Swaziland very little coverage in print and even less on radio and TV. Many gender violence stories during that period perpetuated gender stereotypes, ignored the gender perspective and often gave unfair portrayals of the abused women. SCORES: Individual scores: 2, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3 Average score: 2.3 4.6 (2005=1.7) Journalists and editors do not practice self-censorship. ANALYSIS: Self-censorship is common across all media. There are four key areas where the media exercise self-censorship: the monarchy and traditional authorities, culture, media owners and advertisers. Content that may be deemed critical of the King or the Queen Mother is automatically a no-go area for the media. The Times was threatened with closure earlier in the year when it published a story that claimed the country’s economic decline was in part due to the unchecked spending of the King and his large family. The media is very careful not to criticise polygamy because this is seen as a direct criticism of the King. The cultural expectation that elders must be respected means selfcensorship also extends to senior traditional figures: “There are certain things you can’t say about senior people with status.” The lack of land tenure is a contributing factor to this type of selfcensorship. If a journalist criticises the traditional authorities they can risk land expulsion for themselves or members of their family. Chiefs can exert a lot of “subtle and insidious” pressure on journalists (“Whose land is this?”). African Media Barometer - Swaziland 2007 39