SECTOR 2 Drum magazine when it contained what was considered to be negative reporting about the royal family. The state has used the 1963 Public Order Act to prevent such publications from entering the country, using the excuse that allowing them would impact negatively on public order. 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: 3.7 (2005: 4.0; 2007: 3.6; 2009: 4.2; 2011: 4.3) 2.3 The editorial independence of print media published by a public authority is protected adequately against undue political interference. The Swazi Observer, owned by the royal family through Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, is the closest form of print media published by a public authority, considering the dominant role the monarchy plays in everyday life in Swaziland. As such, it is not considered to be an independent newspaper and its editorial policy is very clear: publishing anything related to the royal family, particularly information with a negative slant, is prohibited, although “other issues are fair game”. The Observer has a clear political position: being pro-monarchy. As such there is political interference from various arms of government in the running of the newspaper. When the Observer published a cartoon by South Africa’s Zapiro that was critical of the Swazi king, the editor was called in by the monarch to explain. The Prime Minister is known to give the editor a dressing down if he feels the paper’s reporting is too negative in light of the royal family, while the judiciary, through the Ministry of Justice, has also attacked the newspaper, particularly recently in light of its reportage on the court cases against Maseko and Makhubu. The ministry has threatened legal action against the newspaper for “misleading the nation”. “Among journalists and editors in Swaziland there is an unspoken mandate not to criticise the royal family.” AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Swaziland 2014 33