modest circulation of newspapers with an average of less than 10,000 copies (Maputo city has a higher circulation compared to the country’s other urban areas, but is still below desirable levels). The low television coverage is mainly due to lack of electricity supply in the rural and peri-urban areas (according to EDM’s (Electricidade de Moçambique) figures, less than 30% of Mozambican households have access to electricity). With regards to alternative methods of communication, the more than 100 community radios have strengthened the communities’ skills and capacities by broadcasting information on matters such as education for democracy and citizenship, education for public health, experience and production technique exchange between local farmers, as well as informing the population about public interest service provision. One of the main constraints of community radios is related to sustainability, as they strongly depend on external resources due to lack of support from the local authorities. As to the news content being broadcast through the media, according to the panel, quality remains a concern, especially with regards to acts such as whistleblowing and matters of governance, politics, economy and transparency in managing public assets. According to the panellists, the public media sector (newspapers, radio and TV) is not properly protected from political and other interference. Another finding is the existing imbalance in the representation of men and women’s voices as information sources as well as protagonists of narratives and success stories. Additionally, there is a lack of incorporation and integration of television programmes for people with special needs. According to the AMB analysis, the quality of the content is also hampered by the lack of specialisation for journalists in their training. Investigative journalism is still very fragile due to a lack of resources and media sustainability problems – these contribute to tendencies and practices of event coverage journalism – which are mainly limited to Maputo and the provincial capitals to the detriment of other locations in the national territory. Issues of ethics and professionalism remain a challenge in Mozambique in ensuring content quality. Although the country has codes of conduct, such as the Journalistic Code of Conduct approved by the National Union of Journalists (SNJ – Sindicato Nacional de Jornalistas) in 2012 as a self-regulatory instrument and the Code of Conduct for Election Coverage institutionalised by MISA-Mozambique and SNJ in 2008, the application and observance of these instruments are not yet in effect. Training opportunities in the field of journalism have expanded with the opening of new medium level, graduate and post-graduate courses aimed at professional qualifications in the field. Media professionals also have access to professional training programmes. Despite this advancement, challenges persist with regard to curricula as course subjects are not modified to adapt to the reality of the labour market. Another challenge is the lack of properly furnished laboratories with up-to-date technology and equipment for practical learning, which results in a lack of specialised skills. 8 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MOZAMBIQUE 2018