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MSI Africa 2008

Mozambique

• Introduction
• Objective 1: Free Speech
• Objective 2: Professional Journalism
• Objective 3: Plurality of News Sources
• Objective 4: Business Management
• Objective 5: Supporting Institutions
• Panel Participants

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Introduction

Overall Country Score: 2.19

Since the adoption of a new constitution in 1990 and the end of a brutal civil war two years later, Mozambique has seen its media sector grow both broad and deep. Private media outlets have proliferated, state-run media have worked to adopt a public service format, and community radio stations serve rural areas. As a result, this year’s MSI panelists declared the status of press freedom to be satisfactory, but with room for improvement.

While there are no direct legal restrictions on media freedoms, the legal framework for facilitating the business of the media and for its economic sustainability have not improved. In addition, press laws need updating. Access to higher education, particularly to communication and journalism courses, has increased, but the quality of instruction has not kept pace.

On the positive side, several relatively new newspapers have established themselves in the market, including O Escorpião, O Magazine Independente, and the first free newspaper, A Verdade. Private broadcast companies—Miramar Communication Network and SOICO TV (STV)—have been gaining in economic strength and visibility, and are beginning the process of setting up offices and repeaters in the provinces. The STV group converted its weekly newspaper O País into a daily, making it the third-largest national daily after Notícias, Mozambique’s principal newspaper of record, and Diario de Moçambique.

Panelists said the media showed in 2008 that they were capable of tackling, more boldly and in greater depth, subjects that had previously been taboo. Their investigations and coverage of important stories, including questions surrounding the prime minister’s nationality, showed progress not only among the media, but also on the part of the government, which did not take extralegal action against journalists.

In the area of ethics and self-regulation, the editorial directors of the national media took a major step by adopting a code of conduct for covering municipal elections in November 2008. The media code and one agreed to by the country’s political parties looked set to have a positive effect on media coverage, both day-to-day and during the campaigns for presidential, legislative and provincial elections in 2009.

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Objective 1: Freedom of Speech

Score: 2.27

Mozambique’s constitution and Law 18/91, known as the Press Law, of August 10, 1991, made explicit the intention of promoting and legally protecting free speech and access to public information. The existing legislation conforms to international standards, particularly the instruments of the African Union¹ and the Southern African Development Community.² Mozambique has a High Media Council (Conselho Superior da Comunicação Social), a state body that guarantees, among other things, freedom of expression, the independence of information organs and their professional staff, and the exercise of rights to broadcasting time and of reply.

A close analysis, however, shows that Mozambique’s laws continue to be insufficient and out of date, and their implementation has been unsatisfactory to the point where some citizens have been reluctant to exercise their rights. Generally speaking, the panelists concurred with the view expressed by Glória Muianga, a journalist, producer, presenter, and member of the board of state-run Radio Mozambique, that freedom of expression must improve as democracy grows and the country develops economically and politically. She said that a crucial problem was that the judiciary is still not treating matters to do with free speech in an independent manner.

Delfina Mugabe, assistant chief editor of Notícias, Mozambique’s largest daily newspaper, said that even if Mozambique is moving forward in terms of legislation, freedoms are not being taken advantage of by citizens, who fear possible reprisals for expressing their opinions. Free speech is being exercised by citizens in major urban centers, said Alfredo Libombo, executive director of MISA-Mozambique, but it is an alien notion in rural areas, particularly when it comes to questioning leaders.

Fernando Bilal, an economist and executive director of Kambeny Ltd., said that the Press Law is vague and ill adapted to emerging technologies, because its framing was based on incorrect premises that did not take into account the technological changes that were already occurring. The law, he said, is crucially important to radio and television if digitalization is to be accomplished by the 2015 target date.

Licensing is easier for the written press than for radio and television stations, which must contend with several institutions that have overlapping jurisdiction. These include the Council of Ministers, which approves the issuance of licenses for radio and television operators; the Mozambique National Communications Institute, which controls allocation of frequencies and technological aspects of their use, in addition to other powers and authority; the Prime Minister’s Information Office (known by its Portuguese acronym, GABINFO), which oversees public-sector radio and television operators and issues licenses for all media operators once they are approved by the Council of Ministers; the High Media Council, which monitors ethics and professional conduct in the media and acts in cases of abuse of press freedom and violations of the Press Law, but lacks any powers to impose sanctions and is supposed to be heard before approval and issuance of licenses; and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, which approves and issues business licenses.

