The Botswana Media Studies Papers Vol 1

The Botswana Media Studies Papers
THE BOTSWANA MEDIA STUDIES PAPERS
A Collection Presented by the Media Studies Department, University of Botswana
Volume One
The Media Studies Papers
A Collection of Papers Compiled by the Media Studies Department, University of Botswana Edited by Richard Rooney
Published by The Media Studies Department, Faculty of Humanities, University of Botswana, Private Bag 703, Gaborone, Botswana www.ub.bw
2014. Copyright remains with individual contributors
Contents
Introduction
By Richard Rooney . 3
The Local Print Magazine Industry in Botswana

By Martha Mosha .. 5
Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Development in Botswana: An Analysis of the Perspectives of the Beneficiaries
By Divya Nair .. 16
The Juxtaposition Between Media Literacy and Democracy

By Penelope Kakhobwe 24
Capturing the Elusive Art: The Making of a Dance Film Case Study: The Wandering Souls of Mendi
By Tiny Constance Thagame . 41
The Dilemma of Local Content: the Case of Botswana Television (Btv)

By Bokang Greatness Ditlhokwa . 53
Introduction
By Richard Rooney
This is a collection of papers originally presented at a series of research seminars hosted by the Department of Media Studies in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Botswana during September to November 2013. The work presented recognises the wide spectrum of teaching and research that takes place within the department; ranging, in this collection, across print media, independent television production, the representation of dance on film, corporate social responsibility and development and media literacy. The Media Studies Department is the major centre in Botswana for the teaching of vocational and theoretical media. It runs two undergraduate programmes in Media Studies and intends to launch a Masters programme in the not-too-distant future. Martha Mosha investigates the key elements in the Botswana print magazine production industry. Her broad research is aimed at exploring elements such as market, failures and successes of magazines, advertising in the magazines, printing, circulation, and publishers, using secondary sources as the methodology. Divya Nair investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and community development in Botswana. Her study, based on field work in Botswana, analyses the role played by grant managing institutions in delivering CSR and the perspectives of the beneficiaries in this respect. The study
highlights the various challenges posed by the inadequate capacity of the grant managing institutions and the poor networking among the various nongovernmental organizations. Penelope Kakhobwe explores the correlation which exists when it comes to media literacy democracy and development. She makes a case for media literacy for all and not just high school children but all sectors of society through cooperation with various nongovernmental organisations in the field. She examines this in a case study of Malawi and concludes that it is the norm in African countries for media personnel to suffer persecution for their views. Tiny Constance Thagame, using a documentary film The Wandering Souls of Mendi, she herself directed, investigates the differences and similarities between dance and film. She explores some of the technical and philosophical aspects of documenting dance. The study explores the relationship between the choreographer and the filmmaker, and how they can work together to produce a successful dance film. Bokang Greatness Ditlhokwa reports that contrary to the notion that Botswanas independent television producers lack the professional skills to generate local television content, lack of finance is arguably the main challenge that continues to bedevil the producers. His research

reveals that the local state broadcaster Botswana Television (Btv) continues to make attempts to empower the independent producers through licensing of existing intellectual properties, but that it lacks the necessary and transparent guidelines to acquire television content. We hope this will be the first of a series of publications documenting the research work of the Media Studies Department, and we hope to present a further selection of papers later in 2014. Richard Rooney, February 2014
About the author Richard Rooney is head of the Department of Media Studies at the University of Botswana. He has taught in universities in Europe, Africa and the Pacific. His research, which specialises in media and their contribution to democracy and good governance, has been published in books and academic journals across the world.
The Local Print Magazine Industry in Botswana

Martha Mosha
Abstract Magazines as a means of communication like any other form of media perform two basic functions; to inform and entertain by mixing news, stories and features. This is to ensure an in-depth coverage and follow up stories. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the key elements in the Botswana print magazine production industry. This broad research is aimed at briefly looking into elements such as market, failures and successes of magazines, advertising in the magazines, printing, circulation, and publishers, using secondary sources as the methodology. Keywords: magazine, media, print industry, Botswana Introduction This research is a comprehensive look into the magazine industry in Botswana, from the first produced magazine to the present day. Magazines are a periodical publication containing articles and illustrations, typically covering a particular subject or area of interest (Angus Stevenson, 2005). Magazines are a means of communication like all other media meant to fulfil two basic human needs; to inform and to entertain. According to Katz (2003), magazines are commonly used to find out more about our favourite hobbies and interest. They offer a mixture of news, stories and features thus they can be used for in-depth coverage and subsequent follow-up stories. A magazine is, usually, less ephemeral than a newspaper, less permanent than a book. (McKay, 2006) According to Duffy and Turow (2009), Magazines are a bit more narrow in focus compared to the other available media. Kobak (2002) notes that magazine production involves three functions; Editorial - developing an editorial product that would appeal to a target readership. Circulation - marketing the developed product to the public. Advertising - marketing the product through highly sophisticated selling methods to a small number of advertisers who want to reach the public that reads the produced magazine. As such, the search is to focus on the magazine production industry in Botswana with the three functions as a guide. Other peripheral issues will be looked into such as a brief history of magazine production in Botswana, the failure of magazines in Botswana, and the dynamic magazine

market in Botswana, so as to paint a holistic picture of the industry. What shall be discussed is biased to traditional printed magazines, as this is the dominating magazine form available at the time of this research. Statement of Problem Magazine production in Botswana is an industry that keeps growing, more and more magazines are set-up every year, but little is documented about such a key industry in Botswanas media landscape. Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate key elements in the local print magazine production industry. Research Questions The research questions, which govern this study, are; What is the current scene in terms of the local magazine production market in Botswana? What are the issues faced by the local magazine production companies? Literature Review Botswana Magazine Research Conducting research on media in Botswana is very difficult let alone a research in one such microscopic area as magazine production. This is so the case as Botswana has no independent media research institution. (Sechele, 2006) Added to this, most other research done on media in Botswana looks primarily at radio, television and newspaper. Often, the term newspaper is used to represent all other print media including magazines, newsletters and advertisers. Magazine production in Botswana began in 1962 with the production of the first copy for the then Bechuanaland Government information branch in Lobatse. This was at the time one of the very few printed materials written with content aimed at Batswana. Prior to this was a quarterly journal which was produced during the 1930s (Government of Botswana, 1999) named Lobone lwa Betswana. Years would follow before the establishment of another magazine within the country. There have been a limited number of largely unsuccessful attempts to start magazines. A few general interest magazines were started in the past five years, including Dumela (Hello) and Flair, but all folded after a year or two. Most of the surviving magazines are specialist ones covering business and finance, the environment, agriculture and mining. (Sechele, 2006) Magazines in General How the magazine industry works is written in the simplest form by O'Connor (2013) as; A clever editor wishes to communicate an insight. They put words and pictures on pieces of paper, and find people to read this content. Once you get enough readers, then hopefully advertisers wish to engage with this content. To do all the above, a team is put together under one company and thus know as a magazine production company. There are many ways to classify what is known and referred to as a magazine. Categorisation of magazines differs from country to country. (De Beer, 1998) Added to this different researchers distinguish them with different terms, most of which are highly dependent on the different magazines available within a given market. In the case of Botswana, there are three main types of magazines namely;

Consumer - these have content aimed at leisure information and hence offer entertainment to the reader. This is used to convey information, advice and entertainment. Business-to-business also referred to as trade or business and professional. These magazines have content in connection to the working industry. Its content is geared at providing information for a great mass in a targeted audience. Consumer specialist the content in such magazines is aimed at a specific field of interest. Consumer magazines make up the largest sector of the industry in most countries and this fact is not any different in Botswana. Editorial There is a lot of teamwork that goes into the production of a magazine. This includes the work of writers, editors, graphics designers, photographers, printers, and distributers, to name but a few. Some magazines opt to outsource some of the services needed to produce a magazine while others carry out everything in-house. Some authors such as Evans (2004), suppose that due to the technological advances, magazine production can be a one-person business. This is mainly due to the fact that most of what is needed is based around desktop publishing. This is a great method to starting up a business without having to search for finances for starting up the business. Thus, one can have as minimum a staff complement until the magazine takes off then thus employ a full team once the magazine is fully functional. However, Evans (2004) goes into listing a staff compliment of about 35 or more for a fully operational and wellestablished magazine. Circulation Circulation in this case refers to the distribution methods of magazines once produced. Thus circulation in terms of ways in which the magazine gets to its desired audience. Equally important is the number of copies sold of a given magazine, which shares the same name but is not the one in reference. There are a number of different ways that magazine circulation types are categorised internationally. The types of circulation available in the magazine industry in Botswana are; Paid circulation these include sales from newsstands (at supermarkets, bookstores, quick shops), single copy sales, single paid subscription and multiple sales (airlines, hotels, clubs). Society/Association circulation this can be done in certain circumstances such as being a member of a given society/association and belonging to given institution. In some cases, these are for given for free to members of a society/association while at times free means it is added to the membership fee. Controlled circulation - this refers to magazines that are circulated to a limited mailing list. These include the specialised magazines, which aim at a particular industry. In large organisations, these magazines could be produced internally and meant for internal use- to communicate to the staff information about the organisation. Advertisements In order to solicit advertisers, magazine production companies are meant to

conduct periodic research on their audience. Armed with information from the research, the magazine companies are meant to convince potential advertisers with statistics that enable them to make an informed decision. In the case of Botswana, very few magazines companies have conducted such research. Most rely on guesswork to understand who their audience is. This constitutes to difficulty in convincing other companies to advertise with the magazine. It is however a fact that, media coverage and recommendations are relevant for the commercial success of products and services (Rinallo and Basuroy, 2009) and with this in mind, most companies in Botswana do agree to buy advertisement space in selected magazines hoping to gain success in sales on their products and services in return. Magazine advertisements in this research looks at a broader picture, thus including commercials and advertorials. Magazines have succeeded amid strong competition from other media vying for advertising revenue, largely because of the ability of magazines to reach specialised audiences and to retain their interest. (De Beer, 1998) The average editorial-to-advertising ratio of U.S. magazines is 56/44(McKay, 2006). This is a significant number- almost 50 percent of the content. Some authors argue that advertisements are as much a relevant part of the magazine as is the editorial content (Rosengren and Dahln, 2013). In the case of some magazine in Botswana, this figure may be above 44 especially if one removes the negative space, used to fill up a story as some magazine have adapted the use of negative space to make a story with little written content, fill up a page. To a great extent advertisers have had, and continue to have, greater influence on what gets featured in magazines than they do in newspapers. (Clark 1988:345 in McKay (2006)). This has led to a new way of thinking. It is predicted that in future, advertising content would be dependent on the editorial content (Rosengren and Dahln, 2013). This would be so the case, as there seems to be a high influence of advertising content on the perception of a magazine. Rosengren and Dahln (2013) elaborates further and state that, perceptions of the same advertisement can change due to the editorial content surrounding it. The following was found out to be true in terms of advertisement in magazines according to Rinallo and Basuroy (2009); (1) Publishers that depend more on a specific industry for their advertising revenues are prone to a higher degree of influence from their corporate advertisers than others; (2) peer pressures from competing publishers affect coverage decisions; (3) larger and more innovative companies have an advantage in obtaining coverage for their products This situation exists in the case of Botswana and is made worse by the fact that the potential advertisers in a given industry such as cellular phone providers or discount stores, are limited in number and due to the lack of competition at any given industry, which could advertise within a given magazine. Many magazines provide a wealth of information through their adverts (McKay, 2006). This is not an exception in terms of the magazines produced in Botswana. Most are packed with information that fully elaborates on a product or service. However, Hurman (2013), argues that advertising in magazines does not work anymore - it is not effective. He says, There's a discipline required to create

world-class magazine advertising that just doesn't exist in other mediums. As such, his argument is that the creativity is declining over the years. It goes without saying that the decline in creativity results in the audiences perception of an advert becoming annoying. This would in turn create a negative attitude by the readers towards advertisements. Failure in Magazines There are more than 250 registered magazine companies in Botswana. According to the office responsible for issuing out International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), a unique number used to identify publications, there are about 10 or so magazines that apply for the number per year. Application involves producing at least one issue of the magazine as a sample. Only about 20 percent of those that apply end up in producing beyond the submitted issue with more than 50 percent of the applicants not returning to collect the issued code at all. This shows that there is a failure in the local magazine production industry, which translates, to the need to look into this area during the research so as to figure out if this phenomenon can be explained. Williams (2004) attributes the secret of success in print to be; intensive sales, in a limited geographic area and to a welldefined (targeted) clientele or targeted, specialised, and easily identified readership. This may seem simple enough but in the case of Botswana, with a total population of almost two million, the market in question is very small in number. There are a number of reasons for magazine failure. According to Kobak (2002), the reasons include but not limiting; The decline in the target market, reduced readership; The editorial content ceases to interest the market; Circulation being pushed beyond its natural levels. The magazine has lost its direction and hence is now not serving the initial target market;. Failure to compete with other magazines in the industry; Weakness in circulation efforts; Weakness in advertising efforts; Lack of control in managing profits; The reader is given too little or too much content; Pricing is too aggressive or not aggressive enough; Poor to none planning and research. According to Katz (2003), magazine success is assessed in terms of their circulation. However, McKay (2006) states that, Circulation differs from readership because a copy of a magazine will almost certainly have more than one reader. Thus, circulation is an average indication of how many people actually read a given magazine and hence its success. This being the case, there are a number of ways in which magazines can be circulated. For a magazine to be successful, there is a need to have the right idea at the right time, offering information or editorial service that appeals to a sufficient number of potential readers who in turn appeal to a sufficient market of advertisers (Click and Baird, 1983). Only by striking the right balance would the industry in Botswana stabilise and hence reduce the failure rate that currently exists. In the end De Beer (1998) explained this balance in another way by stating that, The ability to use the most modern technology, research and knowledge available has played a vital role in

