SECTOR 1 In print media, when seemingly controversial stories are published, some journalists revert to using the byline of ‘staff reporter’ to avoid the potential ramifications of using their own name. One of the reasons for the increased fear of full expression was the arrest of an editor and a reporter at Lesotho Times in 2014, after the newspaper ran a story (with the byline of ‘staff reporter’) implicating a government official in the alleged coup on August 30th, 2014. Following their arrest, the paper’s publisher went to reason with the police, and the two were released 6 hours after their arrest, when it became clear that the police had no specific charge. “There was no specific law that they could use to charge them. This was an intimidation tactic, and it worked.” Panellists noted that it is very difficult for investigative journalists to get authoritative sources on sensitive issues, because people fear the implications of their names being mentioned. Over the past year, the media have also increasingly been receiving threats from the army, through, for example, phone calls and SMSes. “They insult you, and tell you that if you run a certain story that they have found you’re working on, then you will be in danger. But they don’t specify what kind of danger.” (It was noted that the army finds out about these stories through their public affairs office, which is the main contact point for journalists seeking information on army affairs.) The station manager at a radio station in Maseru once read a message on air that one of the station’s current affairs programmes had received. The message was warning the journalist not to mention the name of a specific person in the Lesotho Defence Force. A panellist also noted an example in which the LDF sent a 3-page letter to a newspaper editor, discrediting the journalist professionally and accusing the journalist of pursuing a certain agenda. The interception of telephone calls and other communications is deemed rife; (Please note, it is illegal to intercept one’s communication without a court order, with reference to the Communications Act) information officers in government ministries and organisations fear releasing information that should be in the public sphere; fearing for their jobs. Civil servants are not heard expressing their personal views in public; while journalists – particularly those working in the state media – practice a high level of self-censorship. On the whole, where people are expressing themselves, they are doing so with a certain level of fear. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER LESOTHO 2015 15