To date, there is no record of any license request being refused, but some panelists said the bureaucratic process and the time it takes to obtain a license to operate a radio or television station are excessive, since each case has to be evaluated by the Council of Ministers. Libombo said Mozambique urgently needs an independent regulatory body and a broadcasting law.

Elisa Martins, advisor for international relations and cooperation and head of the department of sales and client management for state-run Mozambique Television (TVM), expressed the view that as a means of formalizing activity, licensing was unimpeded. Muianga, however, said licensing was not a fair process in general and was linked directly to the government. Libombo went further, saying that the Mozambique National Communications Institute was not independent, as it is overseen by the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

There are no restrictions on entry into the media market. Any Mozambican citizen has the right, under existing legislation, to set up any kind of company, including media companies. Taxes on media companies, Libombo said, are unjust because they treat media like any other business, placing no value on their contribution to reducing the high rate of illiteracy in Mozambique.

Martins said that not taking into account the specific nature of media companies had negative implications for television stations, principally the public ones. For example, she said, the tax system ought to make the importation of television programs less costly; currently, the duty surcharge is derived only from the import of the video cassette and not the nature of the content on it. Liège Vitorino, project officer of the Association of Mozambican Women in the Media and communications and image advisor to the Mozambique Tax Authority, told the panel that community media had obtained a partnership with the Mozambique Tax Authority that exempted them from duties.

There were two cases of imprisonment and three attacks on journalists in 2008, said Silvia Afonso, editorial coordinator and manager of Sussundenga Community Radio, but because crimes against journalists are rarely reported, it could not be known for sure how many violations of journalists’ rights had occurred. At the local level, any individual in the district government can act as judge, and many are ignorant of the law, particularly regarding press freedoms. Afonso gave an example from Barwé District, Manica Province, where no action was taken against the secretary of a bairro—a political-administrative authority at the district ward level—who snatched a microphone from a community radio reporter. In addition, community radio journalists in this district, before broadcasting a particular story, contact the district administrator to ask him if they may air it or not.

Paragraph 4 of Article 11 of the Press Law stipulates that public-sector media must carry out their obligations free of interference from any external interest or influence that might compromise their independence, and that they must be guided by standards of high technical and professional quality. In practice, however, their objective is to highlight government programs. The board chairmen or directors-general of public media companies are appointed by the government and invested before the prime minister. In many cases, members of the government and the principal political parties have seats on the boards of the large private media companies operating in Mozambique, and there are no mechanisms or procedures for monitoring the independence of these companies or their journalists.

It is clear that government representatives are given privileged treatment in the pro-government press and on public radio and television programs. On the other hand, the independent press tends to take a critical attitude toward representatives of the state, ostensibly to act as the watchdog of good governance. However, for commercial reasons—and the need to survive—that critical posture has not been consistent, and members of the government and the ruling party are often given prominent coverage.

Isaias Natal, a correspondent for the weekly O Magazine Independente and a Media Institute of Southern Africa-Mozambique delegate, said that when a journalist stands out for writing the truth, he is ostracized not only by those in power, but also by his colleagues and superiors.

Defamation cases are being handled by the criminal courts under the Penal Code, not under the civil law, Libombo said, which is a problem for journalists. The panelists acknowledged that journalists are citizens with the same rights and obligations as others and are not above the law. In a break with the past, the courts heard cases in 2008 that concerned abuses of the freedom of the press—some of which resulted in large fines—but the media did not publicize them. Instead, they focused on the judgment against the Zambeze newspaper for questioning the nationality of the prime minister, and the prosecution of the same paper for publishing information accusing the attorney general of embezzling public money—an allegation that was ruled groundless after an investigation.