ensuring the future of magazines. There is not much done in terms of research in the area of magazines in Botswana hence this is a huge obstacle for most production companies. The issue on using modern technology is mostly utilised as best but not in terms of digital publishing. This is yet to be a standard for most magazine production companies. The only weapon that the magazine production companies have in Botswana is the knowledge of the magazine industry in the country. Most magazine editors would agree that this is a very different unique, industry compared to other magazine production industries from other nations. Methodology of the Study There are a number of research methods used to tackle this broad topic. Approach The first approach was to use descriptive research used to identify and classify the elements and characteristic of magazine production in Botswana. Mainly quantitative techniques are used to collect, analyse and summarise data. Qualitative techniques were used to verify the data in the form of interviews. Data triangulation the use of a variety of data sources to get the same information was used to verify collected information. Secondary Data Collection Most secondary data was sourced through background reading and information gathering from books; articles (academic journals, newspapers and magazines); and pamphlets from different organisations (government ministries, Botswana Post, Information Services). There was also an overall general search over the Internet for available secondary information. Since not much is written in terms of the magazine production industry in Botswana, there was a need to read literature from other countries and gauge if this is the case in terms of the industry in Botswana. Empirical Study A number of empirical methods were used to get the information needed. Due to the fact that most organisation where the needed information was to be found did not have such information on record, interviews where used to pull out as much from the members involved where possible. Some structured interviews were conducted with the interviewee being given the interview questions well in time so as to source out the answers ahead of the actual interview. The interviewees included representatives from Botswana Post (in terms of magazine licencing), representative from Botswana National Library (in terms of ISSN application), a representative from the Department of Information Services (for the historic background), a representative from a local publishing company, magazine editors, magazine layout designers, and writers. In some organisations, a mixture of semistructured and unstructured interviews was conducted. This was due to the fact that some information was kept in more than one office due to unclear roles given out and hence one person fails to answer the questions and would therefore suggest another person to be interviewed. This did happen often due to the fact that most ministries where re-structured over time and are still doing so as issues arise. There was a convenient focus group of different individuals who were working to put together a magazine (The Other Kgotla) and they were very useful towards the research. This group included fortyplus individuals who are connected or
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interested in magazine production in Botswana thus; magazine editors, designers, writers, photographers, developers, event organisers, marketers, promoters, to name but a few. Out of this pool, most of the findings were verified to see if they believe it is the case. This group of individuals was also very helpful whenever the research reached a dead end, as they would suggest other avenues to get the needed information. In the end, all the information was verified by following up with what is happening at the actual magazine selling outlets. An observation was made of as many outlets as possible within Gaborone (where most magazine in Botswana are distributed) over a year and half. This allowed a collection of most magazines currently available in Botswana. Findings According to the Botswana Registry of Companies Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property - Name Search online database (Industry, 2012), there are 257 registered magazines in Botswana. It is the authors observation that it is not possible to find more than 10 locally produced magazines on any given newsstand at a given time within the country. Due to the lax methods of record keeping and standards that govern magazine registration and licencing in Botswana, it is difficult to have the actual statics about the current situation in Botswanas magazine print industry. This also goes for the growth of the industry. It must be noted that due to irregularities in classification, some magazines in Botswana are classified as newspapers. This happens at the point of registration or at the licencing due to the fact that the forms filled in do not indicate clearly what the options are and what the difference between a newspaper and a magazine is. Therefore, one fills in the given form to the best of their abilities of which at times could be confusing even to the administration personnel handling their file. An observation was made to the fact that even though these magazines where wrongly classified, this was not the case when it comes to the newsstands and neither was it the case when it came to which section they fall under at the libraries- the said magazines would fall under the magazine sections with a disregard to the classification. Therefore, such instances are corrected within this research after undergoing a fact-finding mission for each magazine which is believed to be wrongfully classified. From the many available types of magazine circulation it was concluded that in the case of Botswana, the types of circulation include; paid circulation, society/association circulation and controlled circulation. As such in Botswana, magazines are distributed through supermarkets, filling stations, newsstands (setup at mall corridors, outside major stores, at the bus station), at given events (the stadium or at malls), other stores (e.g.: Pharmacies). There are a number of challenges that face the local magazine production industry in Botswana, most of which is common to the local print industry. Most of the challenges are mainly to do with the competitiveness of the industry and could be overcome with good strategies. The challenges, which were also discussed in an article in The Patriot (Amogelang, 2013) include; The lack of a readership Most local magazine production companies do not take time to understand and build an audience for their produced magazines. Instead, the lack of an audience
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is blamed on the small population that makes up the country. Most magazine production companies however do not conduct research on their audience leading to them not knowing who their audience is and therefore not meeting up to any expectations. Lack of a market This is the case as the population of the country is small compared to most other nations and added to this problem is the fact that local magazines have to compete with foreign produced magazines which are also available on the newsstands. Most of the foreign produced magazines that are available in Botswana newsstands are from South Africa. The opposite of having Botswana produced magazines being exported for sale in other countries such as South Africa has been very difficult due to the lack of appeal. High local printing and publishing costs There are a few printing and publishing houses in Botswana and thus the prices are high due to a monopoly of the market. The fact that the numbers being printed is also not of a great volume adds to the fact that the printing costs will remain considerably high. To overcome this situation, some magazine production companies have resorted to print in South Africa- where it is cheaper, and distribute in Botswanawhere the content is relevant. Lack of good quality content Some of the magazines suffer from a lack of quality content in terms of well researched and written articles, good illustrations and graphics, and good magazine layout and design. The presentation of the content, starting with the cover page, is an area that is lacking as the readers have become spoilt over the years due to exposure to good quality printing from competing magazines on the newsstands. Lack of appeal to advertisers The targeted advertisers believe that most magazines produced in Botswana are of low quality as compared to their counterpart from outside the country. That being put aside, the fact that almost all other media approach the same companies for advertising opportunities; it is difficult to settle with an advertisement space in a magazine as compared to other, more popular, media within the country such as radio and television. If however a company had an advertising budget for print media, the company would rather spend it on newspapers as this is more popular than most magazines. Lack of support at the distribution points In most scenarios, magazines are distributed at supermarkets and/or petrol filling stations. These avenues at times are a franchise with the parent company being based in South Africa. Thus these distribution points inherit contracts from the parent companies which allow them to distribute most magazines which are distributed at the parent company. Thus, they reserve space for foreign produced magazines on their newsstands that also appeal to the local audience. This act at times leaves little or no space for Botswana produced magazines. Lack of local celebrities The last but not least challenge is the fact that there are no local celebrities in Botswana. The lack of such leads to a failure to draw the attention of people passing nearby and staring at a newsstand. This is crucial as most times the audience is bombarded with a lot of choices in terms
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of magazines- both locally produced and foreign magazines. Being able to identify something or someone familiar could be the difference between picking and not picking a magazine from a newsstand. But it is said that the media has the power to make a celebrity, thus they could create some local celebrity so as to overcome this issue. Discussion Lack of easy access to information from key offices has led to a lot of difficulty in getting information, which thus led to more time in completing the research. The researched information is of benefit to all and hence should be included in local reports on media. In most cases, statistics in terms of magazine production is covered under one umbrella as print media or as newspapers. This then leads to a lack of statistics in terms of the magazine industry. In terms of the editorial, most consumer magazines in Botswana suffer from a lack of well researched and well written content for the target audience. This is caused by a lack of planning when putting together an editorial team at the beginning or the choice of wrong team members. This shows a lack of a magazine strategy. With the strategy document at hand, a lot of the failure points discussed on this paper would be avoided. The circulation of magazines in Botswana is usually done by the same company, which produced the magazine. This is an extra cost that is usually not factored into the calculations when setting up a magazine. The lack of a door-to-door delivery service by the Botswana Post could have aided the industry as this could have assisted in distribution through subscription. Other third party distribution methods remain available but are still too expensive to be a viable option for now. Another way to overcome this issue and others at the same time would be by the use of media conglomerates to assist in a production of a magazine and other associated services. By forming media conglomerates, magazines would benefit from corporate strengthening and sharing of overheads (Click and Baird, 1983). Advertising in the local magazine still remains the best way to recover the production costs. It is however very difficult for magazines to secure advertisement for their publications as they are competing with other media such as radio, television and worse of all newspaper. This is the case for the magazine industry throughout the world however, it makes it more challenging in the case of Botswana produced magazine as the producers are unable to back up their marketing with statistics from independently conducted research. There is a need for the nation to conduct periodic and independent research on the media such as the ones performed by the Audit Bureau of Circulation in other countries. The research findings are of benefits to the local print magazine, its investors and to the audience at large. According to Sechele (2006), There is a need to step up audience and readership research capacity in Botswana. Conclusion There are no measures to audit the magazines produced in Botswana. Such offices as the Audit Bureau of Circulation do not exist in the country and such a role is meant for the Botswana Post to cover. Thus, there are no statistical figures (such as the ABC figures) about any of the magazines produced within the country. At times the Audit Bureau of Circulation South Africa does capture some information on Botswanas circulation but
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this is on average and does not reflect the magazine industry in Botswana. Research such as the National Readership Surveys and the Quality of Reading Survey should be conducted within Botswana. The future of the magazine industry in Botswana seems bleak. However, Click and Baird (1983) says, Mans need for knowledge, entertainment and ideas assure the magazine industry of survival, probably in a greater variety of formats and forms than now exist. If this is anything to go by, there is still hope for the industry within the country. The research was biased to traditional printed magazines, as this is the dominating type available at the time of research. However, areas for future research include a look into digital magazines, as this is slowly becoming a common trend. Added to this, other areas of future research would be to narrow in on different key areas such as; advertising, advertorial, and circulation, so as to have a deeper understanding of the industry. References Amogelang, E. (2013) Botswana Magazine Publishers Struggling to Make Headway. The Patriot. Angus Stevenson, C. A. L. (2005) New Oxford American Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Botswana, Government of (1999) Botswana Handbook. Government Printers. Click, J. W. & Baird, R. N. (1983) Magazine editing and production. Dubuque, Iowa: W. C. Brown, 1983. 3rd ed. De Beer, A. S. (1998) Mass media, towards the millennium : the South African Handbook of mass communication, Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik, 1998. 2nd ed. Duffy, B. E. and Turow, J. (2009) Key readings in media today : mass communication in contexts. New York : Routledge. Evans, M. R. (2004) The layers of magazine editing. New York: Columbia University Press. Hurman, J. (2013) Magazines may be working. But magazine advertising isn't. New Zealand: Tangible Media Ltd. Industry, M. O. T. A. (2012) Registrar of Companies and Intelectual Property Name Search [Online]. Gaborone: ROCIP. Available: http://www.mtinamesearch.gov.bw/search/ [Accessed 20/09/2013 2013]. Katz, H. E. (2003) The media handbook: a complete guide to advertising media selection, planning, research, and buying. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2nd ed. Kobak, J. B. (2002) How to start a magazine. New York : M. Evans and Co., 2002. McKay, J. (2006) The magazines handbook. London: Routledge, 2006. 2nd ed. O'Connor, K. (2013) Media: As magazines evolve, so should the metrics used to gauge their success. http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid =2&sid=78ded944-a5c1-4fe9-8e5183b0a76fe527%40sessionmgr114&hid=10 2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ% 3d%3d#db=bth&AN=89891899 [Accessed 12/11/2013]. Rinallo, D. and Basuroy, S. (2009) Does Advertising Spending Influence Media Coverage of the Advertiser?. Journal of Marketing, 73: 33-46. Rosengren, S. and Dahln, M. (2013) Judging a Magazine by Its Advertising: Exploring the Effects of Advertising Content on Perceptions of a Media Vehicle. Journal of Advertising Research, 53: 61-70.
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Sechele, S. T. (2006) Botswana: Research Findings and Conclusions. London: BBC World Service Trust. Williams, T. A. (2004). Publish Your Own Magazine, Guidebook, or Weekly Newspaper: How to start, manage, and profit from your own homebased publishing company, USA, Sentient Publications.
About the Author Martha Mosha is a lecturer at the Media Studies Department, Faculty of Humanities, University of Botswana. She holds a Masters degree in Design Science (Digital Media) from the University of Sydney (Australia). Digital media includes area such as video production, compositing, graphics design, animation and sound design for visual media. A first degree from the University of Botswana- Bachelor of Design (D&T Education) enables her to be a teaching instructor. Her experience is in the following areas; graphics design, digital video production, project management and training within the area of media production. Her interests are mainly in digital postproduction. Email: martha.mosha@mopipi.ub.bw
Suggested citation Mosha, M. (2014) The Local Print Magazine Industry in Botswana. In Rooney, R. ed. The Botswana Media Studies Papers. Gaborone, Department of Media Studies, University of Botswana.
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Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Development in Botswana: An Analysis of the Perspectives of the Beneficiaries
Divya Nair
Abstract The paper aims at understanding the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and community development in Botswana. In the extant literature there is very little discussion on the impact of CSR on stakeholders, particularly in the context of Botswana. The literature shows that there is a need to develop a proper conceptual framework that would make the risks and benefits tangible and visible to the various stakeholders. The concept of CSR has developed enormously since its inception half a century ago and encompasses philanthropy, community development and legal and ethical issues besides economic responsibilities. But economic responsibilities of businesses are considered to be dominant in the African context. This study based on fieldwork in Botswana analyses the role played by grant managing institutions in delivering CSR and the perspectives of the beneficiaries in this respect. The study highlights the various challenges posed by the inadequate capacity of the grant managing institutions and the poor networking among the various nongovernmental organizations. Hence it leaves a negative impression about CSR on beneficiaries. A majority of the respondents believes that businesses engage in CSR for reputation management and that they are the least concerned to facilitate local economic development. Three quarters of the beneficiaries strongly feel that CSR should aim at funding towards sustainable income generating programmes besides other areas. The Botswana case necessitates the development of strong networks between the fund granting institutions, fund managing institutions and the beneficiaries. Key words: beneficiaries, Botswana, corporate social responsibility, perspectives, stakeholders Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility is a much debated concept which evolved through half a decade acquiring different connotations at different points in time. The extant literature is focused largely on the supply side. The origin of the concept of social responsibility, the different objectives adopted by firms in discharging social responsibility and the types and
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structure of delivery have also attracted considerable scholarly attention. Similarly much of the discussion has been centered on North America and Western Europe. But a perusal of the literature clearly shows two things. First, there is very little discussion of the impact of social responsibility on stakeholders, particularly in the context of community development. Secondly and more importantly, African economies rarely figure in these discussions. The objective of this paper is to focus on the perspectives of the stakeholders who benefit from the socially responsible project of firms and enterprises in Botswana, a middle income land locked Southern African nation. The reminder of the paper is organized as follows: We start with a brief literature review of the participation of businesses in community development projects with varying objectives. It is followed by a brief discussion of the economy of Botswana and the nature of socially responsible spending of businesses. In the next section, we briefly outline the methodology of our study which is followed by a discussion of the perspectives of beneficiaries of CSR in local community development in Botswana. In the concluding section the major findings are reported. Overview of Literature Academic discussion on the social responsibilities of business firms started at least half a century ago. It encompasses the economic, legal and ethical expectations of society from businesses (Carroll, 1979). A very detailed and critical review of the evolution of the concept with its varied dimensions is available in de Bakker et al. (2005). Whetten et al. (2002) view CSR as expectations of the stakeholders from businesses. Another view considers CSR as an empirical concept that relates to business ethics, sustainable development, corporate philanthropy and organizational citizenship (de Bakker et al., 2005). A third view concerns modeling and measurement of social responsibility in terms of performance (Matten, et al., 2003). The first view regarding the expectations of the stakeholders from businesses is intimately related to community development and the perspectives of the beneficiaries regarding the delivery of the CSR related to it. The literature in this field describes several major goals of business social responsibility (Boehm, 2005). Among these, a major stream of thought deals with attempts of businesses to address social problems and promote the welfare of the community. Thus businesses sponsor social welfare projects, make donations of equipment, seek civic partnership I projects and donate funds without being tied to any specific projects (Boehm, 2005). Sometimes employees of businesses provide training and education to the elderly and the youths (Googins, 2002). In recent years, there has been a greater deepening of partnership between business and community (Zadek, 2002). Such participation sometimes involves the risk of pursuing narrow interests by the businesses leading to a negative stakeholder perspective (Hamman, et al., 2003). This necessitates the development of a proper conceptual framework based on transparency so that the benefits and risks become tangible and visible to the various stakeholders (Boehm, 2005). These stakeholders often emerge around a shared interest to cope with common problems together and solve them (Hess et. al., 2002). Of late, one finds an increasing role of the civil society in local development issues on the support of businesses (Baker, 2002). Authors like Porter go even to the extent of arguing that
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firms should establish clear linkages with the community in which they operate to gain competitive advantages as well (Porter,1995). But he is quick to point out that such goals can lead the community to not only prosperity, but also to failure (Porter and Kramer, 2002). It is in this context that the perspectives of the beneficiaries assume importance. The success or failure of community development programmes initiated by business enterprises depends not only on the self assessment of the enterprises themselves, but also more crucially on the opinions and attitudes of the beneficiaries. Studies relating to this aspect of CSR are generally rare. The modest objective of the present paper is to fill this gap to a limited extend using a case study of beneficiary perspectives in Botswana. CSR as a concept and practice was born in the industrialized West and nurtured also there. Some of the emerging developing countries are fast catching up with CSR. But, one finds only a few efforts in African continent in this direction. The available few studies are in the context of South Africa. The available limited literature indicates that the economic responsibilities are found to be a more serious concern of businesses than philanthropy or legal or environmental or ethical considerations (Eweje, 2006; Phillips, 2006; Amaeshi et al., 2006; and Hamann, 2004). The only study that was found focusing on Botswana was Lindgreen, et al. (2009). This study highlights that the corporate decision makers in Botswana are reluctant to engage with wider CSR activities such as philanthropy and positive environmental practices as they are not convinced of clear positive benefits from those. A study of the perspectives of the stakeholders will nevertheless be of greater interest particularly in the context of the nonaltruistic and to some extent pessimistic views of the businesses in Botswana. Economy of Botswana Botswana, a land locked country in Southern Africa, is one of the most well governed countries in Africa with a stable democracy and prudent fiscal management (Acemoglu et al., 2003; Curry, Jr., 1987). It has recorded a sustained long term growth rate of nearly 7 percent per annum over a fairly long period of time. In recent years, the annual compound growth rate has decelerated to less than 5 percent. The structure of the economy is dominated by incomes from minerals and related activities accounting for about 32 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The next largest contributor to GDP is the Government with a share of 18 percent followed by financial and business services (13 percent) and trade and commerce (11 percent). The tiny manufacturing sector contributes only 4 percent to GDP. The population of the country is a little above 2 million. Except the state dominated mining and meat producing industries, most of the enterprises are small in size without showing any significant signs of economic diversification. Though Botswana is a middle income developing country, the poverty rate and unemployment rate in the country are 23 percent and 24 percent respectively. The corporate culture is relatively new in the country and hence CSR is still in its inception. The business enterprises in Botswana seek to align its CSR practices with the Millennium Development Goals and Vision 2016 of the country. The key areas that CSR endeavours to reach out are poverty, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability and global partnerships. Partnering with local
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communities with respect to the above has been the goal of some of the enterprises. Methodology The study is based on primary data collected using structured questionnaires and focus group interviews / discussions carried out in 2009. Data collection was confined to Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana and Mochudi, one of the largest villages on the outskirts of Gaborone. A two stage sampling procedure was adopted to collect the necessary data concerning the perspectives of the beneficiaries and stakeholders. The first stage is constituted by the major grant managing institutions/voluntary organizations in the country such as Stepping Stones, University of Botswana, SOS Childrens Village, F.G. Mogae Scholarship Fund, Somarelang Tikologo, The Backyard Garden Initiative, and Charity Begins at Work. The next stage consists of individual beneficiaries. A list of beneficiaries was collected from the above mentioned grand managing institutions and 25 percent of the beneficiaries that work out to 94 were selected at random for data collection. The beneficiaries consisted mainly of orphans and other vulnerable students, University graduates, University students, primary and secondary school students, and HIV patients. The 94 respondents were selected on the basis of their proportion in the population of the study. Separate questionnaires were administered for grant managing institutions and beneficiaries as the role of these actors are different in the execution of CSR. Discussion All the grant managing regularly receive funds from and corporate institutions, quantum of funds received institution to institution which depend on a number of factors such as the reputation of the institutions, their size, coverage of area of operations, capacity to handle specific amounts of funding, project management capacity and more importantly fund raising capacity. The funds received were for the following purposes: buying uniforms, books, writing materials, mid-day meals etc. for children in primary and secondary schools, educational scholarships for students at tertiary educational institutions, infrastructural development, counseling HIV/AIDs patients, creating jobs for the poor, providing support to destitute children and the aged. These institutions, however, do not have any scientific method to identify the potential beneficiaries, as the use of such methods is far too expensive. Hence they rely mostly on media, opinion makers in the community, civil society organizations and faith based institutions such as churches and other religious organizations. The major challenges faced by these institutions whose activities play a key role in opinion making among the beneficiaries have been identified are as follows: Inadequate capacity of the institutions. Most organizations have problems in managing the resources and also for accounting for the used funds due to lack of skilled personnel and also due to lack of adequate commitment. This often gives room to the beneficiaries for construing the intentions of the institutions as malafide. Furthermore, some of the institutions do not submit an evaluation report to the funding organizations and hence there is no way to gauge precisely the impact of funding on the targeted community. Another challenge is lack of networking among the various non-governmental organizations who are involved in using the funds provided by businesses towards
institutions commercial though the vary from
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fulfilling their CSR. As the funds provided for community development activities are often inadequate and available in small amounts, the lack of coordination and networking among the institutions end up in making sharing of best corporate social responsibility practices difficult. Similarly, each organization uses parts of the funds that are directed towards the same kind of community development tasks, for financing their own infrastructural developments and recurring expenditure. This results in a thin spread of the scarce resources across various organizations for more or less similar tasks which could have been avoided, had there been proper networking and coordination among the NGOs. Consequently the resources that really reach the beneficiaries get considerably reduced leaving the task at hand unfinished and leaving a negative impression on the beneficiaries. Thus not only the CSR practices of the businesses, but also the nature of functioning of the grant-using institutions play a role in shaping the perspectives of the beneficiaries. At the end of the day, the ultimate effectiveness of CSR is determined by the perspectives of the beneficiaries. Of the 94 respondents, 77 percent were of the opinion that they are not satisfied with the quantity and quality of the community development activities undertaken by the businesses. The question on why the businesses engage in CSR has elicited the following responses from the beneficiaries on a five point scale.
Table 1: Beneficiary Response to CSR Motivations

