Francis Nyamnjoh: The State of the Media in Southern Africa 2000: Botswana

Introducing Francis Nyamnjoh

Francis B. Nyamnjoh is Associate Professor and Head of Publications and Dissemination with the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA).
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By Francis Nyamnjoh

Introduction
The main development in Botswana in 2000 was in the area of broadcasting. The press, of course, continued to play an active role in the promotion of civil society and democracy. MISA Botswana monitored and reported accordingly on media related issues, and in November there was a sub-regional workshop on Cartoon Journalism and Democratisation in Southern Africa, at the University of Botswana. As the report shows, government-media relations are not, comparatively speaking, characterised by hostility. But there is no room for complacency.

The state-owned Radio Botswana (RB) has dominated the media scene since independence. The government and politicians have traditionally depended heavily on RB to reach the population. A state-owned government controlled paper - Daily News, distributed free of charge, has been in partnership with RB in the service of the government and the public since independence, even if critics are of the opinion that as state-run media, the two are yet to prove that they are indeed pluralistic and public service-oriented in mission. In other parts of Africa where the state-owned media have been appropriated in similar ways by the government and its auxiliaries, the result has not always been democracy.

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Comments

I read that the major improvements were in the area of broadcasting.Were there any development in terms of the emergency of new players ie private media houses in both print and broadcasting media? Moreover, how far has the government provided a conducive atmosphere for operations of mass media in general?
hope you will kindly accept my comments and question.
Patrick T.

Posted by: Patrick T | November 25, 2005 at 07:48 AM