All the panelists concurred with the view that the country is fragile insofar as access to public information is concerned. Mugabe said access to such information is practically non-existent and that there are no legal enforcement instruments to make officials pass it on to whoever needs it. Afonso said that the public’s ignorance of laws regarding access to public sources of information remain a cause for concern. Also, she said, loopholes remain in the Press Law, particularly in relation to the legal framework for community multimedia centers, which are important for access to information.

The Press Law stipulates that journalists must be given access to official sources of information. However, journalists in the public, private, and community sectors still run into difficulty acquiring official information because of the government’s culture of secrecy regarding some kinds of material. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the national legislature has not taken action on a proposed Law on Access to Sources of Information.

All the panelists concurred that there is unrestricted access to international news, whether through foreign television stations on cable, foreign newspapers and magazines, or via Internet.

In Mozambique, journalism is still viewed as a profession for the less qualified who could not get jobs in other sectors, lamented José Guerra, chairman of the board of Miramar Communication Network. Some people even say that all one needs to be a journalist is to know how to read and write. The absence of an official system of accrediting journalists bodes ill for regulation of the profession.

There are no restrictions on anyone’s embarking on a career in journalism. To be hired, applicants for jobs in the media typically need to have 12 years of primary and secondary education, or intermediate-level journalism college. Over the past three years, however, media outlets have taken on more highly educated staff who graduated from universities or other higher education institutes.

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Objective 2: Professional Journalism

Score: 2.06

Panelists blamed many of the shortcomings of journalism quality on the absence of a set minimum salary and the lack of investment in training. Mugabe said that journalists in the private sector are still not concerned about quality for two reasons: first, the low level of training among private journalists, and second, production for immediate consumption, which does not leave time for such concerns as quality. Other panelists characterized this as a kind of “journalism-to-order,” producing stories so rapidly that quality suffers.

However, some panelists expressed cautious optimism. Libombo said that there had been a visible effort by a few media outlets and their staffs, but that there are also those who do not care about raising their standards. In his view, everything has to do with the managerial capacity and financial sustainability of the companies in question. Mugabe qualified her earlier comment, saying that the best journalists are beginning to produce quality work, particularly in the state media, although still not at the highest level.

Although some reporting is well grounded, with proven facts, Muianga said, the independent press often presents information that is not proven and not impartial. In her view, the public press takes care to carry out research and sound out the parties involved and, whenever possible, to consult specialists. Guerra agreed: for him, sensationalism and incitements to disorder could not be found in the public media.

Despite the shortcomings of the private media, the panel recognized the positive effects of pluralism and diversity. Even so, Miquidade said, that journalists are increasingly showing themselves to be unprepared to engage and follow up on subjects within the principles and rules of the profession.

Ofélia Madeira, journalist and director of information for the Miramar Communication Network, said she was concerned by the lack of role models at most media outlets. In her view, many journalists are relatively young and inexperienced, and need guidance from experienced journalists in order to develop professionally. That is why there are so many violations of professional ethics, she said.

There continues to be no charter and professional code for journalists. The government does not define journalists’ rights and restrictions beyond those set forth in the Press Law, which, however, are in line with those established internationally.

Nurat Dalila Miquidade, a producer and presenter with Radio Mozambique, said there are gaps and a lack of professional ethics in Mozambican journalism because many journalists are untrained and draw low salaries.
Nonetheless, Libombo noted that journalists are becoming more likely to be guided by universally accepted ethical principles, through there are a few breaches, such as journalists who carry out functions that are incompatible with the profession, such as acting as press advisors to companies or political parties. The situation had, however, improved a great deal overall, he said, noting that in the run-up to the 2008 municipal elections, editors adopted a Code of Conduct for Electoral Coverage, an important self-regulatory instrument.

Self-censorship is a fact of journalistic life in Mozambique, Libombo said, whether on the part of reporters or editors. This might be prompted by the ambitions of the journalists themselves, he said, who often try to write or report in a way that pleases those with political or economic power. Likewise, there are leaders of governmental, public, and private institutions who grant journalists privileges of access or other favors so as not to be attacked in the media.