Reason 1 38 (40.4) 34 (36.2) 2 55 (58.5) 43 (45.7) 3 8 (8.5) 4 5 1 (1.1) 9 (9.6) Total 94 94
Plough-back to communities For Competitive advantage in the market For Social Change Reputation Damage Control Local Economic Development
42 (44.7) 73 (77.7) 33 (35.1)
41 (43.6) 19 (20.2) 25 (26.6)
11 (11.7) -
2 (2.1) 6 (6.4)
94 94
15 (16.0)
15 (16.0)
94
Note: Figures in brackets indicate percentages. Column headings in the table from 1 to 5 indicate various levels of agreement with 1 has the highest value and 5 the lowest value. From the table it appears that the impression of the beneficiaries is that the businesses resort to CSR largely for the damage control of their reputation in the community. 78 percent of the beneficiaries strongly agree to this. Next to this is the impression that businesses spend money for social change in the community. This opinion is given strong support by 45 percent of the respondents. This is closely followed by the perspective (40.4) that businesses care to plough back some amount of the money that they earn from the society through CSR. More than a third of the respondents have the impression that
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CSR is practiced mainly for the competitive advantage of the enterprises. Roughly one third of the opinion is that local economic development is a strong motive behind CSR. A concise measure of the perspectives of the beneficiaries can be obtained, if a principal component analysis is carried out. This will help us to determine the extent to which the different variables that are related can be grouped together so that they can be treated as one combined variable or factor rather than a series of separate variables. The next step in this study will be the estimation of the varimax factors that substantially determine the total variance. The beneficiaries also suggested ways in which the real delivery of CSR could be effective. Table 2 gives the opinions of the beneficiaries on a five point scale as in the case of Table 1.
Table 2: Areas for Improvement According to Beneficiaries

Areas for Improvement Coordinated CSR activities Consultative need Assessment with Implementers More Support Towards Long Term Programmes Mainstreaming of CSR in Sponsors Corporate Strategy Forging International Linkage Funding Towards Sustainable Income Generating Programmes 1 12 (12.8) 10 (10.6) 2 25 (26.6) 15 (16) 3 4 5 No Opinion 57 (60.6) 69 (73.4)
43 (45.7)
25 (26.6)
5 (5.3)
21 (22.3)
8 (8.5)
14 (14.9)
72 (76.6)
15 (16) 78 (83)
79 (84) -
16 (17)
Note: Figures in the brackets indicate percentage to total The chief need of the beneficiaries as it appears from table 2 is CSR directed towards income generating activities. The beneficiaries also want these activities to be on a long term basis implying that short term support will not have a sustained impact on the beneficiaries. The other areas of improvement shown in the table seem to be beyond the comprehension of a majority of beneficiaries. These results corroborate the finding of the Lindgreen et al. (2009) study which states that rather than philanthropy, the major theme of the responses from Botswana managers was
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the importance of the economic role of business. A principal component analysis is likely to come up with a clearer understanding of suggestions by beneficiaries of the areas of improvement. Conclusion The present study made an attempt to analyse the role grant managing institutions play in delivering CSR and to measure the perspectives of the beneficiaries with respect to CSR. It has been pointed out that Botswana is a country characterised by low levels of industrialization and hence low intensity of CSR practices by firms. The NGOs that act as the intermediaries between the actual beneficiaries and the businesses are often inexperienced and do not possess adequate skills or capacity to deliver the goods. The beneficiaries though have a perspective that is positive on the CSR of firms, still nurture a predominantly negative impression about the motive of CSR. A clear reading of these indicates that there is a lack of coordination and networking between the fund granting businesses, fund managing institutions and the beneficiaries. A fuller appreciation of CSR in the Botswana context is made possible only by developing strong networks between these three actors. The literature in the area of CSR is not very eloquent on this aspect. Hence the major, though modest contribution of this study is the realization that further studies on these lines are required to have a fuller understanding of the impact of CSR. References Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S. and Robinson, J. (2003) An African Success Story: Botswana. In Rodrik, D. Ed. In Search of Prosperity: Analytic Narratives in Economic Growth, Princeton: Princeton University Press. Amaeshi, K.B., C., Ogbechie, A. C., and Amao, O. (2006) Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria: Western Mimicry or Indigenous Influences, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 24:8399. Baker, G. (2002) Civil Society and Democratic Theory: Alternative Voices, New York: Routledge. Boehm, A. (2005) The Participation of Business in Community Decision Making, Business & Society, 44:144-177. Carroll, A. B. (1979) A Three Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Social Performance, Academy of Management Review, 4:497-505. Curry, Jr. R. L. (1987) Botswanas Macroeconomic Management of Its Mineral-Based Growth, American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 46:473-488. De Bakker, F., Groenewegen, P., and Hond, F. (2005) A Bibliometric Analysis of 30 years of Research and Theory on Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Performance, Business & Society, 44:283-317. Eweje, G. (2006) The Role of MNEs in Community Development Initiatives in Developing Countries: Corporate Social Responsibility at work in Nigeria and South Africa, Business and Society, 45:93-129. Googins, B. (2002) The Journey Towards Corporate Citizenship in the United States, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 5:85-101. Hamann, R. (2004) Corporate Social Responsibility, Partnerships, and Institutional change: The Case of Mining Companies in South Africa, Natural Resources Forum, 28:278-290. Hamman, R., Acutt, N. and Kapeluse, P. (2003) Responsibility versus Accountability? Integrating the World Summit on Sustainable Development for a Synthesis Model of Corporate
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Citizenship, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 9:32-48. Hess, D., Rogovsky, N. and Dunfee, T. W. (2002) The Next Wave of Corporate Community Involvement: Corporate Social Initiatives, California Management Review, 44:110-125. Lindgreen, A., Swaen, V. and Campbell, T.T. (2009) Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in Developing and Transitional Countries: Botswana and Malawi, Journal of Business Ethics, 90:429-440. Matten , D., Crane A. and Chapple, W. (2003) Behind the Mask: Revealing the True Face of Corporate Citizenship, Journal of Business Ethics, 45 (1-2):109120. Phillips, F. (2006) Corporate Social Responsibility in African Context, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 24:2327. Porter, M. E. (1995) The Competitive advantage of the Inner City, Harvard Business Review, 73:55-71. Porter, M. E. and Kramer, M. R. (2002) The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy, Harvard Business Review, 80: 56-68. Whetten, D. A., Rands, G. and Godfrey, P. (2002) What are the Responsibilities of Business to Society? Iin Pettigrew, A., Thomas, H., and R. Whittington, R, eds. Handbook of Strategy and Management, London: Sage. Zadek, S. (2002) Partnership Alchemy: Engagement, Innovation and Governance. In Andriof, J. And McIntosh, M. Eds. Perspectives of Corporate Citizenship, London: Greenleaf.
About the author Divya Nair holds a Masters degree in Communications from the Bangalore University, India. She has worked with the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Gaborone, and currently the University of Botswana in Gaborone as a lecturer in the Department of Media Studies. Her major area of research interest is the role of public relations in Corporate Social Responsibility and economic development. E-mail: sdivyanair@gmail.com
Suggested citation Nair, D. (2014) Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Development in Botswana: An Analysis of the Perspectives of the Beneficiaries. In Rooney, R. ed. The Botswana Media Studies Papers. Gaborone, Department of Media Studies, University of Botswana.
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The juxtaposition between media literacy and democracy

