SECTOR 3 This is because the SBIS and Swazi TV are state owned and “cannot bite the hand that feeds”. Government people dominate the news bulletins. It is SBIS policy to lead a bulletin with a report about the King, followed by a report on the Queen Mother, followed by the Prime Minister, and so on. The speeches of these VIPs tend not to be edited. “Broadcasters are accountable to the politicians rather than their audience, therefore it’s not “Broadcasters important if this approach is turning off audiences.” There is a “politicisation of culture” by the state broadcasters whereby “culture is portrayed as static”, a panellist said. “There is a youth culture but it is not covered. Therefore there is not a balanced view of culture.” Another panellist pointed out that SBIS 2, which broadcasts in English, has become much more youth-orientated. are accountable to the politicians rather than their audience.” One panellist felt Swazi TV ’s government-sponsored programme about events in and around the tinkhundla traditional authorities smacked of propaganda. Another panellist argued that this was not always a bad thing: “Sometimes we miss out on the nuances of the propaganda. Take ‘From the Palace’, for example, which recently covered the King’s trip abroad. It was scary to watch what the Foreign Minister and Minister of Trade tell the rest of the world. In terms of being clued up about what damage they are doing to Swaziland, I think it’s important to watch these programmes once in a while.” 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: 1.7 (2009: 2.0; 2007: 2.6; 2005: 1.6) AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SWAZILAND 2011 51