The panelists agreed that journalists have an interest in trying to cover every kind of event, and that when they did not do so it was because they did not have sufficient transportation, equipment, personnel, accommodations, and so forth. Normally, when governmental, public, private and other institutions organize events, they set up the right conditions for journalists to be present.

Afonso said, however, that when journalists travel outside the capital on government-paid trips, their independence is limited. Covering visits by the president or a provincial governor, she said, journalists are watched over and controlled in what they cover and in the interviews they conduct. Natal recalled that once when journalists went to investigate disturbances in Sofala province, they were called into the office of a member of the provincial government who instructed them on how they should report the events they had seen.

The panelists agreed that there are problems of pay and corruption in all the media. Natal said that there are media outlets, particularly in the private sector, that pay their journalists very badly, paying by the piece, and that many articles are written to order. He further contended that corruption abounds in both the public and private sectors, and that that helped many journalists get rich unlawfully.

Vitorino said that without a decent salary and working conditions, it is difficult to stay honest. Muianga said it was clear that journalists were not paid well enough to be totally independent, and Guerra mentioned the old proverb that one did not set a hungry man to guard the larder. There should be a minimum salary, he said, which would reduce sensational and irresponsible journalism and enhance quality.

The difference in pay between the private and the public sector media is large, Muianga said. The public sector pays better, she said, and Radio Mozambique pays best.

Libombo pointed out that while journalists’ salaries are indeed very low, they are, however, a bit higher than those of teachers with intermediate-level qualifications and police below senior officer grade.

Because most of the broadcast media outlets in Mozambique have only one channel, the news industry, powerful as it is, is underrepresented on the air, especially on television stations, whether public or private.

Programming is affected by the interests and the necessities of the media. The public sector, guided by the public interest and more planned, depends entirely on the resources it can generate. Natal said bluntly that news services are shoved into the background by advertising and entertainment programs, although he recognized that those programs are a major source of revenue for media companies. The panelists concurred that entertainment, particularly soccer, is one example of how news could be relegated.

On the other hand, Libombo contended that that there is in fact a balance between news and entertainment. Muianga went further, arguing that on Radio Mozambique, regardless of the program that is running, entertainment does not take precedence over news.

Equipment leaves much to be desired, Muianga said, though everyone is trying to modernize, even small stations. The desire to provide information, she said, helps to overcome that lack. Though critical of the equipment situation, Libombo expressed some optimism, saying there has been some progress at some media outlets, where the technical facilities are acceptable and journalists are working more and more on major stories and on civic and investigative journalism.

Many private media started out with donations of equipment and facilities. Equipment and facilities are the basis for starting up and carrying out journalistic activity and that is why, when people set out to attack the media, that is the soft spot they aim for. There have been attacks on press companies’ premises, including one in which computer equipment was destroyed but nothing was taken, another in which all the radio equipment as taken, and a third where the software on all the computers was sabotaged.

Hélder Maocha, a recent graduate in media sciences and executive director of Kulani Investments Ltd., pointed out that even where the technological means are available, journalists are not using them to enrich their work, as there is a lack of understanding of an information culture. For example, he said he had never seen a blog from any Mozambican media outlets or journalists. Blogs would help a great deal in expanding the debate on many subjects of interest to the public and could be a source of news and opinions, Maocha said.

Further, Maocha stressed that availability of modern equipment and facilities is of little value without investment in training people how to operate them. Many journalists still do not know how to exploit the potential of their computers properly.

Muianga agreed that training was the principal Achilles’ heel, though at Radio Mozambique, at least, the reporting is of high quality, whether investigative, political, economic, or local, and there are training programs and plans being carried out both within Mozambique and abroad, although she felt that training still need strengthening.

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Objective 3: Plurality of News

Score: 2.34

There is a multiplicity of media in Mozambique, Libombo said, from newspapers to radio and television stations to digital media. However, their penetration rate is modest, given that the overwhelming majority of the population is poor and illiterate. In a country with a population of a little over 20 million, all the newspapers together sell no more than half a million copies a week. Television remains a luxury.