Penelope Kakhobwe
Abstract This paper proposes that there is a correlation which exists when it comes to media literacy democracy and development. The paper makes a case for media literacy for all and not just high school children but all sectors of society through cooperation with various nongovernmental organisations in the field. The paper starts off by tracing the history of Malawi under the rule of the dictatorship of president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda and the various legal constraints that still exist in Malawi despite being a democratic state and shows that it is the norm in African countries for media personnel to suffer persecution for their views. Key words: Malawi, media literacy, Habermas, public sphere Introduction When African countries underwent the second wave of democracy in the late 1990s, one area was ignored: that of media literacy. The second wave of democracy consisted of getting rid of dictators such as Hastings Kamuzu Banda in Malawi. The new political parties decided to ignore public media literacy and perpetuated the system of keeping the masses ignorant of their performance. We cannot blame them as they inherited the British system of government where the native was not part of the target audience for media but was kept out of it due to issues of literacy and ability to speak the Queens language, English. But this is 2013, the dawn of a new era and we cannot ignore the juxtaposition of media literacy with democracy and the creation of a public sphere. When African countries democratized they were more focused on educating people on what democracy was but how can you have democracy with an ignorant public? We had gender activist taking their agenda to the masses and advocating for the rights of women of course in some instance where this was not communicated adequately most women thought that it meant that they could talk back to their husbands and refuse them sex and house chores. This was what I would call miscommunication on the part of gender activists and some today are trying to right this wrong. We go to Malawi my country where it was totally no press freedom. What is press freedom? It means journalists must
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have the ability to report news that they feel is newsworthy to his audience. Since the late 1990s, many African governments have adopted democracy as a form of government. Democracy is a system for arriving at collective decisions through the participation of interested parties (Keane, 1991:168). For democracy to prevail in a country there is need for is a place where people discuss matters of public interest which Habermas has called a public sphere (Eley, 1996:298; Curran, 2002:3). It provides an ordered structure which allows for democratic discourse and is there to provide a forum for information, critical debate and scrutiny (Merrill et al, 2001: xxii). The public sphere works as a model in setting up of an arena that is inclusive of diverse critical views from a wide range of people. Press freedom is a prerequisite for the media to perform the above functions. Freedom of the press is an indispensable element in democracy and the attainment of truth (Lichtenberg, 1990:102). Press freedom is simply the absence of any form of pre-publication censorship or any requirement for a license or permission to publish (McQuail, 1992:36). It is the freedom to cover and report whatever the majority of people want to know (Weaver in Ogbondah, 1994:12). However, many African governments despite having democratic systems of government have not embraced the press freedom concept. As such there is freedom in principle through new laws but no practice or respect for it (Nyamnjoh, 2005:70; Ogbondah, 2002:63). Most African governments have failed to liberalize press laws (Berger, 1999:16; Ogbondah, 2002:55). This state of affairs holds true for Malawi. Media environment in Malawi When Malawi adapted a democratic system of government, in 1993 it was assumed that press freedom would flourish as one of the tenets of democracy is press freedom (Norris and Inglehart, 2008:4). The lack of respect for press freedom and disdain for journalism can be traced back to the rule of the first President, Ngwazi Kamuzu Banda. Malawi was declared a republic in 1966 after attaining self-rule from British colonial rule in 1964 (Crosby, 1993:xxxiv). It became a one-party state in 1966 with multi-party politics banned for more than thirty years. The government set up the Censorship Board in 1968 (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:1; Mapulanga, 2008:1). The Board monitored all literary material including newspapers. President Banda viewed all non-fiction writing suspiciously, believing it to be a disguise for free-lance journalism (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:182). There was only one daily newspaper; The Daily Times and its sister weekend newspaper Malawi News. Both were owned by Banda through his company Blantyre Print and Packaging Company. These newspapers carried very little by way of reference to current events in Malawi (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:25). Journalists under this regime experienced harassment and detention; methods which according to Ogbondah (1994); Tettey (2001) and Nyamnjoh (2005) are prevalent in Africa. The new constitution in Malawi came into effect after the first democratic elections in 1992. Section 35 of the Malawi constitution states that: every person shall have the right to freedom of expression while Section 36 recognizes press freedom and states the press has the right to report and publish freely, within Malawi and abroad (Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, 1994). However,
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restrictive media laws still remain on the books. Legislation such as the Official Secrets and Emblems Act, 1913, the Printed Publications Act, 1947 and the Censorship and Control of Entertainments Act, 1968 which restrict press freedom is still part of media regulation in Malawi (KAS, 2003:14). Norris and Inglehart (2008:2) are of the view that such restrictive media environments manipulate public opinion. Democracy was adapted as a concept without the mechanisms for fair participation (Eribo and Jong-Ebot, 1997:xiii). Censorship policies that impact traditional media have not been formulated in some countries for the Internet. Traditional media especially radio and newspapers in most African countries are the most extensive vehicles for journalism hence the stringent restrictions to them as compared to on-line media (Berger, 2007:6). Due to the limited reach in most African countries, it is posited that governments are not bothered by the internet (Berger, 2007:7). Malawi drafted the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) policy in 2003 and to date, it still remains a draft (Malawi ICT Policy Draft, 2003). The laidback approach towards the internet by government in Malawi has affected connectivity in that only of 0.8 per 100 people of the population has access to the internet (World Bank, 2006). Given these low internet access rates, government might view on-line publications as having little impact in Malawi. However it is pointed out that people in Africa are not wholly cut off from the internet as word of mouth plays a major part in passing on information (Nyamnjoh, 2005:205). This act of word of mouth also contributes to the public sphere through the sharing of information that people might read on the internet with their families and neighbours. For Frankfurt School theorists, individuality was important for the development of individual ideas and thoughts. The cultural industry which had been corrupted by capitalism defined the way that people were to think of the world thereby leading to conformity rather than critical thought (Bennett, 1982:43). Through this homogeneity, social authority was maintained. Habermas argued along the Frankfurt School lines. He noted that the public sphere declined when the media; newspapers and magazines gradually achieved mass circulation and became linked to capitalist corporations (Finlayson, 2005:13; Calhoun, 1992:21). This led to re-feudalization as the media fell under the control of advertising, big corporations and politics (Curran, 2002:33-34). In this respect the media now operated in the private interests of a few individuals. Public opinion now lay in the hands of the elite who could manipulate it to their preference (Kellner, 2001). The media promoted a culture of passive consumption thereby brainwashing the masses by directing their focus to less important things such as lifestyle as compared to critical issues such as corruption and social ills. The public sphere was transformed from a sphere of rational debate into one of manipulative consumption and passivity leading to citizens becoming spectators of media presentations (Kellner, 2001). Criticisms of the Public Sphere Although the concept of the public sphere has helped develop a model of public debate and civil society, there are a number of criticisms of the concept. Garnham (1996:360) and Fraser (1992:115) note that Habermas idealizes the bourgeois public sphere. Both authors agree that Habermas ignored the other public spheres that existed and focused on
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the bourgeois public sphere. Habermas public sphere was dominated by white, property-owning males (Kellner, 2001). There were other alternative public spheres such as pubs, various societies and clubs that were ignored by Habermas. Plebeian public spheres were not taken note of by Habermas which also had significance in the development of society (Kellner, 2001). Habermas also failed to recognize public spheres made up by women who had their own clubs and groups (Fraser, 1992:115; Dahlgren, 1995:10). Habermas public sphere was not democratic. It excluded women. It was not egalitarian in nature as it required property to participate in the public sphere (Finlayson, 2005:12; Garnham, 1996:360). The requirement of money automatically excluded many people from the public sphere realm. According to Keane (2000:84), Habermas concept of the public sphere is inadequate as there can be a range of public spheres where people discuss issues and contribute to democracy. Various public spheres should exist where people can discuss issues based on their common interests and none of these spheres should enjoy a monopoly. Keane (2000:77) identifies these as the micro, meso and macro public spheres. Habermas public sphere concept embraced some ideals of democracy. It respected freedom of speech and assembly, free participation and rational debate. It however had some short comings. Democracy is about participation regardless of class or gender. It is also assumed that because Habermas insisted on terms such as rational reason and critical debate that this was what happened in the coffee houses. Far from the public sphere being about civility and intellectual debate about the state of society and social ills, it was a place where capitalists discussed ways how to make a quick profit (Garnham, 1996:360). Habermas criticized the rise of the mass media while ignoring that the mass media brought information to many people. The media also helped in the democratic process by scrutinizing the deeds of public officials and bringing to the fore peoples problems. Habermas ignored the empowering consequences of the introduction of mass democracy and mass media (Curran, 2002:45). The argument of the Frankfurt School on the decline of the media based on the role of corporate ownership and advertising in the media ignored that these two elements led to the enlargement of the public sphere. Advertising covered the costs of production of media products making them more affordable to the general population. Despite the criticisms of Habermas, the concept of the public sphere cannot be separated from the historical aspects that led to its creation. The Bourgeois public sphere is typical of an epoch and cannot be abstracted from the unique developmental history of that 'civil society' of the European high Middle Ages; nor can it be transferred, ideal typically generalized, to any number of historical situations that represent similar constellations (Calhoun, 1992:6). The model of the public sphere is there to help elucidate how society shifted from the authority of the church and developed a space in which rational critical debate could take place in a neutral space. The emergence of the public sphere marked the beginning of the participation by ordinary people in determining the destiny of their societies (Kellner, 2001). Although the public sphere developed out of the need of the bourgeois to discuss issues of trade, it did create a space where people could debate matters and a space for civil society (Calhoun, 1992:7). This was a move
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towards modern society and democracy. The public sphere works as a model in setting up an arena that is inclusive of diverse critical views from a wide range of people. The public sphere as conceived by Habermas might not work for all societies as discursive practices are different in societies. The key concepts of public interest, rational debate and tolerance are some of the principles that should be taken into consideration especially in a democratic society. The Public Sphere and the Media The public sphere embraces the concept of debate on issues of public interest. The media through providing the public with information and knowledge it needs to make informed critical decisions fulfils this function. The media provides a realm where people can express their views and also reach consensus on issues that affect them. The media has been very critical in Africa in creating change. During the first wave of democratization which was the fight for nationalism, the media created a discursive realm where new discourses of nationalism could be discussed (Hyden and Okigbo, 2002:35). The media is an institution that enables the formation of some form of discourse in society for the practice of rational and critical thought. Hyden and Okigbo (2002:35) note that the media gave the nationalists leaders a platform through which they could discuss the common issue of freedom. This discursive realm provided a civic sphere where people could discuss matters of general interest. The media also provides a public space for people through the formation of public opinion. Dahlgren (1995:8) notes that it is the active reasoning of the public that forms the public sphere. The more variety of media present in a country, the more it is believed that there is a market place of ideas. Although the media is supposed to be widely accessible to people, challenges such as poverty play a role in limiting the accessibility of the media to many people. The political economy affects the media and the quality of information in circulation in the public sphere. Lately, with deregulation, privatization and globalization trends around the world, the media has focused more on infotainment stories for circulation and advertising purposes (Berger, 1991:10). People are now regarded as audience figures and not citizens. There has been less focus on investigative journalism that exposes societal ills and government corruption (Berger, 1999:11). Habermas and the Frankfurt Schools criticism of the cultural industry as being corrupted by big business is still relevant today. This is because the media has lost sight of its role of providing citizens with critical information and has assumed the role of being a distraction from every day realities. The public sphere is not only about open and critical debate, it is also about the type and quality of information that is circulated in the public domain (Habermas, 2006:168). The quality of debate is important. The media has also been accused of being influenced by elites and ideology in their presentation of information (Carey, 1993:16). The media in Africa after independence was used mostly for nation building and development agendas. It was seen as a tool for modernization (Hyden and Leslie, 2002:2). It was used as a force for change. The media in Africa was also used as the government parrot. It had to report party activities and the speeches of political leaders (Hyden and Leslie, 2002:10). In Malawi, mostly through radio it was used as a cultural multiplier.
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Media and Democracy The concept of democracy as a form of government goes back to the Greek philosophers (Huntington, 1991:5). Democracy is a system for arriving at collective decisions through the participation of interested parties (Keane, 1991:168). Democracy is built on the liberal tradition of thought; it embraces concepts such as a market place of ideas, the reliance on individual reasoning and natural rights such as freedom of religion, speech and the press (Siebert, 1978:44). The two important roles of the media in a democratic society include shaping public opinion through informing the electorate on whom to vote for and being the watch dog of government or the fourth estate. Information about elections in the media ensures that citizens make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation (Center for Democracy and Governance, 1999:3). The media in Africa has played a crucial role in the democratic process. The media has been part of the force of change by playing a pro-active role in the transition from colonialism to nationalism (Hyden and Okigbo, 2002:48). It helped accelerate the pace of democratic reforms in many African countries in the 1990's (Tettey, 2001:5). It also helped shape and define democracy in Africa. This was through offering critical information that challenged the authority of autocratic rule. Democracy furthermore embraces the principle of rational and critical debate (Dahlgren, 1995:4). Habermas (2006:168) notes that for public opinion to be formed there is a need for an arena for open debate shaped by the quality, availability and communication of information. The media helps form collective debate in a democracy as it creates a space for engagement. Democracy follows the utilitarian principle believing that the more views there are the more one is likely to get to the truth as people discuss issues (Siebert, 1978:46). The only way to get to the truth is through inclusive debate. The media helps reconstitute private individuals as a public body that can form public opinion. The media in a democracy therefore facilitates the functioning of society through acting as a two-way channel of communication and influence between government and the governed (Curran, 1991:126). The media consequently has to be representative of diverse views, opinions and ethnic groups in a country for it to contribute fully to the functioning of democracy as democracy needs multiple and alternative public spheres (Dahlgren, 2001:39). Media plurality is one way that ensures that various groups of people in the country are represented. However the media can only pursue democratic values against the background of the social political and economic environment in which they operate (Gurevitch and Blumer, 1990:272). Government policy and regulation is what determines the plurality of the media in a country. As indicated earlier, the media in a democracy is a watchdog or the fourth estate of government. Democracy embraces the ideals of accountability of authorities, the rule of law and mechanisms for checks against abuse (Berger, 1999:2). The media acts as the publics eyes and ears through actions such as investigative reporting. The media ensures that state power is not abused by keeping a watchful eye over government activities and ensuring that irregularities are exposed. The media ensures that representatives uphold their oaths and carry out their mandates (Center for Democracy and Governance, 1999:3).
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Press Freedom and Democracy Press freedom in Africa is a new concept that many leaders have failed to grasp. The leaders were used to African medias role as a tool for development agendas and nationalism (Faringer, 1991:x; Ogbondah, 1994:7). Democratic principles based on the theory of utilitarianism view state censorship as contrary to the principle of the maximizing the happiness of the governed (Keane, 1991:5). The media has to be independent from due influence from any quarter whether economic or political in a democracy (Ogbondah, 1994:10). For media to be a watchdog of government, access to information is an important precondition. There must therefore exist in a democracy an environment of press freedom. Press freedom is the absence of prior government censorship; the freedom to cover and report whatever the majority of people want to know, the absence of any requirement for a licence or permission to publish (Weaver in Ogbondah, 1994:12; McQuail1992:36). Press freedom is associated also with editorial independence. The Windhoek Declaration of 1991 states that editorial independence is the freedom of the media to decide what constitutes news (Minnie, 1999:12). The Windhoek Declaration describes an independent press as one being free from governmental, political or economic control. Editorial independence is important to the media as it ensures that the media reports issues to the fullest. Restrictive media environments manipulate public opinion (Norris and Inglehart, 2008:2). Press freedom contributes to the process of democratization as it allows for unrestricted access to information therefore enabling people to analyze society. A restricted press indicates the state of democracy in a country as the state of the media in a democracy is seen as the reflection of society (Curran, 1991:119). As democracy is entwined with the values of citizenship, it is important that people have access to information. Free flow of relevant information and ideas is important for the public sphere (Dahlgren, 2001:33). Constraints to Press Freedom The current state of the media in most African countries owes most of its legacy in part to the colonial period. The media in most African countries was introduced during the colonial period by colonising countries such as Britain and France. The press in Africa was mostly publications owned or operated by officials of the colonial government (Wilcox, 1975:1). It was mainly a vehicle for the preservation of the political status quo which was that of the colonisers. It was used to inform the settlers of news and information of promotions, transfers and propaganda emphasising the positive aspects of colonial rule and African welfare (Wilcox, 1975:2; Nyamnjoh, 2005: 40). As such, the African native was not included in the initial press category. Restrictive laws based on adaptations of obsolete eighteenth-century laws of the press in England were also passed in many British colonies (Wilcox, 1975:6). These included the requirement that newspapers be registered or licensed as a precondition to their lawful publication (Martin, 1998: 64). When the winds of nationalism blew across the African continent in the 1960's, most nationalist movements in Africa such as the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) in Malawi started their own publications to help in the fight for independence. The press during this time played an important role in ideological mobilization and advocating for national unity and development (Faringer, 1991:x). Such publications were mostly frowned upon by
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the colonial government. The political environment during colonialism did not encourage democracy (Eribo and JongEbot, 1997:xii). Colonialism, by its nature was the antithesis of democracy (Martin, 1998:63). The colonial administrators thought a press of any kind was dangerous in the hands of barbaric Africans and a critical nationalist press was particularly dangerous (Wilcox, 1975:5; Nyamnjoh, 2005:40). Colonisers were reluctant to allow freedom of expression among the colonised for fear they would use that freedom to be critical of colonialism (Martin, 1998:63). This attitude towards media by the colonisers shaped and still continues to shape the perceptions of most African leaders. After independence, the new nationalist leaders inherited the structures left by the colonial governments with no overhaul of the system taking place (Wilcox, 1975:12). Martin (1998:66) notes when nationalist leaders took over from the colonial state, African selfgovernment was in essence colonial administration by Africans. It was no surprise then the new African rulers practised the dictatorship of their colonial masters and not democracy (Eribo and Jong- Ebot, 1997:xiii). All individuals were expected to support the government and its efforts for the building of the new independent states. As such alternative views were suppressed with no vibrant public sphere. Free expression was viewed as a determent to the demands of development (Martin, 1998:69). However, it has been shown that free expression is vital for the formation to civil society and public opinion in a democracy (ONeil, 1998:1). As such the media is one area that should have free expression in terms of press freedom. Press freedom is essential for fair participation in democracy. One of the greatest threats to media freedom is the failure by government to liberalize press laws (Berger, 1999:16; Ogbondah, 2002:55). Robust and critical media is frowned upon as African leaders have seen the role the media can play in bringing about change vis-a-vis the second wave of democratization across the continent in the 1990s. The press was at the forefront in the fight for change. The fight for change did not end with the emergence of democracy. Over the years the media has played a primary role in the probing of government policies and behaviour (Hyden and Leslie 2002:12). It is for this reason that most African governments dislike media freedom. Most African governments are reluctant to pass legislation that is suitable for a free press. They instead choose to hold on to colonial legislation that protects the offices of those in power as way to maintain power and control over the citizenry (Nyamnjoh, 2005:160; Tettey, 2000:17). Some of the laws that infringe on press freedom deal with access to information, libel laws, insult laws, obscenity and security laws (Tettey, 2002:18; Ogbondah, 1994:10). There are other ways in which government can infringe on press freedom. From a political economy angle, government as the biggest advertiser in many African countries usually rewards less critical media with advertising while withholding advertising from critical media (Louw, 2004:84; Tettey, 2002:17). This practice leads to self-censorship in the media. Government is not the only player that affects editorial independence. Donors, owners as well as corporations or big business all affect editorial independence (Berger, 1999:18; Louw, 2004:80). Besides legislation, African media has to contend with various forms of suppression of information. Some of the methods commonly used in many African countries include physical harassment of
