SECTOR 1 Media houses themselves determine their editorial lines, some of which enforce censorship. The level and source of this self-censorship seems to largely depend on whether they are private or public entities. Journalists who work for government media ‘cannot bite the hand that feeds them’ and so they generally stay away from stories that criticise the government. It is thought that self-censorship in the private media is more likely to be emanating from the fear of losing advertising revenue than from pressure from the state. That said, the government of Lesotho is the biggest advertiser in print media. In most cases, journalists in the private media do not operate freely because the media rely on the government as their main source of funding, which makes it difficult for them to criticise the government. For instance, the Public Eye, one of the biggest private newspapers in Lesotho, closed down due to the government’s withdrawal of advertising. They have since re-opened and have become pro-government. It is also critical to acknowledge the threats levelled against media practitioners, and although this takes place to a lesser degree today than in previous years, it still impacts on their practise of freedom of expression. In July 2016, Lesotho Times editor Lloyd Mutungamiri was attacked at his home in Maseru two weeks after being summoned to a police station along with journalist Keiso Mohloboli, who had written a front-page story about an ‘exit strategy’ for Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF). Journalists have also been threatened by supporters of different political parties. A good example relates to journalist Nthakoana Ngatane, who was forced to flee the country in 2017 after threats were made on her life (including threats of rape) during her coverage of the political unrest taking place in the country. Another challenge comes from journalists aligning themselves to certain political agendas, a trend which is in line with the extreme polarisation of the media. ‘We can conclude that in Lesotho, on the side of citizens there is great freedom, but on the side of journalists there are some challenges.’ 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: 11 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER LESOTHO 2018 ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓✓ 3.4 (2015: 2.0, 2012: 2.7, 2010: 2.7, 2008: 2.8, 2006: 1.1)