Political economy of media vis-a-vis elections :: Mmegi Online

As Batswana go to the polls towards the end of the year, they may do so without full information about the parties and candidates they are going to vote for because one of their sources of such information, the print media, is under strain. These sentiments were expressed by TITUS MBUYA, speaking at a training workshop for Dikgang Publishing Company’s (DPC) editorial staff earlier this week. This is an abridged version of his keynote address.

It goes without saying that 2024 is an important year for Botswana because of the forthcoming general elections. Batswana will be going to the polls in the next six months or so to elect a government of their own choice which will be in charge of running the affairs of the country for the next five years.

As the campaign season begins in earnest it is important that media practitioners do not lose sight of what print media can, and cannot do, in the age of digitisation. Print media is experiencing market failure, globally. If public policy interventions are not put in place to protect this “public good” this vital sector that provides alternative sources of information for a vast majority of audiences will face extinction. Elsewhere in the world, for example, Australia, Canada, and currently South Africa, the competition commissions of those countries have intervened to get to the bottom of the problem with the view to turning the tide.

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