The myth of ‘slanted stories to sell newspapers’

Public criticism of the media in Botswana often falls back on a convenient cliché - “journalists slant stories to sell papers.” It is an accusation that surfaces whenever a headline feels uncomfortable or a story cut too close to the bone. Yet this claim, when weighed against the hard realities of Botswana’s media economy, collapses entirely. Furthermore, it reveals a limited understanding of how journalism thrives in today’s world.

Let us begin with the basics. Botswana’s print circulation is modest by any standard. Newspapers are printed in the tens of thousands, not the hundreds of thousands, and unsold copies regularly pile up as returns. If story angles were really driving sales, circulation would be booming. On the contrary, data shows that readership is stagnant while revenues remain dependent on advertising, not sales.