SECTOR 4 Religion does not appear to be a factor in the hiring of journalists, and ethnicity is generally not an issue in Swaziland because the country’s population is largely homogenous. As mentioned in indicator 2.8, catering for people with disabilities in Swaziland in general is a problem and this extends to most of the newsrooms, with the exception of SBIS and Swazi TV. As such, the disabled do not have the same opportunities in the media as the able-bodied. “People with disabilities in Swaziland are not taken into consideration.” Panellists noted that most newsrooms have a large percentage of young journalists, aged between 28 and 35. There are only a few exceptions in this regard, such as at The Nation, which employs more senior journalists. “Mature journalists tend to leave the newsrooms because the pay is not sufficient.” Scores: Individual scores: 66 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: 2.7 (2005: n/a; 2007: n/a; 2009: 4.2; 2011: 3.0) Average score for sector 4: 2.5 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Swaziland 2014