Radio, particularly public radio, is the most accessible medium, as it is relatively cheap and it broadcasts in various local languages. Much of Mozambique’s territory is covered by Radio Mozambique, though rural areas are more closely tied to community radio stations. Radio Mozambique has offices in all provinces and broadcasts in all the country’s principal local languages. From its Maputo headquarters it broadcasts a national channel, a sports channel, a “City Radio” channel for young people, and an English-language channel, “Maputo Corridor Radio,” in the direction of South Africa and southern Mozambique for promoting investment.

Radio Mozambique also broadcasts Portuguese Radio, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio France International over its frequencies.

Along with pluralism has come the emergence of conglomerates, which account for a major portion of the private media sector. The Sociedade do Noticias (News Company) has three print publications: a daily, a general-interest weekly, and a sports weekly; the SOICO Group has a daily newspaper, a radio station, and a television station, and; Mediacoop has a weekly paper and daily fax and e-mail newspapers, and is preparing to launch a radio station.

In general, private media cover the provincial capitals, with the exception of private television stations, which are only beginning to set themselves up outside Maputo. The large private media companies, such as Miramar Television and STV, have provincial offices but broadcast only from their headquarters in Maputo, reaching the rest of Mozambique through repeater transmitters and fiber-optic cable. STV prefers that centralized system, because it ensures editorial control and reduces costs.³

Guerra, however, speaking as chairman of Miramar Communication Network, said that his network would have greater impact if it were authorized to set up autonomous transmission facilities so that it could produce and broadcast news locally, as with Mozambique Radio and Television.

There are no legal limits on access to the media. However, Afonso said, print and Internet media are not reaching the rural areas, mainly because of illiteracy, poverty, scarcity of electricity, and the cost and delay in expanding the broadband system. In Manica Province, broadband is available in only two of the 13 districts, and then only with problems. Muianga emphasized the usage cost aspect, saying that poverty prevents most of the population from gaining access to cable television or the Internet.

Even though it has taken progressive steps toward democratizing the media system by transforming state media into public media, Mozambique has not completed the process. Public bodies remain heavily dependent on the government, and the public media increasingly are behaving as government information organs.

Muianga said the public media have been improving, and trying not to be partisan. They are, in a stealthy sort of way, open to the opinions and comments of parties other than the ruling party. Libombo, however, said Radio Mozambique has tried to be pluralistic and independent, but that there are strong signs that it is regressing. Miquidade expressed the view that the public media reflect the country’s political opinions, but continue to benefit the ruling party.

The panel’s discussion revealed some conspicuous changes for the better since the previous MSI survey. In campaign coverage, public media, particularly Radio Mozambique, were at the forefront of making information on the process itself available by announcing the results in all the cities and towns that held municipal elections on November 19, 2008. Embracing their mission of serving the public in the most inclusive manner, the public media presented educational and cultural programs from a different perspective than that of the private media.

The panel concluded that both public and private media are spending a lot of time and devoting a lot of space to talking about the government, but from different perspectives. Whereas the public sector reports government events, achievements, and activities in a favorable light and tries to keep the public interest in mind, private media, for the most part, challenge the government in a largely prejudicial manner, and put sensationalism first in an effort to capture audiences and win profits.

Mozambique has only one domestic news agency, the Mozambique News Agency, a governmental organization under the prime minister that distributes written information to any media outlet interested in using it.

Panelists said the principal international news agencies are known to most Mozambican journalists, although rarely cited as sources of news. It is common, though, for the print media to cite public radio and television stations as sources of their news, and they sometimes use news found on the Internet.

Money is an obstacle to production of news programs, and the best-quality, objective, credible and complete news is found on the public media. The private radio sector still does not produce news programs of national and international quality and range. On the contrary, they are coming to be characterized by sensationalism. Community radio, within the limitations to which it is subject, is trying to put out local programming supplemented by programs and news received from Mozambique Radio and Television.

Muianga said that, in general, control of the media is neither transparent nor independent; indeed, according to Muianga in particular, some of the media belonging to some conglomerates are not impartial. The Sociedade do Noticias, the SOICO Group, and Mediacoop have established distinct points of view in reporting the facts.