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journalists, seizure of newspapers and equipment, closure of and suspension of media houses and detention of journalists (Ogbondah, 1994:13; Tettey, 2001:11; Nyamnjoh, 2005:173). It should however be pointed out that government is not the only player weary of press freedom. Government is the most critical actor as it enacts legislation and sets the operational climate for the media. However Blake (1997 in Nyamnjoh 2005:269) offers a solution for ensuring Africas media plays its watchdog role in society. Blake notes that the formulation of legislation should not be left to government only as it tends to favour its agendas in drawing up press laws. He calls for participation of all sectors of society such as universities, the church, the private media and civil society in the formulation of media policy that encompasses press freedom. Such a policy would ensure that the media is self-regulated; embracing democratic principles. It would also encourage the emergence of alternative media in the form of community media which would lead to participation by people at grassroots levels. It is yet to be seen if governments can accept such a principle. It is against this backdrop that it is proposed that the internet could lead to the media in Africa overcoming some of these constraints thereby leading to more press freedom. A Brief History of Politics and the Media in Malawi Malawi is a landlocked country which borders Zambia to the west, Mozambique to the south and part east and Tanzania to the east. Malawi boasts the third largest lake in Africa, Lake Malawi, which occupies a fifth of Malawis total land area. Malawi, then known as Nyasaland, was part of the Federation with Rhodesia. The federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved in 1963 (Mapulanga, 2008:2). Malawi changed its name from Nyasaland to Malawi in 1964 after attaining self-rule from Britain under Kamuzu Banda (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:1). Malawi was declared a republic in 1966 (Crosby, 1993:xxxiv). Following the repressive example set by the former British colonizers, Dr. Banda declared Malawi a one-party state in 1966 under the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), banning multi-party politics (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:1). Dr. Banda established autocratic rule and became the undisputed leader of Malawi. He introduced a new constitution with all powers vested in him in 1966 (Meinhardt and Patel, 2003:3). Dr. Banda declared himself life president in 1970 under what he termed democratic dictatorship (Forster, 2001:275). Against this background of dictatorial tendencies and disregard for human rights, it should come as no surprise that Malawi had strong relations with South Africa. Malawi was the only black-ruled African country that had ties with the apartheid regime in South Africa (Menhardt and Patel, 2003:5). The Press under Dr. Banda The media has always been viewed suspiciously in Malawi. The first newspaper in Malawi, Central African Planter 1895 was founded by a Scottish settler (Barton, 1979:154). Central African Planter was aimed at a white readership with a focus on growing tea and news about Britain (Baker, 1975:154). The Central African Planter was an Englishlanguage daily and was the only newspaper to appear in Malawi until the early 1940's (Rap 21, 2003). Central African Planter later changed its name to the Central African Times then Nyasaland Times. In 1962, Roy Thomson was looking to extend his empire; Nyasaland Times
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came to his attention (Barton, 1979:155). Thomson bought it and ran it for 10 years as a bi-weekly. In 1972 Nyasaland Times was sold to Kamuzu Banda (Barton: 1979:155). Nyasaland Times later changed its name to The Daily Times (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:25; Barton, 1979:156). It was the only daily newspaper in Malawi. It was a tabloid size newspaper and carried mostly foreign and scattered articles on Malawi. With The Daily Times under his control, Dr. Banda convinced his party members from the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) to let the party newspaper, Malawi News come under his newly formed company; Blantyre Print and Packaging. Malawi News had started as a weekly protest newspaper by Aleke Banda of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) in the run up to independence in 1959 (Muluzi, Juwayeyi et al, 1999:125). Banda (2007:65) notes that native resistance helped develop media in Africa in the struggle against colonialism. Malawi News had served as a platform for the struggle against colonialism. It was now turned into a weekend newspaper (Barton, 1979:156). Despite owning two newspapers, Dr. Banda did not trust journalists and as such he made speeches which often described journalists as third-class and fourth-class citizens (Barton, 1979:165). Dr. Banda kept the newspapers under close scrutiny. Every word that went in the paper was checked and cross checked with authority (Barton, 1979:165). Malawian newspapers carried very little information on current events in Malawi even less so of troubled countries (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:25). They were used for party propaganda through the replication of the presidents speeches, sometimes in their entirety in case he was misquoted. The newspapers were heavily censored. News of upheavals in other parts of Africa was taboo (Barton, 1979:165). Under Dr. Banda, no journalism courses and writing courses were offered outside of University of Chancellor College in Malawi (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:182). Only poetry and fiction writing were offered as courses. Dr. Banda passed various laws and enacted legislation that would lead to the arrest of journalists for publishing misleading information (Barton, 1979:164). Legislation that would allow for detention without trial was passed in 1964 (Short, 1974:255). This allowed for the arrest of people who were thought to be disturbing the peace and stability of Malawi. This legislation could be applied to anyone, journalists included, if they printed material deemed to be offensive. Censorship laws were also enacted after the setting up of the Censorship Board in 1968 by an act of parliament (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:1). The board had the right to monitor all literary material including publications such as newspapers. In only the first seven and a half years of its existence from 1968-1974, the censorship board banned more than 840 books and more than 100 periodicals (Mapulanga, 2008:1). The list expanded yearly. Reporting of false and damaging information about Malawi was a criminal offence which was punishable with lifetime imprisonment (Menhardt and Patel, 2003:6). This was covered in the Prohibited Publications Act of 1974 (Mapulanga, 2008:3). The Act allowed government to ban any publication that published information it considered false or distorted or critical of Malawi. Journalists who failed to comply with the rules were imprisoned in Mikuyu Maximum Security Detention Centre after sometimes being tried in kangaroo courts others simply disappeared; rumoured to have been fed to the crocodiles in the Shire
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River. Apart from the Mikuyu, there was also Dzaleka detention centre near Dowa where people were given a chance to reform (Short, 1974: 255). Journalism was a dangerous profession in Malawi. It is no surprise that the newspapers stuck to film schedules, radio programmers and crossword puzzles with short editorials and international and local sports news (Mapulanga, 2008:2). Dawn of Democracy and the Rise of the Free Press A wave of democratization is a group of transitions from non-democratic to democratic regimes that occur within a specified period of time (Huntington, 1993:6). According to Huntington's definition, there have been two waves of democratization in some African countries while other African countries have experienced three. The first wave of democratization in Africa occurred when nationalists were fighting for independence from colonial rule (Hyden and Okigbo, 2002:31; Banda, 2007:74). In the 1990's, the second wave of democracy swept many African countries. This second wave was a reaction to the betrayal that many African leaders felt of the nationalists leaders who instead of democratic rule had turned their governments into authoritarian regimes (Martin, 1998:71). The second wave was due to the fall of communism with the fall of the Berlin wall in Germany, the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the end of the Cold War. The church played a crucial role in the transition to democracy in Malawi. The pastoral letter of 1992, Living Our Faith marked a turning point in the country (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:25; van Donge, 1995:230). The letter was read out in all Catholic churches across the country on March 8, 1992 (Menhardt and Patel, 2003:9). The Lenten letter addressed the deaths of various political leaders who had been killed for opposing Dr. Banda and called for the right to basic freedom for the people of Malawi (Muluzi et al, 1999:137). The letter marked a starting point in the movement towards a democratic system of government as it questioned Dr. Bandas authority, a thing which no one had ever dared to do before. The Catholic Church is a nationwide organization, news of the message soon spread across the country leading to violent protests in Blantyre and Lilongwe as people started to question the authority of Dr. Banda. Various reforms were implemented in Malawi after this. The first of these was the introduction of a free press on 20 August, 1992 after twenty-eight years of muzzling, detention and murder of journalists (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:25). At the time there were less than a handful of independently owned newspapers in the country and irregular papers (Chimombo and Chimombo, 1996:26). After the announcement on free press, more than twenty newspapers were registered. These newspapers formed what Berger (2001) has termed an opposition press that called for regime change. These newspapers also brought a breath of fresh air to Malawian journalism. They included content such as cartoons and satirical columns, a thing that had been missing during the Banda dictatorship era (RPC, 1994: 9). The first democratic elections were held on 17 May, 1994, with Bakili Muluzi of the United Democratic Front (UDF) taking over the reins of power from Dr. Banda marking a peaceful transition to democracy.
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Problems Faced By the Independent Press However the independent press in Malawi still faced various problems. Problems of harassment and detention of journalists practiced under Dr. Banda continued under Bakili Muluzi. New tactics were employed to suppress the independent media in the era of democratic dispensation. These included the physical confiscation of newspapers, assault and intimidation of journalists. In August 2001, during the SADC heads of summit in Blantyre, copies of The Chronicle newspaper were confiscated as they were deemed to have negative articles about government (World Press Review, 2001). In the same year 2001, The Chronicle newspaper failed to appear because the printers, Design Printers, refused to print the edition which they deemed to be sensitive (Tettey, 2002:22). Besides the physical confiscation of publications, journalists also had to live with the reality of violence against them if it was felt their reports were negative. The authorities let it be known in no uncertain terms that selfcensorship was to be practiced or one had to face the consequences. In 2002, when a journalist from The Chronicle newspaper was attacked by members of the youth arm of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF), the Young Democrats, for an article critical of Muluzi, the then information minister, Clement Stambuli went on national television and encouraged journalists to ask themselves why me should such incidents happen to them (Englund, 2002:14). This was a clear warning to journalists to be ready to face the consequences of their actions. Legal Constraints Legal challenges still confront the press in Malawi despite the new Constitution of 1994 that embraces press freedom. Section 36 of the constitution states that the press shall have the right to report and publish freely, within Malawi and abroad, and to be accorded the fullest possible facilities for access to public information (Malawi Constitution, 1994:4). Despite this provision in the constitution, contradictions exist on press freedom. Section 37 of the constitution provides for parliament to determine what information is accessible. Section 45(3) (a) permits the right to freedom of expression to be derogated from during a state of emergency declared by the President of Malawi (KAS, 2003:12). Not all Acts in the new constitution have been amended to reflect the new democratic discourse that Malawi now embraces. These Acts continue to limit press freedom. Acts such as the Official Secrets and Emblems Act 1913, which protects official state secrets against disclosure, the Printed Publications Act, 1947 which provides for the registration of newspapers with the Government Archives and the Censorship and Control of Entertainments Act, 1968 which provides for the pre-approval of content distributed to the public, are still part of media regulation. These acts contravene press freedom through the clauses found in them. The acts can also be abused as they are not clearly defined and leave room for interpretation according to the convenience of those in authority. It is hoped that with the internet becoming widely accessible, more critical stories can be published. This is because the legal framework that exists does not cater for on-line media and legal provisions are yet to be drawn up that cover aspects such as on-line publishing. The internet is governed by the Communications Act 1994 which simply provides for the licensing and registration
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for Internet Service Providers and provision of internet services in Malawi. The publics right I believe the public has the right to critical enlightening news. Maize distribution and a politician meaning a statement at some function is not news this is what they are mandated to do. We should have the ability to question what impact does some minister or celebrities sleeping with another woman have on development and only if it affects development should the story be relevant. A story that I found very relevant and a cause for concern was the high incidence of HIV/AIDS in the Malawi army. Of course, they had a different take of this and saw it as undermining the might of the army thus we had the newspaper in question being bombed hard copies of the paper being confiscated so people could not read the story but such a story only goes to show that more should be done in teaching army personnel about safe sex and promiscuity. Another example I have is Chris Brown admitting he lost his virginity at the tender age of 8 and is a beast in the bedroom Several questions form in my mind how can an 8-year-old boy have sex, it means he was exposed to pornography and being a beast which woman wants a beast? Thus such tabloidization should not be encouraged as it takes away from the creation of public sphere. On the other hand journalists want the public to be ignorant so they can be gods so that what they say goes, but we should be able to question journalists and their motives when they write scandalous pieces. From what I have observed when the public understands what democracy is this can only lead to development as the public becomes the news sources and informs the journalist in instances where malfeasance is present in society. If we truly want to achieve the golden millennium goals we have to get the public on board. How so you have a millennium village which you give all the necessary equipment and essentials then turn around and say yes Malawi is achieving its millennium development goals. This is a joke if you dont mind my saying so. How about the other areas in Malawi? Why not bring development to them so they too can achieve the so-called millennium goals. We have people dying from HIV/ AIDS when the disease can be arrested through natural products such as neem even malaria which is the biggest killer in African can be treated with neem and neem is good for the soil, but our journalists are too busy trying to find out who I slept with so they can expose me apparently. In Zimbabwe when it came out that the former president Canaan Banana was gay and might have well raped his workers there was hardly any reaction, in such an instance he should have been brought to justice because that was abuse. Solutions using media literacy I propose together with civil society we ensure that we engage in media literacy with the general population, they should know what it is news and what is tabloidization. There are various definitions of media literacy, some see it as educating schoolchildren on how to use the media, to be able to read subliminal messages as a corrective measure towards violence (Nathanson, 2004). Others according to James Potter (2010:675696) give a more detailed interpretation through a survey of different scholars and states. Adams and Hamm (2001:33) say that media literacy may be thought of as the ability to create personal meaning from the visual and verbal symbols we take in everyday from television, advertising,
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film, and digital media. It is more than inviting students to simply decode information. They must be critical thinkers who can understand and produce in the media culture swirling around them. Anderson (1981:22) says media literacy is the skilful collection, interpretation, testing and application of information regardless of medium or presentation for some purposeful action. Barton and Hamilton (1998) [cited in Mackey, 2002:56] define literacy as primarily something people do; it is an activity, located in the space between thought and text. Literacy does not just reside in peoples heads as a set of skills to be learned, and it does not just reside on paper, captured as texts to be analysed. Like all human activity, literacy is essentially social, and it is located in the interaction between people. Hobbs (2001:7) says Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a variety of forms. Hobbs says this definition suggests the following characteristics: inquiry based education, student-centered learning, problem solving in cooperative teams, alternatives to standardized testing, and integrated curriculum. Sholle and Denski (1995:17) argue that media literacy should be conceptualized within a critical pedagogy and thus it must be conceived as a political, social and cultural practice. Siverblatt and Eliceiri (1997:48) in their Dictionary of Media Literacy define media literacy as, a critical-thinking skill that enables audiences to decipher the information that they receive through the channels of mass communications and empowers them to develop independent judgments about media content. From the above definitions it can be seen that there is a connection between media literacy and the public in terms of democracy. Whereas most of the above authors are concerned about school children this paper addresses the general publics right to be able to analyse, evaluate and communicate messages in a variety of forms so they can thus be empowered. It is giving the public the tools to define the kind of political environment they wish to live in and the progress they hope for their countries. Development can only come from working with the community as they will be able to inform the media in instances where members of parliament are not doing their jobs. This is the only way in which we can hold these public Servants accountable to us and they after all are paid to bring development to our areas. We can call upon projects such as CIMA, the African initiate and IJENT, UNESCO who are promoters of journalism and would be willing to engage with local communities on development of media literacy with proper proposals and stipulated outcomes. The BBC also has its own initiative that engages in development for media. So we have to take the first step in bringing media literacy to the masses. With media literacy bills such as access to information will be easier to be passed and we shall present a united front in asking for information we heel affects our country and its development. Salute Media literacy has been shown to work in matters of gender more especially in South Africa where women have pressed for better representation of women. How will it be done, though education programmes on public service broadcasters and the mass media vehicles that are used to inform the public about political meeting should be used to inform people and educate people about media teach them
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what it is supposed to consist of and their right to it. I love the kotla concept in Botswana for it illustrates what a public sphere is and more countries should be encouraged to adopt kotlas for the improvement of democracy. In Africa we use folktales to tell stories and the medium of drama is used to communicate messages. We should take advantage of this and take the message to communities and also road shows. You might say where the money is going to come from- from our taxes which are used for presidential motorcades of 14 cars. So it is about time that the massed became part of the public sphere for the development of our countries. References Baker, C. (2003) Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. 2nd Edition. London: Sage Berger, G. (2001) Media and Democracy in Southern Africa. A Southern View. In: Mukela. J. ed. Essays and Conversations on Democracy. Mozambique: NSJ Trust. Chimombo, S. and Chimombo, M. (1996) The Culture of Democracy: Language, Literature, the Arts and Politics in Malawi 1992-94. Zomba, Malawi: WASI Publications. Forster, P. (2001) Law and Society under a Democratic Dictatorship: Dr. Banda and Malawi. Journal of Asian and African Studies. Vol. 36(3):275-293. Available: http://jas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract /36/3/275. [accessed 6November, 2008] Gurevitch, M, Bennett, T. Curran, J. and Woollacott, J. eds. Culture, Society and the Media. London: Methuen. Curran, J. (2002) Media and Power. London: Routledge. Dahlgren, P. (1995) Television and the Public Sphere: Citizenship, Democracy and the Media. London: Sage Eley, G. (1992) Nations, Publics and Political Cultures: Placing Habermas in the Nineteenth Century. In: Calhoun C. ed. Habermas and the Public Sphere. Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Englund, H. (2002) Introduction. The Culture of Chameleon Politics. In: Englund, H. ed. A Democracy of Chameleons: Politics and Culture in the New Malawi. Blantyre: Christian Literature Association in Malawi (CLAIM). Fraser, N. (1992) Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy. In: Calhoun, C. ed. Habermas and the Public Sphere. Cambridge: MIT Press. Finlayson, J. G. (2005) Habermas: A very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Forster, P. (2001) Law and Society under a Democratic Dictatorship: Dr. Banda and Malawi. Journal of Asian and African Studies. Vol. 36(3):275-293. Available: http://jas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract /36/3/275. [accessed 6 November, 2008] Garnham, N. (1992) The Media and the Public Sphere. In: Calhoun, C. ed. Habermas and the Public Sphere. Cambridge: MIT Press. Habermas, J. (2006) Information and Democracy. In: Webster, F. ed. Theories of the Information Society. 3rd Edition. London: Routledge. Huntington, S. (1991) The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman and London: University Of Oklahoma Press. Hyden, G. and Leslie, M. (2002) Communication and Democratization in Africa. In: Hyden, G., Leslie, M. and Ogundimu, Folu F. eds. Media and
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Democracy in Africa, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. Hyden G. and Okigbo C. (2002) The Media and the Two Waves of Democracy. In: Hyden, G., Leslie, M. and Ogundimu, F.F. eds. Media and Democracy in Africa, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. KAS, December, (2003) SADC Media Law: A Handbook for Media Practitioners. A Comparative Overview of the Laws and Practice in Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Volume 1. Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Johannesburg. Available: www.kas.de/wf/doc/kas_3836-544-130.pdf [accessed 29 September, 2008] Keane. J. (1991) The Media and Democracy. London: Polity Press. Keane, J. (2000). Structural Transformations of The Public Sphere. In: Hacker K., L. and Van Dijk, J. eds. Digital Democracy: Issues of Theory and Practice. London: Sage. Kellner, D. (2001) Habermas, the Public Sphere and Democracy: A Critical Intervention. Available: Http://Www.Gseis.Ucla.Edu/Faculty/K ellner/Papers/Habermas.Htm [accessed November, 2008] Leslie, M. (2002) The Internet and Democratization. In: Hyden. G., Leslie, M. and Ogundimu, F. F. eds. Media and Democracy in Africa. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. Lichtenberg, J. (1990) Foundations and Limits of Freedom of the Press. In: Lichtenberg, J. ed. Democracy and the Mass Media, New York: Cambridge University Press. Mapulanga, P. (2008). Learning from the past: Mass Communication and Access to Information in Malawi from 1964-1994. World Library and Information Congress. Qubec, Canada. Available: http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla74/index.htm [accessed 06 December, 2008] Martin, R. (1998) Notes on Freedom of Expression in Africa. In: P. H. O'Neil. (Ed.). Communicating Democracy: The Media and Political Transitions. London: Lynne Rienner. Meinhardt, H. and Patel, N. (2003) Malawis Process of Democratic Transition: An Analysis of Political Developments Between 1990 and 2003. Lilongwe, Malawi: Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Available: www.kas.de/wf/doc/kas_4009-544-230.pdf. [accessed 23 November, 2008] Merrill, J. C., Gade, P. J. and Blevens, F., R. (2001) Twilight of Press Freedom: The Rise of Peoples Journalism. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. McQuail, D. (1992) Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction. London: Sage Muluzi, B., Juwayeyi, Y. M., Makhambera, M. and Phiri, D. D. (1999) Democracy with a Price: The History of Malawi since 1900. Blantyre, Malawi: Jhango Heinemann. Nathanson, A.I. (2004) Factual and evaluative approaches to modifying childrens responses to television. Journal of Communication, (54): 321-336 Norris, P. and Inglehart, R. (2008) Limits on Press Freedom and Regime Support. Paper 4.3 in the Role of the News Media in the Governance Reform Agenda. Harvard: John F. Kennedy School of Government. Available: http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~pnorris/Co nference/Conference%20papers/Limits_pr ess_freedom_Norris_Inglehart.pdf [accessed 03 December, 2008] Nyamnjoh, F. B. (2005) Africas Media: Democracy and the Politics of Belonging. London and New York: Zed Books. Ogbondah, C. W. (1994) Press Freedom and Political Development in Africa. Africa Journals. 8 (3):1-39.
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Available: http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/African% 20Journals/pdfs/africa%20media%20revie w/vol8no3/jamr008003002.pdf. [accessed 04 September, 2008] Ogbondah, C. W. (2002) Media Laws in Political Transition. In: Hyden, G., Leslie, M. and Ogundimu, F. F. eds. Media and Democracy in Africa, New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. Short, P. (1974) Banda. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Siebert, F., S., Peterson, T. and Schramm, W. 1956. Four Theories of the Press the Authoritarian, Libertarian, Social Responsibility, and Soviet Communist Concepts of What the Press Should Be and Do. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. Wilcox, D. L. (1975) Mass Media in Black Africa: Philosophy and Control. New York: Praeger Publishers.
About the author Penelope Kakhobwe is the former Executive Director of Media Council of Malawi and has worked in the print and radio industry in Malawi with organisations such as FM 101, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and Nation publications. She has also been a lecturer with the Malawi Institute of Journalism. She holds a Masters degree in Journalism and Media Studies from Rhodes University, South Africa, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Media Management from the same institution, her first degree is in journalism from the Polytechnic under University of Malawi (UNIMA). Her main areas of interest include democracy and press freedom. She teaches in the Media Studies Department, University of Botswana. Email chikombe@yahooo.com or Penelope.kakahobwe@mopipi.ub.bw
Suggested citation Kakhobwe, P. (2014) The Juxtaposition Between Media Literacy and Democracy. In Rooney, R. ed. The Botswana Media Studies Papers. Gaborone, Department of Media Studies, University of Botswana.
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Capturing the elusive art: The making of a dance film

