3.10 The state/public broadcaster offers balanced and fair information in news and current affairs, reflecting the full spectrum of diverse views and opinions. Analysis: UBC is still very statist – placing emphasis on the government side of stories in all spheres be they political, economic, or cultural. Press releases from the government are read more or less verbatim. The news follows prevailing orthodoxies, with items lined up in accordance with state hierarchies. The President and the vice president enjoy the biggest coverage. Whenever the President travels, a certain amount of airtime is dedicated to him, with material produced by the Presidential Press Unit. UBC does not distinguish between public interest and government interest. When it comes to elections, UBC shows its pro-ruling party bias. A study titled Uganda Media Coverage of the 2006 Elections by the Democracy Monitoring Group found that UBC TV gave the incumbent, President Museveni, nearly 90% of the prime news time, and UBC Radio favoured Museveni with 61% of coverage time. There are, however, slow steps towards change and more professional judgement of news. Talk shows, for example, generally present diverse views on topical issues. UBC is constrained by the lack of resources from going out and looking for stories in order to provide balanced and fair information. There is also a policy that whoever wants to be covered by UBC News has to pay for expenses (commercialised news). 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: 1.9 (2007: 2.1) AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER UGANDA 2010 53