The amount of foreign investment permitted under the law is 20 percent.

The issues that most concern minorities are not well covered by the media because they lack sources, Muianga said. Political and cultural reasons, even self-censorship, also lie behind that absence of coverage. Although the panelists did not discussed the issue in depth, they recognized that political subjects are given pride of place before social and cultural matters, and that, increasingly, the independent print media are coming closer to living up to their name.

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Objective 4: Business Management

Score: 1.91

Most private media outlets are still not managed professionally, panelists said. In many, the journalists themselves manage both editorial and business operations. Vitorino said that the independent media are not profitable and this does not enable editorial independence. Nevertheless, she said, they are primarily interested in profit and often turn a blind eye to how it is obtained. Some independent media, said Natal, have the income to sustain themselves, while others are financially weak, owing to bad management and a lack of aggressiveness in the media market.

Community media live on appeals to charity; there is not one community outlet in the country that survives by selling advertising. Afonso said the community sector is the hardest hit because it depends on partnership resources and untrained volunteers. Because the remuneration they receive is insignificant or nil, they end up losing motivation, and institutional stability is adversely affected.

The public sector, on the other hand, comprises solid, well-organized companies with good managerial capacity.

Mugabe contended that, generally speaking, the independent media do not have financial autonomy because they belong to or are financed by groups of economically powerful business people. To keep afloat, they have to serve the interests of their financial backers. Otherwise, they will go bankrupt, as has already happened to some.

Panelists agreed with Libombo’s observation that the Mozambican advertising market is growing but still insignificant. Prices remain very low, which is cause for concern in a clearly growing economy. In Mozambique, a one-page advertisement in a weekly costs around $300, compared with about $2,000 in a South African weekly.

The panel agreed that advertising agencies are the principal pillar of the advertising market. The large-scale media have their own sales staffs and have privileged relationships with advertising agencies.

Panelists expressed concern that more space is being taken up by advertising than by information and educational material, principally on television stations. They surmised that many media outlets are not in a position to assert themselves when negotiating the amounts to be paid for advertising, given that they have no other means of surviving. Among the print media, some newspapers contain a very large volume of advertising, but others contained no mass advertising.

The panel observed that, in general terms, the volume of advertising in the media is growing in step with the rate at which businesses in Mozambique are established or consolidated, which shows there is agreement of standards among businesses, advertising agencies, and the media. However, the panelists drew attention to the predominance of misleading advertising by mobile telephone, camouflaged in entertainment programs for the most part.

The government only subsidizes the public media. Public radio and television stations receive state funding through contracts with the government, and they benefit from levies applied to electricity consumers on the public grid. Even so, Mozambique Radio and Television find themselves excessively dependent on advertising to finance their activities. On the whole, the panelists said, the government lacks a policy for financing the media, which is an obstacle to achieving the objectives of diversity and pluralism in the media.

In general, there are no market research services to guide the media’s strategies, principally the independents which, with one or two exceptions, have no strategic plans. Muianga pointed out that Radio Mozambique is an exception. There, market research is carried out systematically to find out what listeners want to hear, what subjects should be covered, and what coverage levels should be. Whenever possible, listener inquiries are made.

Panelists also noted that community radio stations research, create, and plan their programming. Periodically they do qualitative audience research to adapt their program profiles and adjust their schedules.

Ratings for radio are the responsibility of the National Communications Institute, a government agency with oversight over the technical conditions for broadcasting and responsibility for allocating frequencies. Newspapers declare the size of their print runs on their front pages, as required by law, but panelists pointed out that that there is no mechanism for proving that their figures are accurate.

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Objective 5: Supporting Institutions

Score: 2.37

In general, the supporting organizations that do exist are not fulfilling their roles satisfactorily or completely, because they do not focus on helping the people and institutions that, in principle, should be at the center of their concerns.