Case study: The Wandering Souls of Mendi
Tiny Constance Thagame
Abstract The task of filming dance successfully is incredibly difficult to achieve since dance is an ephemeral art, therefore it eludes documentation. Choreographers always imagine the dance moves in their heads before realising the moves on stage. Collaboration with a filmmaker presents an opportunity to create a new art form which can be wholly independent of the original. Using my film The Wandering Souls of Mendi as a case study, this paper explores some of the technical and philosophical aspects of documenting dance. The study examines the relationship between the choreographer and the filmmaker and how they can work together to produce a successful dance film. At the center of the collaborative relationship is the camera. The camera serves as a very important tool in the making of a dance film. Key words: dance, camera, film, choreography, Mendi
Introduction The task of filming dance successfully is incredibly difficult to achieve since dance is an ephemeral art, therefore it eludes documentation. Choreographers always imagine the dance moves in their heads before realising the moves on stage. Collaboration with a filmmaker presents an opportunity to create a new art form which can be wholly independent of the original. Born to a choreographer, I was introduced to the art of dance at an early age. I came to love and appreciate the beauty of a live dance performance. The introduction of film technology introduced me to the art of dance on screen. Films, like Birth of a Nation (1915), Save the last dance, (2001) Chicago, (2002), Ipi Ntombi, (1998), Sarafina, (1992), etc.,
used dance to enhance and sometimes tell the story in film. The more I learned about film and dance the more I discovered how different yet similar they are. Using my film The Wandering Souls of Mendi as a case study, I wish to investigate these differences and similarities further, and explore some of the technical and philosohical aspects of documenting dance. This study has led me to explore the relationship between the choreographer and the filmmaker, how they can work together to produce a successful dance film. At the center of the collaborative relationship is the camera. The camera serves as a very important tool in the making of a dance film. Investigating the idea of a camera as an interface between the two art forms has led to further
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examination of the relationship between dance and film technology. In this paper the title of my film is italicized while the dance piece of the same title is underlined. The theoretical approach will reflect on the works of scholars and artists that have preceded me in this research. Maya Deren, Mathew Diamond, Kariamu Welsh-Asante are some of the dance scholars and filmmakers that have experimented with the cinematic space. Prompted by Asantes philosophies about African dance in general, I have paid close attention to the inherent spirit present in dance across the African continent. This study has further led me to address my personal fears of technology - how it can overshadow the power of live art and take precedence over the artists creativity. The choice of genre Each film genre commands a different approach to the way the story is delivered, be it drama, documentary, science fiction etc. I chose a documentary approach since I am concerned with the documentation of dance and the steps leading to the making and the completion of a dance film. I was also intrigued by the striking similarities between dance and film - they are both visual arts driven by action and movement. The documentary genre differs from other genres in the sense that it is more concerned with presenting the story informatively and as close to reality as possible. Reality here refers to the actualization of the event. The greatest advantage of documentary filmmaking is the fact that documentaries are an efficient way of learning about other art forms or subjects. Diamond describes documentary as the weaving of recorded events to tell a story that reflects reality (Mitoma 2003: 198). By inter-cutting between the interviews with the choreographer, the archival material, pre-recorded footage of the sea, the dance rehearsals and the live dance performance, I was able to add a documentary look and feel to the film. The film is not only entertaining for the viewer but educational too. The story underlying The Wandering Souls of Mendi My film is a documentary about the making of an original contemporary African dance, The Wondering Souls of Mendi, choreographed by Maxwell Rani and performed at the Baxter Theatre from 28-31 September 2004, based on an historical incident, the sinking of the ship SS Mendi (1917). The evidence for the incident is derived from oral history as well as published and unpublished material. The SS Mendi sank in the early morning hours of February 21, 1917 approximately 18 kilometers off St Catherine's Point on the Isle of Wight, in the English Channel. It was hit by another ship, SS Daro, and the former sank within 25 minutes (Swinney 1995: 1). This tragic event claimed the lives of over 600 black South African conscripted men, mainly previously civilians, who were being shipped off to France to help Britain in her war with Germany. The enlisted men were to be used as trench diggers, stretcher carriers and labourers on the front lines of the British forces. They were not to be allowed to carry guns for fear of a revolt or mutiny (Barnett: undated online article). The number of people who lost their lives varies slightly according to different sources. Swinney reports that the SS Mendi was carrying an estimated number of 823 men and that, of the 647 people that lost their lives, 616 were of African descent (1995: 1). Graeme Hosken, in the Pretoria News, claims that a total of 615 soldiers perished. (15 March 2004). Ian Ransome, in his undated article, This Day in History: 21 February 1917 brought the number down by reporting that a total of 607 Black South African soldiers and nine of their fellow countrymen, drowned in the disaster (Ransome undated online article). It is reported that as the SS Mendi started to sink the men, gripped by fear and faced with death, started to sing and
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perform a traditional death dance on the tilting deck. The survivors lived to tell the story (Barnett: undated online article). According to African belief, when people die they have to be accorded proper burial. Some rituals have to be carried out to ensure that the souls of the dead rest in peace. The African labourers who perished at sea with SS Mendi did not receive any burial; therefore their souls might never have got to rest. As the title of the dance suggests, they may still be wandering. The death dance, or the barefoot dance, that is talked about in the SS Mendi story has become a subject of debate. There are some historians who doubt that the death dance occurred. Grundlingh (1987) believes that it was just an oral tradition that circulated during the Second World War, and then more recently to raise black political consciousness in South Africa (cited in Swinney 1995: 2). In my view Grundlingh does not understand the aesthetic power and importance of oral tradition in African culture. The contestation I am pursuing here is based on my knowledge as an African that the African people largely depend on word of mouth to carry their stories and traditions on from generation to generation. These stories are sometimes translated into dance as most recently is the case with The Wandering Souls of Mendi. The story about the death dance is incorporated into the choreography of the dance. The Challenge of Filming Dance The aesthetics of African dance Dance for the African people may have a spiritual dimension and be used by the living to make a spiritual connection with the living dead. Human life is part of the rhythm of nature and just like days, months, seasons, and years have no end, there is no end to the rhythm of birth, puberty, initiation, marriage and entry into the community of the living dead (Nobles 1972: 301). The peoples of Africa believe that there is another world underneath the earth where the forefathers and mothers have taken up residence and acquired a new status, that of the living dead. By stomping hard on the ground with their feet, the living are able to awaken the spirits and invite them to the stage. The rhythmic movements of the dancers are further emphasized and guided by the sound of the drum. In an interview K. Osiris Wade, a West African dance instructor at Texas Womans University, suggests that the drum plays an important part in this spiritual link: When the organs move, you feel tired. Once the drums start, it hurts to hold in and not move with them. African dance gives you the ability to do that. You are so connected with your ancestors, with the idea of being with the earth, the sky. Its not a foreign idea to believe there is a higher power guiding your movement. (Wade, as cited in an undated Bright Online Magazine) When filming an African dance piece, it is important as a filmmaker to understand the aesthetics of the African dance and culture. After intensive research in African dance, Kariamu Welsh-Asante came up with seven aesthetic aspects of African dance: polyrhythm, polycentrism, curvilinear, dimensional, memory, repetition, and holism. (Asante 1990: 74). Polyrhythm Movement and rhythm in the African dance cannot be separated (1990: 74). This is the case in Ranis piece as almost all of the dancers body is involved in the dance. Movements of the feet, the hands, the head, the shoulders, the fingers etc. combine in a rhythmic percussion, synchronized with the accompanying music. Polycentrism Polycentrism, allows for both slow and fast movements to happen within the same frame (1990:74). Rani incorporates a combination of movements into his choreography. Some consist of fast undulating hip movement accompanied by rather slow foot and arm movements,
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merging together in tempo with the music to become one dance, one song and one rhythm. This multiple presence of motion, music, colour and texture happening at the same time contributes a great deal to the overall enthusiasm of the performance. Curvilinear movement Curvilinear movement is concerned with structure, pattern and form (Ibid: 75). Ranis choreography consists of small groupings of dancers forming circular patterns and shapes on stage. At times the dancers body movements swing in circular articulated motions. The circle in the African culture is a symbol of unity and power. It is not to be broken (Richards 1994: 64). Dimensionality Asante asserts that texture is an important aspect of depth in African culture. This texture, she argues, is provoked by the supernatural presence of oral tradition in space. She believes that this presence beyond the visual presence (Asante 1990: 77) adds an extra contraction to African dance. As aforementioned, oral tradition forms part of The Wandering Souls Of Mendi. The story about the death dance as oral history has contributed a great deal to the creation of the piece. Throughout the rehearsal process Rani told the story repeatedly to the dancers. Memory Perfection cannot be achieved unless it is drawn from experience or memory. (Ibid: 79). From the beginning Rani asserted that he would present the story in an abstract manner, creating an impressionist representation of the story. The choreographic movements of The Wandering Souls of Mendi were influenced by other movements from other performances that Rani had watched and, drawing upon those experiences, he was able to unearth the emotions without limiting himself or the audience. His choice concurs with Asantes point that it is memory more than re-enactment that helps the viewer to experience the story (Ibid: 80). His audiences, having been an intimate part of the performance, also have the opportunity to interpret the dance movements and draw on rhythms from this experience to create their own performances. Repetition This is the intensification of one movement, one sequence, or entire dance by repeating it (Ibid: 79). This is another unifying aspect of African dance. Repetition, to my mind, contributes a great deal to the rhythm of the dance. Rani incorporates the call and response notion that results in a lot of movements being repeated. It emerges as rhythmic dialogue between the dancers. When a dancer on stage makes a gesture, the other dancers imitate the gesture, at times one group of dancers leading in the imitation process. This interactive movement conversation intensifies as the dance accelerates towards the end, psychologically integrating the audience within the performance and moving with it to a level of ecstasy. Holistic movement Parts of a creation are not emphasized or accentuated beyond the whole, neither is the individual (Ibid: 80). During the rehearsals, Rani emphasized the point that there would be no lead dancer in the piece. He reminded the dancers that this is a group effort to tell the story of unity. He was echoing John Mbitis (1970) words when he explained that the philosophical thinking of African people does not place emphasis on the individual. Existence in the African tradition is a collective effort. I am because we are, and because we are, therefore I am (Nobles 1972: 303). The holistic aspect sums up all the seven aesthetics. In The Wandering Souls of Mendi, the individual dancers formed a part of one body, their movements synthesized into harmony to tell the story of solidarity.
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Of all the seven aesthetic aspects of African dance, dimensionality interests me the most because it addresses the aspect of depth differently from the way it is talked about in cinematic terms. Depth in film has to do with distance between the characters in the frame. It is defined as the distance in front of and behind the subject which appears to be in focus (Cook 1981: 465). Depth as understood by Asante in African dance is more of a spiritual notion. It transcends the visual presence; therefore it cannot be seen nor measured (Asante 1990: 78). This is something to take into consideration when making an African dance film, because it will influence the outcome of the project. Collaboration As aforementioned this paper examines possible relationships between dance and film. This relationship may only be achieved through the process of collaboration. The filmmaker and the choreographer have to share ideas and resources to achieve their common goal, i.e. the making of a dance film. Examined as aesthetic media, film uses manipulation of space and time to create an illusion of movement. Cited in Sambucci, Maya Deren, in a letter she wrote to James Card, says the dynamic of movement in film is stronger than anything else... I mean that movement, or energy is more important or powerful than space... The movement of the dancer creates geography, in the film, that never was. With a turn of the foot, he makes neighbours of distant places (1999: 3). Deren was justifying the choices she made whereby a dancer in her film A Study in Choreography for Camera (1945) moves through different geographical spaces without ever interfering with the flow of movement. Thus creating an illusion of space and passage of time. Unlike film, dance is primarily a nonverbal art in which ideas are communicated through the movement of bodies in space in real time. It is immediate, it is physical and it requires the performer to perform for a real live audience, in real live time, in a real place. While I am aware of the differences between the two mediums, I am also intrigued by the fact that both film and dance are visual mediums that are concerned with action and movement in space; thus opening up a possibility for a meeting point between the two art forms. Film technology can serve as an extension of the dancer and the dance itself. In dancethe notion of literally freezing anything or anyone in time is illusionary, limited to a momentary choreographic maneuver (Gay 1996: 121). The cameras ability to zoom in and out, slow down or freeze a movement and alienate body parts presents a wide range of techniques to enhance the performance of the dancer. Like the two art forms in question, choreographers and film directors come from two different worlds. Matthew Diamond is a dance filmmaker who started off as a dancer and a choreographer. He understands firsthand the art of making a dance film. In his essay Watching Dance with a Remote in Your Hand he reminds us that [a]n underlying knowledge of the tools that choreographers use is a critical entry way for the director of a dance film (Mitoma 2003: 194). Unlike film directors, choreographers seldom use a tangible script, there is little or no storyboarding, they primarily depend upon a mental scenario. In the world of dance, the choreographer has the final say about how the story shall be told. the choreographer becomes a critic, educating spectators in ways to look at the dance, challenging the expectations the audience brings to the performance, framing parts of the dance for closer inspection (Schechner 2002: 141). In an interview Rani discussed the duties of a choreographer. He said these include the responsibility to map out a shape for the dance that will effectively tell the story. He then creates movements for the dancers while deciding on the music for the dance
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piece. He has to plan a rehearsal schedule and he is also responsible for the alignment of dancers on stage (Interview with the writer, 4 November 2004). Like choreographers, film directors have the final say on the end product. After reading the script, they need a storyboard to plan their shots. Roy MacGregor describes the storyboard as a visual interpretation of the script (Interview with the writer 6 October 2004). It gives the director and the production team an idea of how the film will look and it enables them to foresee and solve the problems that might arise. The film director, according to Cook, is the principal creative artist who defines the overall artistic vision of the film and sets the tone by his selection of music and colour. His duties include casting, script editing, rehearsal with the actors, storyboarding, shot composition, shot selection etc. (MacGregor 2004). As the above evidence suggests, film directors are used to being in control of the movie set. They have the overall artistic control of the set, they can yell cut! at any time (MacGregor 2004). However, when working on a dance film set, it is crucial that a film director learns to share the control. Placing himself at the top of the hierarchy would kill the essence of collaboration. The original ideas of the choreographer would more than likely be compromised, the dance would be stripped of its identity and the ownership of the art form would turn over to the film director. Therefore, for a collaboration to be successful, film directors have to familiarise themselves with the art of choreography and treat it with utmost respect. Larry Billman, President and Founder of The Academy of Dance on Film Academy, believes that: Choreography and dance direction are very special arts. You either have the desire and ability to do it, or you do not. These creators combine their knowledge of dance, their personal background and style of movement, and their awareness of the camera and what it can do Many people sit down and place words on the blank sheet before them to create a screenplay, but not many can make that blank sheet dance, causing audiences to react with emotion and admiration (Billman 1997: 7). The making of a dance film calls for a collaborative process that involves multiple creators. The list of creators includes the filmmaker, the choreographer, the dancers and the technical crew (including videographers, lighting designers and other technical assistants). Communication and discernment of intent is crucial between all parties involved in the making of the film. It is important from the beginning to understand that what is being made is a dance film, therefore dance must be the core or the central emphasis of the project. The filmmaker is only there to cinematically capture the choreographers intent. With the above concerns and observations in mind, I established a relationship with Rani before I introduced the camera into the collaborative process. I learned that his intent is to raise awareness about the Mendi disaster and acknowledge the presence of the wandering souls. In order for me to understand Ranis choreographic vocabulary, I had to attend the rehearsals, familiarise myself the dance, the dancers and watch Rani at work, trying to understand his motivations for the way he wants to tell the story. I asked him questions about the vocabulary and movements that I didnt understand and the placement of the dancers on stage. I noticed that to build and nurture the dancers in the piece, one of the tools that Rani relied on is the story inspiring the dance. He would tell the underlying story of the dance repeatedly to invoke emotion. He kept urging the dancers to find moments in the performance that would lead them to a certain emotional state. The dancers emotional state would then be translated into body movement while the
