Botswana
non-aligned economically, politically or otherwise and editors are
encouraged to be independent and non-partisan. This is included in
their mission statements and holds true for most print media – with
the exception of government media. The daily Mmegi, for example,
has an editorial charter which ensures the independence of the editor and clarifies the relationship between the editor, the board of
directors and the rest of the Botswana society in as far as his or her
professional work is concerned.
At one radio station there have been incidents of running battles
between journalists and the chairman of the board of directors,
with journalists left unprotected by their station manager. Nevertheless, they stood up to the chairman whenever this happened,
until they were fired from the station.
SCORES:
Individual scores:

2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3

Average score:

3.0

4.8.

Salary levels and general working conditions for journalists
and other media practitioners are adequate to discourage
corruption.

ANALYSIS:
As a general rule, salaries for journalists in Botswana are based on
comparable industry salary levels. Journalists are expected to declare gifts and the nature of such gifts to determine whether or not
they should be allowed to keep them. There are clear divisions between the editorial and the marketing departments in most media
houses in the country.

African Media Barometer - Botswana 2005

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