There is an association of the media business heads and owners, the Association of Journalistic Companies, but it does not represent the interests of all the heads and owners and it is very weak. For example, it has been unable to negotiate low prices with the public transport company for distributing newspapers and magazines to the provinces. Although it has existed for five years, it has proven incapable of applying democratic methods to renew its governing bodies or to nominate representatives at various levels. Bilal and Libombo noted that neither this association nor owners have ever managed to reach an agreement on establishing a common printing company run along collective lines. They have not succeeded in negotiating with the government on reducing its control over licensing of the broadcast media or gaining recognition that they are not the same as any other industry and therefore require certain tax breaks or other dispensations.

Mozambique also has the National Union of Journalists (SNJ); the Association of Mozambican Women in the Media (AMMCS), which operates as an arm of SNJ for gender balance matters, and; the Mozambique chapter of MISA, an institution for the defense and promotion of the freedoms of expression and the press. But with the exception of MISA-Mozambique, these associations focus exclusively on the interests of their own managerial staffs.

Mugabe declared that SNJ, AMMCS, and MISA do not always intervene when media workers’ rights are violated. Also, SNJ and AMMCS do not include in their membership all categories in the journalism profession; many journalists in the independent media are not members of those two organizations. SNJ is weak, and does not concern itself with striving to improve journalists’ salaries and working conditions.

Natal, however, said MISA-Mozambique had distinguished itself in defense of journalists and other segments of civil society. Libombo agreed. MISA-Mozambique also monitors press freedom, trains journalists, and provides consultancy services.

Currently, there are degree programs in journalism available in public and private institutions of higher education. As of the first quarter of 2009, the first higher-level public school of journalism was expected to be in operation.

Muianga said that the quality of college education was, in general, poor. At Mozambique Radio and Television, new staff members have to be given supplementary training in areas that had supposedly been covered at the training centers they had come from.

Maocho said teachers who were once journalists themselves are encouraging students to follow careers in marketing and public relations rather than journalism.

Free educational and vocational training courses are given for journalists by governmental, public and private institutions and NGOs on such topics as economics, tourism, and public health; in addition, many institutions invite journalists to participate in their internal events as a way of giving them a better understanding of how they operate.

Associations such as the Forum of Community Radio Stations, MISA-Mozambique, the NSJ-Southern African Media Training Trust, and AMMCS support training in all areas of operation from administrative and financial management to newsroom skills. Ministries and international cooperation organizations also facilitate short training courses and opportunities for free training for journalists and administrative personnel from the Mozambican media.

Mozambique’s printing companies have not lived up to expectations, and so the print media have turned to higher-quality, faster, and cheaper services offered by neighboring countries.

Muianga said there are no restrictions on distribution channels, given that they are covered by the freedom of trade and based on the constitutional principle of the freedoms of expression, of the press, and of creation. Media distribution channels can operate under the diverse private commercial, state, cooperative, or community property regimes.

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Panel Participants

• Silvia Afonso, editorial coordinator and manager, Sussundenga Community Radio, Sussundenga Town
• Fernando Bilal, executive director, Kambeny Ltd., Maputo
• José Guerra, chairman, Miramar Communication Network, Maputo
• Alfredo Libomo, executive director, MISA-Mozambique, Maputo
• Ofélia Madeira, director of information, Miramar Communication Network, Maputo
• Hélder Maocha, executive director, Kulani Investments Ltd., Maputo
• Elisa Martins, head of department and advisor, International Relations and Cooperation, Mozambique Television p.c., Maputo
• Nurat Dalila Miquidade, program producer and presenter, Radio Mozambique p.c., Maputo
• Delfina Hugabe, assistant chief editor, Notícias daily newspaper, Maputo
• Glória Mulanga, board member, Radio Mozambique p.c., Maputo
• Isaias Natal, delegate and journalist, MISA-Mozambique, O Magazine Independente, Beira
• Liège Vitorino, journalist, communication, and image advisor, Association of Mozambican Women in the Media; project officer, Mozambique Tax Authority, Maputo

Moderator and Author
Julieta M. Langa, professor and head of Linguistics Section, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo

Logistic and Administrative Support
Aldo Mabay Arlindo Tembe, human resources manager, Kulani Investments Ltd., Maputo
Alsácia Óscar dos Reis Cuna, secretary, Kulani Investments Ltd., Maputo

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