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face remained expressionless. This posed a challenge for me as a filmmaker because, in the film world, the message is most discernible on the face. Conscious and unconscious facial expressions provide valuable information about the characters emotional state. The eyes are considered to be a window to the soul, in a sense that through the eyes the audience is invited into the innermost world of a character. In dance, a character gives the audience a grand tour of his/her emotional world through expressive body movement. I have tried to record some of the crucial elements that lead to a better understanding and a refined ability to reproduce the story cinematically without destroying its integrity. My regular attendance was not just to my advantage it was also vital for the dancers to get used to the presence of camera in their space. Even though, there was open communication between me, the filmmaker, and Rani, there were some problems that hindered the collaboration process. The choreographer was not keen to learn about film technology and how it works, its possibilities and limitations. It is crucial that both the choreographer and the filmmaker understand the technicalities of each others art form, so that they may have realistic expectations for the outcome of the project. Access to the rest of the production team, i.e. lighting designers, set designers, sound engineers etc was restricted, and therefore I could not review the technical limitations of the performance venue in advance. The rehearsal space was not always available due to an increased demand for space at the school of dance. The choreographer had set up spontaneous rehearsals whenever he got a chance. I missed most of these rehearsals because I couldnt get there on time. Time was another factor that affected our collaboration process. The choreographer had only six weeks to produce his piece, rehearsing only twice, sometimes once a week, and the pressure was on him to move fast. This was very challenging for me because as the filmmaker I had to keep up with the pace and at the same time pay close attention to detail. The camera The camera presents a challenge. It has clear limits, but it also gives opportunities for working with dance that are not available on the stage. The camera takes a fixed view, and yet it can be moved. There is the possibility of cutting to a second camera which can change the size of the dancer, which, to my eye, also affects the time, the rhythm of the movement. It also can show dance in a way not possible on the stage: that is, the use of detail, which in the broader context of theatre, does not appear (Mitoma 2003: 36). The camera is the key element in bridging the gap between dance and film. It is an extension of both body and vision. It has the ability to move in any direction at any given point, thus opening up an opportunity for the audience to view the performance from multiple points of view. In a sense the camera sets the tone for the relationship between the choreographer and the film director; who is in turn responsible for presenting the final product to the audience. Depending on how it is used, it can either make or break the relationship. In essence camera work forms the basis and decides the final outcome of a dance film. No amount of editing can make up for some bad camera work. Shooting dance is not so much hard as it is insanely delicate, wrong angle, wrong shot, wrong edit, and the whole thing falls apart (Mitoma 2003: 198). Careful decisions on how to make the film logical and interesting for the audience have to be made. Whatever the choices, they must serve both the film and choreography well. Some of the strong factors influencing the directors decisions are the underlying story, the genre of the dance and film, camera placement, the number of cameras
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to use, shot selections, shot angles, lighting, sound etc. The number of cameras to use During the rehearsals I used one camera and it was almost impossible to capture the dancing bodies without compromising the integrity of their movements. Documenting dance with a single video camera is time consuming and very limiting. To start with, the rehearsal studio is small, therefore it is impossible to use a wide shot in which all the dancers will be in the frame. I was therefore left with no choice but to film different sections of the dance at different times. On the other hand, using more than one camera offered the option of capturing the performance in detail from multiple camera angles, without compromising the myriad components of the action taking place on stage. With three cameras I achieved a variety of camera angles that provided me with multiple points of view. Camera placement Camera placement can have a significant impact on the composition of the shot as each angle has a different effect on the final outcome. In lower angle shots, characters appear larger than life, whilst on the other hand a very high angle shot, like a birds eye view, would make the characters look small and almost insignificant. I placed three cameras on three different parts and levels of the auditorium, each with a slightly different angle. One camera was placed in the balcony, facing down on the stage. From this angle the patterns on stage were more discernible as the camera kept the entire stage in frame at all times, capturing the action occurring at different distances on stage in the foreground, middleground and background. The second camera was placed on the left hand side of the auditorium, at eye level, and concentrated mainly on the action happening on stage right. This is from the point of the view of the audience. The third, hand held camera, placed at eye level in the middle of the auditorium to capture any action on centre stage, also zoomed and moved a great deal, motivated by the action on stage. Shot selection When making a dance film there is a variety of shots to choose from: Long shot Using this shot as a master shot, the camera remains static. It stays focused on the stage, recording shapes, lines, character placement, movement and everything that happens on the stage. This choice may serve choreography well by capturing the interesting floor patterns formed by the dancers. However, despite the clarity of patterns and forms on stage, it fails to capture subtle body movements. That can only be achieved through the employment of close-up shots. Medium long shot This shot provides plenty of room for action in the frame, presenting an opportunity to fit every dancer in the picture at all times. The camera can focus and zoom in on solo or group acts. Ranis piece is mostly made up of small groupings of dancers on stage; this is one of the elements that influenced the decision to employ this kind of shot. Close up shots Throughout the rehearsal process, Rani constantly reminded the dancers that this piece is all about unity, there is no lone dancer. There is a notion that some African cultures have about dancing. They believe that when the art of dance was created it was done in a communal sense for the community by the members of the community as one body, one voice, and one soul. It is collective and binding. Through the usage of close up shots of the dancers body parts, I am able to create a sense of oneness. A close up shot of one dancers leg movement is being completed by another dancers arm movement,
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forming one body that is a part of many bodies. This whole notion brings to mind the thought of being a part of a whole. As Asante pointed out, holism is embedded in African dance (1990: 80). It is all about spiritual collectiveness in African dance. By cinematically joining together different body parts of different dancers, I hoped to evoke this collective spirituality. Lighting Lighting up dark-skinned people has always been problematic as their skin tone contrasts with the light itself. Faces become almost invisible against strongly lit or white backgrounds. Light skin tones appear burned out against dark backgrounds. Filming performers with varying skin tones at the same time is an added challenge. Therefore prior arrangements and planning with the lighting designer is important and should be taken into consideration. I was not able to meet with the lighting designer in advance. The fact that the lighting in the film was not greatly affected is just a happy accident that I managed to get away with. Movement Busby Berkeley one of Hollywoods early film directors and choreographers who seldom moved the camera when filming dance. He was more concerned with the patterns formed on stage. In 1932 he invented a top shot technique, which, like the name suggests, meant that it was shot from above. Fred Astaire, a dancer and choreographer in his own on right, on the other hand declared that either the camera will dance or I will (quoted in Mitoma 2003: 221). Evan E. Siebens asserts that the difference between these two viewpoints sums up one of the challenges facing a dance filmmaker: whether and when to move the camera (Ibid: 221). Margaret Williamss point that a dance film is primarily concerned with movement. In silent films movement and gesture were the driving force (2003: 214) reiterates the principle that dances is fundamentally kinaesthetic. To capture that kinaesthetic energy on film it was helpful to have a moving camera. Camera movement comes in a variety of styles. Karina Wilson in her website, mediaknowall.com, emphasizes that not only must the style of movement be chosen, but the method of actually moving the camera must be selected too (Wilson 2004). She further identifies the basic methods of camera movement as panning, tilting, crane shots, zooming, dolly and handheld. Panning is a horizontal movement of the camera through space. It is normally shot from, but not limited to, a camera that is mounted upon a tripod. Tilting is the opposite of a pan whereby the camera moves vertically. A crane refers to a high angle shot from a camera mounted up on a crane. Hanging on a crane, the camera can be moved and swung in different directions. Sometimes a shot is achieved by placing a camera in a moving vehicle and moving it alongside the action and we refer to this as a dolly. Likewise, in a tracking shot, the camera moves and follows the subject around in any directions. With the zooming technique the action is pulled closer to the audience or pushed further away. The handheld shot, as the name suggests, allows the operator to hold the camera and move around more freely (Wilson 2004). With the exception of the dolly, the tracking shot, and the crane, I used all of the above techniques to capture the movement on stage. The incorporation of the handheld camera proved to be the most useful as it provided the opportunity to move with the action and capture the dynamic rhythm of the dance. It further gave a sense of intimacy and immediacy to the action. The Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Dance on Film
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Creating a new dance The Wandering Souls of Mendi revolves around the theme of life after death; therefore it touches on spiritual aspects of African culture and dance. As a filmmaker I was faced with the task of finding a way cinematically to enhance these spiritual and aesthetic elements of the dance without destroying its integrity or despiritualising it. I can create the illusion of spirituality by superimposing images on each other during the editing process, however, as Asante suggests, capturing African dance wholly in film is impossible.(1990: 78) I believe that this is true for the art of dance in general. Birringer argues that dance moves through media and moves media of representationit cannot be fixed, saved, or recovered. (1998:29) As camera records movement on stage, transferring it to the screen, some parts of the act are framed out and slowed down and, as it moves through space, it creates a dance of its own that looks like the dance on stage, but it is not exactly that dance. Birringer further argues that: Movement is extra linguistic and cannot be repeated or reconstructed One could even say that the repetition of movement (in its replay in film,) is never the same movement because the momentarily present movement vanishes the moment it is enacted and perceived it can be recorded, yet, it cannot be recorded and played back as the same, for already in the present, in the presence of the act of moving, the movement cannot be repeated. The recording creates another movement. (Birringer 1998: 29) It is my contention that in the act of transferring any form of art from one mode to another, somewhere in that process a new form of art that can stand on its own is created. I refer to this process as the deconstruction of dance. Professor Raphael Miller of Georgia State University states that he danced in front of the camera for the sake of the (re/de)construction of dance (Interview with writer 11 November 2003). By the time the dance piece reaches the screen, the original dance has been dissected, filtered through cinematic chemicals and re-presented as a new independent art piece with an identity of its own. Maya Deren, as cited by Francesca Sambucci, in her essay, The Real and the Unreal, refers to art as a process, a way to give a form to the shapeless, undetermined things. In this process it is up to the artists to create, by their means, an independent form differing from objective reality. That involves a new reality producing a different experience (Sambucci 1999: 1). Collision course with technology After these observations, I am left pondering how dance can be preserved technologically without the risk of the technology taking precedence over the artists creativity. The more we move towards a technology, the more, I fear, the imperfectability of the live dancer in performance will be obscured or fused into a manipulated, technological construction. In a lecture to my class The body in the age of mechanical reproduction (March 2004) James Sey foreshadows my fears about technology. He illustrates the modern scientific premise of techno genesis creating life through technology and the controlling of natural forces through experimental knowledge (Sey, March 2004). In this experimental process, the body is placed into technological systems, appropriated and controlled by the people. This is seen in various video games and screensavers where dancing bodies are controlled by pre-programmed responses to electronic stimuli. All technology is by definition prosthetic, but the continuing perfectibility of human culture is narrowing the gap between man and machine, eradicating time and space as it does so. The Internet erases the trace of technology itself, arriving at an instantaneous present.
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However, the art of cinematography offers a reality that is free of all equipment. Unable to see the camera, we are shown an artwork that tells nothing of its origin, erasing the trace of itself in its representation, it appears as reality itself. Body and experience are brought together and consumed by technology. Conclusion In an interview Dr Shirlene Holmes asserts that technology is here to stay, and if the artists do not accept technology then they are missing something. But if they worship technology and put technology before the living art, I think we are going to have problems in the future. I think it makes art soulless, we lose the live story, we lose the connection, and we lose humanness (Interview with the writer, 11 November 2004). At the end of this study I am left with more questions than answers. I want to support the use of technology in dance, but on the other hand I am left wandering if the use of film technology is, indeed, to preserve a live performance or to negate it. References Billman, L. (1997) Film Choreographers and Dance Directors. North Carolina: McFarland. Birringer, J. (1998) Media and Performance: Along the Border. Baltimore: Johns Cook, D.A. (1981) A History of Narrative Film. New York: Norton Cunningham, M). (1995. In Envisioning dance on film and video. 2003. Mitoma, Judy. ed. London: Routledge Diamond, M. (2003) Watching Dance With a Remote Control in Your Hand. In: Mitoma, J. ed. Envisioning dance on film and video. London: Routledge Morris, G. (1996) Moving Words: ReWriting Dance. London: Routledge Nobles, W. (1972) African philosophy: Foundations for Black Psychology. In: Jones, R.H.(ed) Black Psychology. New York: Harper & Row. Richards, M. D. (1994) Let the Circle be Unbroken: The Implications of African Spirituality in the Diaspora. Trenton, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press Satin, L. (1996) Being danced again In: Morris, G. ed. Moving Words: ReWriting Dance. London: Routledge Schechner, R. (2002) Performance Studies: An Introduction. London: Routledge Siebens, E.E. (2003). Dancing With the Camera: The Dance Cinematographer In: Mitoma, J. ed. Envisioning dance on film and video. 2003. London: Routledge Swinney, G. (1995) The sinking of The SS Mendi, 21 February 1917. Military History Journal 10 (1). Williams, M. (2003) Making Dance Films With Victoria Marks. In: Mitoma, J. ed. Envisioning dance on film and video. London: Routledge. Online references Barnett, P. (2004) Typical British Government White Wash. Available from http://www.nesa.org.uk/html/sinking_of_t he_ss_mendi__1917_.htm Accessed 27/10/2004 Hosken, G. (2004) Homage to Mendi disaster men Pretoria News, an online edition. Available from http://www.pretorianews.co.za/index.php?f SectionId=665&fArticleId=373777 Accessed: 27/10/2004. Ransome, I. (n.d.)This Day in History: 21 February 1917 Available: http://thisdayinhistory.octoplus.co.za/users elect.php?Month=February&day=21&Sub mit=GO# Accessed 27/10/ 2004. Sambucci, F. (2004) The Real and the Unreal available http://www.algonet.se/~mjsull/real.html Accessed 27/10/2004. Wade, Osiris (Last up date: unavailable) Channelling Unity Through Dance Available from http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/journ alism/magazine/bright/current/muntu.html Accessed: 4/11/2004.
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Wilson, K. ( 2004) Camera Movement Available http://www.mediaknowall.com/camangles. html Accessed 4/11/2004. Films and Video A Study in Choreography for the Camera.1945. (Film). Directed by Maya Deren USA: Mystic Fire. Birth of a Nation. 1915. (Film). Directed by DW Griffith. USA: image entertainment. Chicago. 2002. (Film). Directed by Rob Marshall.USA: Miramax. Ipi ntombi; An African dance celebration. 1998. (Video) Diercted by Egnos, Bertha. South Africa. Pbs Home Video. Sarafina.1992. (Film). Directed by Darrell Roodt South Africa: Walt Disney Save the last dance. 2001. (Film). Directed by Thomas Carter. USA Paramount Pictures Performances The Wandering Souls of Mendi in Showing Off 70 Years On!. 28-30 October 2004. Produced by Elizabeth Triegaardt. Choreographed and directed by Maxwell Rani. Cape Town: Baxter Theatre, University of Cape Town. Interviews with the author Holmes Shirlene. 11 November 2003. Georgia State University (Atlanta Georgia USA ) MacGregor Roy. 6 October 2004. Institute of Film and New Media Miller Raphael. 11 November 2004. Georgia State University (Atlanta Georgia USA). Rani, Maxwell. 4 November 2004.Rondebosch: UCT School of Dance Unpublished works Sey, J. 2004. The body in the age of mechanical reproduction lecture, Cape Town: Institute of Film & New Media, University of Cape Town. 28 March.
About the author Tiny Constance Thagame has taught courses at Limkokwing University, Gaborone, and the University of Botswana, Gaborone.
Suggested citation Thagame, T. C. (2014) Capturing the Elusive Art: The Making of a Dance Film. Case study: The Wandering Souls of Mendi. In Rooney, R. ed. The Botswana Media Studies Papers. Gaborone, Department of Media Studies, University of Botswana.
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The dilemma of local content: the case of Botswana Television (Btv)

