SECTOR 4 It is suggested that ‘in part, standards have gone down because there is competition in the market to get the news out first. People are desperate to publish a rumoured story first, leaving little time for cross-checking and verification.’ At one point it was alleged in a prominent [newspaper] article that ‘300,000 BWP (29,500 USD) was found under a pillow in former Minister Prince Maele’s house, the same minister in whose dustbin 50,000 BWP (4,900 USD) was found earlier in the year. The story turned out to be false and the newspaper eventually retracted the allegations in a less prominent article. Minister Maele was later dropped from cabinet, as a result of those stories.’ Another decisive factor which negatively affects the quality of reporting is that many public media newsrooms are vastly under-resourced and understaffed. The weekly Mmegi for instance, once a daily newspaper, is now left with only two reporters and one editor, who are forced to wear several hats to keep the newspaper running. ‘Many newsrooms are staffed with editors who are very young, inexperienced and competitive, but they are competing on Facebook instead of in the newsroom.’ There is also an emerging trend of ‘media personalities [who] want to be cult figures...they [journalists] will expose each other on social media, in their quest to gain attention on the backs of others. There are senior practitioners who also behave in the same manner.’ Some journalists appear to be irresponsible or unprepared and lack sufficient training. ‘What they are giving us from the University of Botswana is not tolerable. We are getting people with certificates...but who cannot even compose a report.’ A lecturer explained that on the part of teaching institutions, there is a lack of resources resulting in limited equipment for practical training. ‘But when it comes to journalism, we have a student paper that we run, and I am a little reluctant to admit that our students finish without being able to compose five sentences that are comprehensive. Admittedly, we have a huge problem at the University of Botswana, as there are many students that receive government funding for a specific programme which they did not choose and don’t want to do. These students will often put little effort into their studies and will therefore not be well prepared to work in their unchosen profession, post-graduation.’ The lecturer went on to advise media houses to ‘be very careful when they undertake the selection the process of potential employees. Since the University of Botswana runs a media studies programme specialising in broadcasting, print and public relations, so media houses should hire staff according to their needs and based on the specific training they’ve received.’ One of the panellists explained that as a consumer it appears that, ‘most of the news that we see or read are pretty much about death, scams, and scandals – AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2018 49