SECTOR 4 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: ✓✓✓ ✓✓✓ ✓✓ ✓✓✓ 1.4 (2005 = n/a; 2007 = n/a; 2009 = 2.7; 2011 = 2.0; 2014 = 2.2) 4.4 Journalists and other media practitioners are organised in trade unions and/or professional associations, which effectively represent their interests. In the past, ‘there was a movement’ to effectively organise members of the media profession. The Botswana Journalist Association (BOJA), was established to cater for the diverse range of media sector interests ranging from editors to junior reporters. The attempt to establish a union for journalists over the years failed several times. ‘We fought long to create a journalist’s union but were unsuccessful in the end.’ The Botswana Media and Allied Workers Union (BOMAWU) was created in 2015 and officially launched in September 2016. It doesn’t have a very clear mandate, but for those who established the union, it was imperative to begin after failing several times before. It was agreed that once they were set up, members would attend to refining the union’s mandate and functions. It is yet to be seen if BOMAWU will succeed in representing media practitioners’ interests in a coordinated manner. The state of media associations and organisations were described as follows: • The Botswana Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Botswana) ‘is limping’ but in the process of reviving itself. 2018 saw the election of a new board and a new director; • The Botswana Editors’ Forum is ‘limping’; • BPC is in ‘intensive care’ and requires revitalisation; • The Botswana Media Women’s’ Association (BOMWA) tried to revive itself and managed to get an office but has no money to operate; • The BOJA is defunct. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2018 53