SECTOR 4 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 2.9 (2010 = 3.2; 2008 = 2.3; 2006 = 1.7) 4.7 Journalists and media houses have integrity and are not corrupt. It is common practice in Malawi for sources to offer journalists “lunch money” of around K3,000 (US$12) to cover a particular story. Non-governmental organisations, for example, know that they will receive coverage which is most likely positive, if they offer such incentives, and this makes it harder for journalists to resist such offers. Mention was made that providing such allowances is even made official in some NGOs’ policies. A mobile phone service provider is said to offer journalists money for transport and food, as well as free airtime. “When a source offers ‘lunch money’, it can mean the difference between an earpiece (short story) and a feature.” There have been reports of MBC journalists refusing to cover some events if no ‘lunch allowance’ is included. It is also common practice that when an actual lunch is served at a press function, ’lunch allowances’ will still be handed out to the journalists. For some panellists, the fact that journalists may be compromised by taking ‘lunch money’ is not seen as corruption, as this practice is so common, and the money is expected and is used to cover transport and food costs involved. The Nation, however, has an editorial policy stipulating that it is wrong to get allowances from sources, and that the newspaper will cover any necessary expenses. At Capital Radio, they do not take these kinds of ‘freebies’ away from their journalists and instead ask staff to report such incidences to management so they can speak to the source involved to say that it is not necessary in future. Corruption within the media sector extends even further, however. During 2011, two journalists from the Weekend Times were dismissed for having asked sources for money in order not to publish a controversial story (relating to 58 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MALAWI 2012