soliciting of bribes. In the last two years (2009-2011), the Botswana media environment has witnessed positive developments the most critical ones being that Radio Botswana’s signal is now reaching more people, and for the first time in the history of Botswana, the ruling party split in 2010, with a new opposition forming from this splinter. The split appears to have contributed to people feeling free-er and less docile, and has brought more debate to the country. There is more openness, and liberal expression, evidenced by the public workers strike. Also, more people call- in to participate on radio talk shows and vent their anger, as well as use Facebook and e-mail as a forum to raise their concerns. Another positive development is that the Media Practitioners Act (MPA) of 2008 has been held in abeyance and is not yet operational. “What we feared in 2009 has not come true (as the MPA is still not operational)” AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2011 7