Bokang Greatness Ditlhokwa
Abstract Contrary to the notion that Botswanas independent producers lack the professional skills to generate local television content, lack of finance is arguably the main challenge that continues to bedevil the producers. This paper reveals that Btv continues to make attempts to empower the independent producers through licensing of existing intellectual properties but that it lacks the necessary and transparent guidelines to acquire television content. Part of the challenge is exacerbated by governments unwillingness to budget for local content produced by independent producers, preferring to buy international content as well as having government departments and Ministries generate local content. Key words: generic schedule, in-house productions, independent producers, local content, local content quotas, mandate-driven content
Introduction Botswanas Independent television Producers have failed to make a mark in the international motion pictures arena despite the launch of the Botswana Television (Btv) in 2000. Perhaps very little is known about the major obstacles that impede the development of the industry apart from negative perceptions that local Independent Producers produce substandard programmes. (Probe Market Intelligence 2009: 11) This paper sets to establish how Btv empowers independent producers to generate local TV content. The author who, is a media practitioner interviews industry professionals, analyzes the generic and transmission schedules of Btv as well as giving commentary on the state of the industry, its causes and possible remedies.
Local content definitions Although local content in the audio-visual industry may sound quite straight forward, its implementation manifests multidimensionality and complex situations that have to be understood. Research indicates that local content plays an important role in determining improved audience ratings, appreciation of arts, culture and national identity and integrity. (Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, 2011) The South African Broadcasting Corporation defines local content as: a television programme (excluding broadcasts of sports events and compilations of them, advertisements, teletext and continuity announcements) that is produced by a South African
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broadcaster, or by South African people (SABC, 2002). The South African experience demonstrates loyalty to nationhood by according the locals the opportunity to exploit local ideas and skills in local content generation, capturing and storing diverse cultural traits and social environments in retrieval systems for wealth generation and future use. The Australian governments commitment to both grow and protect the local industry uses a model of minimum local content requirements to guard against loopholes and pretexts that the broadcasters can use to score below quota expectations by developing and reflecting a sense of Australian identity, character and cultural diversity by supporting the communities continued access to television programmes produced under Australian creative control (Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy 2011: 3). To achieve the set objectives the Australian government put in place the relevant support structures to ensure sustained development. One such structure was the establishment of Screen Australia, an organization that supports concept development, funding, development/production and distribution. In this way specialist areas ensure that local content generators spend endless hours working on quality concepts and building production teams, assured of a market. Such structures are desirable in Botswana to both regulate creative content generation and to accord the independent producers greater investment opportunities. Botswana Television has not risen to the expectation of independent producers in local content generation. The major discrepancy is the lack of its own definition of local content. This therefore contributes to implementation shortcomings in local content procurement. Btv depends on the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) definition that it inherited from the then Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) and the National Broadcasting Board (NBB). Local content means the total of all television or radio programmes that have been produced using material gathered in Botswana, and which mostly use Batswana personnel and services in Botswana (Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority, 2004: 3). Compared to Australia and South Africa, the definition of local content is vague and open to misinterpretation and manipulation. Expressions like material gathered in Botswana and mostly use Batswana personnel and services in Botswana are misleading and nonobjective. Furthermore Btvs definition of local content has been blemished by the influx of mandate-driven programmes produced locally by Btv in-house producers, departmental and Ministerial programmes. The state broadcaster does not have guidelines that are used to calculate or monitor local content hence events, news, current affairs and sport form part of local content on Btv. As a result the programmes line-up does not meet the expectations of the viewers who want entertainment and creatively crafted programmes. (Interview Nageng 2014). Nageng is adamant that running a station without a business plan is bound to backfire and result in viewer apathy. Therefore the question of whether or not Btv meets its local content quotas is immaterial as the station is self-regulated. This therefore raises questions whether
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mandate-driven TV content should be treated as local content. The new dispensation For the past five years Btv has not been able to raise enough budgets to license many programmes from the independent producers. Its annual budget had been reduced to P2-3million against the requested P20million. This therefore means that the broadcaster had to consider giving each producer a fair opportunity by purchasing shelved programmes from as many independent producers as the budget could accommodate (Interview, Nageng, 2014). South African Television consultant Quentin Green was engaged by government to reengineer the broadcasting processes at Btv in order to meet the needs of the broadcast constituency. Green was engaged on a three-year contract of which the first two years were dedicated to acclimatization, and turning around the internal processes to lure the business community to invest in the broadcast sector. Green had sought to raise the Btv budget from the annual P20milion to P100million through airtime sale. This, according to him, would make broadcasting commercially viable. The next lap would be to make recommendations for Btv to be turned into a parastatal (Tsheko 2014). However, Tsheko who was by then Channel Controller reflects that two conflicting ideologies were at play; a commercial viability vision versus a political or bureaucratic vision. While Green focused on commercial viability, the appointment of Mogomotsi Kaboeamodimo as Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President led to a shift in focus. Mogomotsi became more concerned with bureaucratic processes that undermined Greens plans. The new focus was to push the mandates of government departments and Ministries hence the decline in independent productions. Greens implementation plan was therefore short-lived, due to conflicting ideologies. Green, who served as Chief Executive (Television) at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) was instrumental to the commissioning of the first South African soapy, Generations in 1994. He became the brains behind the current content procurement processes at Btv. Though he seemed to concentrate on the structural aspects of Btv, he managed to kick-start a sponsor based content procurement model (Nageng 2014). Independent producers pitch their ideas to the broadcaster and once the ideas are approved, the producers are encouraged to approach the sponsors to anchor the programmes. In this way many independent producers benefit. This model of sponsorship saw the broadcast of Primetime Life in 2008, the first programme to be approved in the new dispensation, produced by Ditiragalo Media, contracted by Primetime Media. Primetime Life is a weekly magazine that broadcasts on Btv Saturdays at 19:30hrs. The programme has two segments mainly featuring events that are paid for by the sponsor who is guaranteed broadcasting. However, sponsorship packages that are tailored to meet the commercial needs of the sponsors compromise the quality of the content that they are attached to. Programme sponsors tend to concentrate effort in advertising their products and services at the expense of good programming. Eventually content is skewed towards corporate profiles than providing what is of public interest. The programming is interrupted by a wide range of on-screen products such as squeeze backs, company logos, crawling
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text, sms adverts etc, rendering the programming ineffective and fully infomercial. The distortion of artistic expression by advertisers is observed by Perebinossoff et al. (2005: 163) who assert that the aim of an advertiser is to expand gross sales, not extend artistic boundaries. Primetime Life and First Issues are burdened by sponsors adverts, an indication of sponsorship bondage. In some instances independent producers were given 13 slots to broadcast their programmes for free in order to attract the sponsors. Bonang which ran for 13 weeks is one such programme. The chicken and egg dilemma Not all the independents espouse the new dispensation as observed by Mabiletsa (Interview, 2014) that the sponsor-driven model is a mind game designed to buy time. Unlike other models, Btv does not issue letters of intent to assist the independent producers to give credible evidence to the potential sponsor that the broadcaster is aboard. Rather, Btv would want the independent producer to submit a letter of intent from the sponsor. In response, the sponsor would demand an official letter of commitment from the broadcaster leading to a chicken and egg dilemma. The other major deficiency of this model is that it was not well publicised and therefore not very helpful to the independent producers because how does a producer in Francistown, Maun or Selebi Phikwe know that there is a pitching window at Btv? (Interview, Nageng 2014). Through word of mouth several producers approached Btv and had their programmes approved. As Nageng suggests, some of the genres were conflicted with the generic schedule because they were not planned for. The scheduling of the new programmes caused delays in decision making. Dee-zone Productions spent a year fighting endlessly to have Ntwakgolo scheduled in prime time. In 2013 Btv ran two cycles of unsolicited programmes that benefited some independent producers. Quotas Many countries have resorted to local content quotas in order to safeguard the interest of national identity and cultural diversity. Local content quotas are desirable in a growing broadcast industry to both encourage and protect the local industry from the influx of foreign content. Several authorities have come up with closely related definitions of quotas. Many countries apply quotas on goods and services that are seemingly threatened by imported products. Quota allocations are a regulatory system aimed at promoting local goods and services by limiting alien products. Quotas cover a wide spectrum of goods. TV landscape in Botswana At its inception on July 30, 2000, Btv was to be launched as a public broadcaster. Many of its obligations have not been met due to several reasons, among them, a lack of a regulatory body to enforce the implementation of the overarching responsibilities of a true public broadcaster. Government had an upper hand in deciding the programming activities of the broadcaster. Between 2000 and 2004, local producers negotiated with Moolji Parshotham, the one-man Procurement Office to licence their local content, who at the time was doing the general housekeeping (Mosime 2007: 153). Through the process, a few documentaries were licensed. Some independent producers started complaining about local content acquisition procedures,
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citing lack of transparency. However, in 2003 Underdogs Production, a South African-based media consultancy and production house was commissioned to help in formulating a content acquisition strategy (Government of Botswana, 2003). The workshop was to come up with a framework of planned content acquisition activities that would guide the future direction of the station in content acquisition and in turn help grow the local film/television industry. The success of the television project would therefore depend on the successful implementation of the strategy to be earmarked by the first commissioning cycle. The strategy document is a comprehensive document that provides basic guidelines that could help the broadcaster to put in place preliminary measures to run the station. However, procurement policies and procedures that would not impinge on the independent producers intellectual property rights are yet to be drafted after more than a decade of broadcasting. Strategic document mission Since 2000, Btv has not been able to produce a schedule of activities that are geared towards assisting the local production despite the strategy document mission that Btv can provide invaluable assistance during the development of these organizations and the industry as a whole (Government of Botswana, 2003: 23) The mission of the state broadcaster was to engage in activities empowering the local production industry through fair and transparent conduct, structured training and development, and reasonable management of broadcasting and production rights. (ibid: 12) Btv has used different models of outsourcing local television content but has not lived up to its promise to conduct training, engage in industry development activities or discussions on production rights. The strategic document refers to Btv as a public broadcaster that will help in setting up a Botswana Production Fund that will influence the future direction of commissioning, content creation and wealth for the local industry. (ibid: 15) Population According to the 2011 population census, Botswana has a population of two million people, the majority of whom reside in rural areas (Census Botswana, 2011). In this regard it is unlikely that the independent producers can make a business case out of this market to support a growing and vibrant film and television industry when looking for programme sponsors. Based on the comments and experiences of independent producers, the survival of the industry therefore relies on government tenders whose requirements disadvantage many production houses. Perhaps what remains is for the industry professionals to take advantage of globalization and cast their nets wider to attract the wider global markets. This would entail forming partnerships with international production companies and financiers for possible co-production or co-financing. Lack of finance to develop quality ideas however, remains a challenge to the industry. The disadvantage in executing quality ideas without the necessary budgets and skills is killing the noble idea. Some local producers have turned their ideas into sketches that will never reach the international markets despite being very good concepts. Locally produced television dramas such as Radijo and Beauty are good drama concepts that have gone to waste due to poor execution resulting from lack of finance.
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Jolliffe and Zinnes (2006) warn that such a move could destroy ones credit rating resulting in many years struggling to correct the mistake. It may also result in jeopardizing the prospect of finding a financier for any future filming opportunities. The playing field The Independent producers are faced with a barrage of audio-visual recording devices such as iPads, palm orders, mobile phones and other consumer products. These products contribute to the dilemma of market standards. Often the clients are looking for clarity of the pictures instead of quality adherence to professional guidelines. This phenomenon is often supported by price disparities and the unwillingness by the clients to budget well. The clients are not willing to pay for quality concepts when producing television commercials. They prefer cheap public service announcements (PSA) that often resemble power point presentations. When the PSAs are produced, the clients complain that the products are of poor quality. Many of the clients want to take control of the storyboards and scripting, which takes away the creativity of the producer and leaves the client with a rigid product. This affects the story telling ability of the Independent producers who have to satisfy the needs of the clients. Empirical study of Btv More than 60 percent of local content on Btv is either from the government departments and ministries or in-house productions as shall be seen in the analysis that follows. The question however is to what extent is local content on Btv local in the context of citizen empowerment and industry growth? Should government department and ministries generated content be considered as local content. Btv has never undertaken an audience survey since 2000 raising doubts about what informs local content at the national television station. A closer look at both the generic schedule and the transmission schedule reveals that cartoons amount to 17.5 hours of broadcast per week all of which is international content. 7.5 hours goes to the teens, 2.5 hours constitutes youth programmes, 10 hours of day parting (breakfast show). The remaining time is reserved for local content allocated to inhouse productions, mandate-driven programmes and independent producers as follows: 11hours of Ministry of Education and Skills Development in-house; Btv inhouse about 27.5 to 28 hours (excluding news bulletins) while independent producers sponsored and unsolicited programmes amount to six hours per week. The figures include programme repeats. Internal content is allocated over 40hours. From midnight to 04.45 hrs Btv broadcasts a feed from France 24. Budgets Annual programming budgets stood at P19million since 2000 of which P7.3million was allocated to international content (Interview Bothongo 2012). Kokorwe (Panel discussion, 2005) argues that a lot of money is returned to government at the end of each financial year while the independent producers suffer. Government institutions spend an estimated P2million per season each on TV programming. Btv runs 18 local content programmes each with at least 52 episodes. Of these, five come from other government departments that have television production facilities, while six come from the independent producers through various acquisition models. The
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First National Bank of Botswana anchors First Issues while Primetime Life is anchored by Barclays Bank and through direct segment purchases. Living the vision has no anchor sponsor and therefore runs as a freebee. The National Aids Coordinating Agency (NACA) sponsors Ntwakgolo while the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture is the anchor sponsor for Letlhabile. Multiple investors finance My Star. My African Dream is a Co-production between Btv and the My African Dream concept owners. The arrangement leaves much to be desired since the two entities are practically not involved in any coproduction activities. A co-production could be defined as a production where two or more producers play an active role in the physical production of a programme by supplying the services of individuals on the production jointly contributing to the financing of it and jointly, proportionate to their relative contributions owning rights in the completed production (Albertstat, 2005: 209). In the case of My African Dream, Btv provides the facilities and manpower to produce the programme. According to Nageng, Btv happened to embrace the concept of My African Dream and partnered with the trust under the auspices of a co-production (Interview, 2014). The arrangement however, does not suit the definition that Albertstat provides. The coproduction arrangement is another way through which Btv increases in-house productions. Government generated content amounts to P30million per season, totalling P120million per year while an estimated P3million worth of programming goes to independent producers (Government of Botswana, 2003). While it is evident that local content can be funded, based on the size of the population, the domestic market is not big enough to cover local content production costs. There is no guarantee that the international markets can absorb Botswana local content as the possibility of exporting such content has not been fully explored. Distribution of television content depends on cultural relevance. Australian content will appeal to audiences in the United States and Britain due to their cultural and political ties (Australian Government, 2011: 7). In this case, drama content produced in Botswana is likely to appeal to the South African population and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) than to audiences outside the SADC region. During the 2010-2011-2011-2012 local content budgets, Botswana television had P2.5million and P3million set aside for licensing local content. The budgets were reflected in the 2010-2012 commissioning expenditure. Local independent producers are pained by irregular acquisition of local content which keeps them guessing as to when will be the next cycle. Licensing of existing works has been unpredictable for many years. This leaves many of the local producers with very few options to sell or have their productions screened on Btv. Lack of scheduled licensing of local content meant a decline in the production of quality unsolicited programmes while shoestring budgets also meant a huge compromise on quality. As a result, many independent producers depended on corporate productions where creativity does not play a major role. This saw a new trend of hand-to-mouth approach to audiovisual production. Most producers indicate that their businesses depend on corporate profiling, public service announcements which often use text on screen, still
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pictures and video clips. These are produced at budgets ranging from P5000 to P20,000. Maretlwaneng is one of the producers who have done business with Btv through middlemen. This approach is embraced by Chengeta, who runs Chengeta Boys Production. He approaches clients, to licence his product. The client will be the one to approach Btv. In this way, he does not spend a lot of time negotiating with the broadcaster. Unsolicited programmes are programmes produced at the producers own risk without any presale agreements. Independent producers hope to license the content to the broadcaster. A license is a contractual agreement, which permits someone else to exploit or use the work or part of the work in a license. With alicense, the author or creator retains ownership of the rights in the work in question (Albertstat, 2005: 15). This is one success story in local content generation where the producers do not have to go through the hassle of a tender process but take risks to produce programmes at their cost. Unsolicited programmes have benefited a few independent productions such as Primetime Media, MD Productions, Interactive Media, Baboneng film Production, Letshwao Productions and Ditiragalo Media. Commissioning too is irregular and unpredictable. In this way the producers cannot possibly work on a predetermined time period to produce a programme that guarantees sales. Content acquisition strategies at Botswana Television During the first phase of commissioning, the expectations were too high and unrealistic for both the broadcaster and the stakeholders (Mosime 2007: 221). Btv had anticipated high-end broadcast quality programmes from inexperienced producers while the producers differed on how content acquisition should have been tackled. The discerning voices were diverse and overwhelming, each independent producer having a different view (ibid: 222). Btv relies on the broadcasting strategy formulated in 2003. However; its implementation is marred by rigidity and unwillingness to work closely with the independent producers. The major disparities in procurement processes were realized during the first call for supply of the shelved programmes in 2012. Despite the budget limitations set to compromise content and production quality across the genres the Broadcaster exhibited unwarranted neglect of Independent producers. Tender NO: SP/MTC 145/2012-2013 for local content was sold for P250.00 per document while NO: SP/MTC/071/2012-2013 dated July 3, 2012 for international content was given free of charge. Clearly, the domestic regulations tend to restrict the independent producers from participating in local content generation while allowing continued dominance of international content on Btv. The procurement exercise raises serious questions about the broadcasters commitment to growing local content and empowering independent producers. The disparity between local content procurement and international content is due to the fact that International content has set guidelines (Interview, Bothongo, 2012). In the schedule of quantities, the independent producers could submit a total of 13 episodes per genre out of the 6 selected genres. Btv intends for local content to assume a larger portion of the schedule and remain
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significant to the channel programme mix to maintain and increase its audience base (tender NO: SP/MTC 145/2012-2013 p1of 6). The international content schedule of quantities ranged from 52 episodes to 1560 with cartoons at the top of the list. The document further states foreign content assume a larger portion of the schedule and remains significant to the channel programme mix and helps maintain and increase its audience base (P1of 30 scope of supplies). An analysis of the two statements referring to local content and international content respectively, illustrates a serious self-contradiction about the intent of Btv. Quantities requested for fillers amounted to 1092 episodes while cartoons stood at 1560.The scenario above and the restrictions imposed on the local content generators tend to suppress the growth of the film and television industry. Independent producers were allowed to bid for strictly 13 episodes per genre while international bidders were allowed a minimum of 52 episodes per genre. Provision Managing Director, Segale Mabiletsa points out that he had very bad experiences with Btv (Interview, Mabiletsa, 2014). He is of the opinion that Btv should not restrict the independent producers from submitting multiple episodes for one genre. He is of the opinion that by allowing the independent producers to submit more than eight episodes of the same genre this will allow the independent producers to specialize instead of producing across genres. The lack of information on content acquisition tends to haunt many independent producers, as when the tenders are published, the producers do not have enough time to produce quality programmes. Mabiletsa suggests that Btv should be proactive in communicating industry issues to independent producers, to stimulate production activity. Transparency in programme reviews however, remains an issue of major concern to the independent producers citing lack of evaluation reports on submitted works. Mabiletsa gave an example where a programme was awarded 80 percent of technical compliance during the July 2013 cycle and that during the second cycle, the same programme scored below 60 percent. Local content procurement procedures are not transparent enough as there is no consultation with relevant stakeholders. This as a result subjects the independent producers to a lot of pressure when it comes to pricing their products. The broadcaster has predetermined prices that the independent producers should either take or lose out. Decisions relating to the industry rate card are not done in consultation with the stakeholders. This poses a serious predicament on the part of the established industry professionals who are likely to run at a loss. Other factors that contribute to this state of affairs are the lack of standards. Unpacking the dilemma of local content Independent producers should play a pivotal role is directing the course of future developments in the country. Nonetheless, the film and television industry in Botswana is still in its infancy despite containing a large number of graduates from several universities around the world. This should have been used as a stepping-stone to develop the industry further to match the international standards. This anomaly further exacerbates the plight of young industry professionals who are passion driven but do not have access to the resources that can help shape the industry for the better.
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Segale (Interview, 2014) observes that financing the production of local content will encourage quality programmes, guarantee the producers primetime slots as well as attracting investors. The current situation where advertisers crowd around the news hour is an indication of scepticism about viewership preferences. Btv needs to be turned into a hub of creative content to entertain the viewership. Btv should emulate the SABC model and enforce the implementation of the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) the same way the South African implements the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), giving the blacks preferential treatment through tax rebates and subsidies. One of the suggestions is for Btv to identify experienced independents to produce programmes and to allow them to subcontract new entrants in the market so they learn from the experienced ones. Government killing the industry Some government departments and ministries have over the years bought inhouse television production equipment that they use to disseminate information through Btv. A total of 13 government entities that have bought television production equipment have been identified. Some of them are actively involved in local content generation while others have their equipment gathering dust. The Ministry of Agriculture produces a weekly programme while Ministry of Education TV production Studio in Mochudi has turned into a white elephant. The Ministry of Transport and Communications is still at acquisition stage. It is therefore apparent that these departments and ministries will impoverish the independent production houses since all production needs are met in-house. Out of 18 local programmes currently running on Btv an independent Producer produces only two procured through open ministerial tenders. (The above refers to programmes with 52 episodes and above). Letlhabile and Ntwakgolo are produced by Dee-Zone Productions. Dee-zone Productions, which was established in 2008, has managed to survive the industry hardships by doing work for the corporate bodies. Despite the companys participation in Btv tenders, they never got any programmes bought. it was only in 2013 that we managed to license one season after much struggle (Interview, Maretlwaneng, 2014). Maretlwaneng admits that currently there is no platform to exchange ideas and opinions with the broadcaster. It is therefore not clear how Btv intends to empower the independent producers since independent producers are not privy to the local content procurement strategy. He also agrees with Mabiletsa that the criteria used to license local content discourages the independent producers from developing single genre content. Since its inception, Btv has not managed to dialogue with independent producers in relation to local content generation. The launch of the Digital Migration project in 2013 witnessed the attendance of government officers and their Japanese counterparts taking the centre stage while the independent producers were left out. Gates (2004: 163) proposes that due to the amount of content television stations need, content generation should be a collective effort between the independents and in-house producers. In essence one can argue that the national television is competing with the independent producers for content generation and sponsorship for programmes. The morning show for
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instance has in the past attracted segment sponsors such as Blue, Botswana Post, Mascom, Botswana Tourism Board and others. Programmes like Bonang and Melodi ya dinnoto were discontinued partly due to lack of funding. Lack of sponsorship deprives independent producers of the opportunity to exhibit their works on Btv, denying them exposure to talent scouts. Issues of quality assurance have since been neglected by government departments since their programmes are geared toward implementing departmental mandates rather than continued investment and the exploitation of neighbouring rights of such programming to guarantee the producers continued income. Government as a key player in the industry is impoverishing the industry thorough these departmental television production facilities. They do not go through the same stringent measures that the independent production houses go through. Independent producers are required to take their technical teams to the commissioning team where they are thoroughly interrogated on their expertise in television production including but not limited to academic qualifications and experience. On the other hand, government departments do not necessarily have to pitch their ideas to the commissioning team. They have mandates to accomplish and are dealt with at a different level (Interview, Kwalate, 2013). However, (Panel discussion, Ramsay 2005) refutes allegations of government interference in programming saying the Botswana government has no input into Btv programming, though individual ministers might respond to individual programmes. This implies that the commissioning team is not in control of primetime slots allocation. By the beginning of 2012, Botswana television had 14 in-house programmes excluding news sport and current affairs. Income tax Shima Sennye, who works for the Educational Broadcasting Division of the Ministry of Education and Skills Development, is resolute that circulation of funds within government departments causes economic recession or downfall since such funds do not generate interest (Interview, Sennye, 2012). He views inhouse productions and mandate driven programmes as having a negative impact on the economy. Sennye argues that when independent producers are commissioned to produce programmes, government accrues revenue through Value Added tax, which is a percentage on top of the service fee. Given the estimated P120million that government departments spend on local content, it is evident that government accrues losses of about P14million that the independent producers could have paid as tax. Sennye suggests that acquiring content from independent producers contributes to economic growth as opposed to government departments and ministries producing local content without involving independent producers. Conclusion The situation regarding local content at Btv has had a debilitating impact on the independent producers, leaving a trail of frustration and suspicious relationships. Independent producers accuse the state broadcaster of inconsistency and lack of transparency in acquiring local content. On the other hand the broadcaster is unable to raise reasonable budgets to license local content from independent producers, preferring to have the majority of programmes produced in-house. Part of
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this is fuelled by the perception that independent producers price their programmes unreasonably high, opening avenues to government departments and Ministries to produce their own programmes. As pressure mounts on the National Broadcaster, to license local content, plans are afoot to produce a policy document to address current local content concerns and to incorporate the digital migration content projections going forward. The move will see the concerns of the independent producers addressed and participation by the public in broadcasting a reality. Some independent producers believe that the film and television commission is the way to go if the industry is to grow. Note: Currency conversion: 100 Botswana Pula equals US$11. References Albertstat, P. (2005) Independent Producers Guide to Film & TV contracts. London: Routledge. Botswana, Government of (2003) BTV Local Content Commissioning and Procurement Strategic Planning Document. Gaborone. Botswana Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (2004) Chapter 72:04 Broadcasting: Subsidiary Legislation, Broadcasting Regulations. www.bta.org.bw/bocra-hq Accessed 12/11/2013. Central Statistics Office (2011) Census Botswana 2011, Gaborone: Central Statistics Office. http://www.cso.gov.bw/index.php?optio n=com_content1&id=2&site=census Accessed 12/11/2013. Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (2011) Australian Government Convergence Review, Convergence Review Discussion paper: Australian and Local Content. Canberra Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. www.dbcde.gov.au/convergence Accessed 20/10/2013. Gates, R. (1999) Production Management for Video and Film, 3rd ed, Oxford: Focal Press. Jolliffe, G. and Zinnes, A. (2006) The Documentary Filmmakers Handbook. London: The Continuum International Publishing Group. Mosime, S. T. (2007) Botswana Television (BTV) Negotiating Control and Cultural Production in a Globalising Context: A Political Economy of Media State Ownership in Africa. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. www.nab.org.za/templates/article_temp late_142.asp Accessed 20/11/2013. Perebinossoff, P., Gross, B., and Gross, L.S. (2005) Programming for TV, Radio and the Internet. Strategy, Development and Evaluation, Amsterdam: Focal Press. PricewaterhouseCoopers, (2011) How do Local Content Requirements Impact Australian Productions? Review and Analysis of Broadcast Sector Minimum Content Requirements. Canberra: Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. Probe Market Intelligence (2009), Audience of the Broadcasting Sector in Botswana Report. Gaborone: Botswana Telecommunications Authority. South African Broadcasting Corporation (2002), SABC Local Content, available at http://vcmstatic.sabc.co.za/VCMStaticP rodStage/CORPORATE/SABC%20Corpo rate/StaticDocument/About%20SABC/loc al.pdf Accessed 18/1/2014.
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Interviews conducted by the author Bothongo, Polly, Channel Controller, Botswana Television, April 2012. Chengeta, Ndinaye, Boys Production, th 25 January 2014. Habana, Linnet, Assistant Commissioning Editor, Botswana Television, April 2012. Kwalate, Gao, Commissioning Editor, Botswana Television. April 2012. Mabiletsa T. Segale, Managing Director, Provision Media, 22nd January 2014. Maretlwaneng, Thabiso, Managing Director, Dee-Zone- Productions, 24th January 2014. Morwaagole, Faith, Senior Health Officer-Communications, Ministry of Health, April 2012. Nageng, Solly, Head of Programs BTV, rd 23 January 2014. Omphile, Selina, Producer, Itshireletse. April 2012. Otsile, Thuso, Managing Director, Flame Power Multimedia, April 2012. Sennye, Shima, Producer, Ministry of Education and Skills Development (ICT) April 2012. Tsheko, Raymond, Former Channel Controller (Btv) 11th February 2014.
About the author Bokang Greatness Ditlhokwa lectures in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Botswana. He holds a Masters Degree in Media Production (Griffith University, Australia) and is former producer of The Eye. Bokang is pioneer producer of Primetime Life and now produces Planet 3 and Living the Vision, which are broadcast on Btv. He is also a recipient of the Investigative Journalist of the Year 2002, (MISA), 2012 Vision 2016 Chairmans Award, for contribution to the long term vision for Botswana as well as the Chairmans Award for the best corporate social responsibility television programme (Botswana Consumer Fair 2013).
Suggested citation Ditlhokwa, B. G. (2014) The Dilemma of Local Content: the Case of Botswana Television (Btv). In Rooney, R. ed. The Botswana Media Studies Papers. Gaborone, Department of Media Studies, University of Botswana.
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