The State of Radio in Uganda: a 2020 Review and the New Reality of COVID-19 March 2021
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March 2021 The State of Radio in Uganda: A 2020 Review and the New Reality of COVID-19 March 2021 About Internews Internews is an international nonprofit organization that empowers people worldwide with trustworthy, high quality news, and information, the ability to make informed decisions, participate in their communities, and hold power to account. For nearly 40 years, in more than 120 countries, Internews has worked to build healthy media and information environments where they are most needed. Acknowledgements This comprehensive study was carried out by Internews Regional Team from October 2020 – February 2021 under the guidance of Kenneth Okwir, Internews Uganda Country Director and Brice Rambaud, Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa. We are particularly grateful to the Uganda Communications Commission, media associations, and radio stations from central, western, eastern, and northern parts of the country who provided invaluable insights and inputs into the complex history and on the current state of the media sector in Uganda. Without their invaluable service to continually inform and engage communities across Uganda and the rich engagement and feedback that they provided throughout this process, this report would not have been possible. We also want to recognize the following organizations and individuals for their time, deep insights and critical feedback throughout this process: • Monica B. Chibita, Dean, Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication, Uganda Christian University, • Margaret B. Sentamu, Executive Director, Uganda Media Women’s Association, an umbrella Media Association for female journalists who own and operate 101.7 Mama FM. • Dr. Peter G. Mwesige, Executive Director, African Centre for Media Excellence • John Okande, National Programme Officer- Communication and Information Sector and the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa All photos are the property of Internews except where otherwise noted. Attribution— please cite the report as follows: “The State of Radio in Uganda: A 2020 Review and the New Reality of COVID-19,” Internews, March 2021. Cover photo: Internews, Adam Levin (2020) The State of Radio in Uganda 1 Table of Contents Acronyms ...................................................................4 Executive Summary ...................................................5 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 5 About Internews and the Assessment ............................................................................. 5 Findings ............................................................................................................................ 5 Introduction ................................................................1 Methodology ..............................................................2 Profile of Listeners ....................................................6 Uganda’s Media Landscape ......................................8 Enabling Legal Environment ............................................................................................ 9 Regulating the Internet and Social Media ..................................................................... 13 Journalist Safety ............................................................................................................. 14 The Radio Sector .....................................................17 Public Sector Broadcasting............................................................................................ 18 Community Radio........................................................................................................... 19 Content Production and Broadcasting .......................................................................... 20 Internet and Social Media .............................................................................................. 21 Advertising and Ratings ................................................................................................. 22 Gender and Work Environment ..................................................................................... 23 Equipment and Infrastructure ........................................................................................ 25 Journalists Associations ................................................................................................ 26 Quality Standards and Training ..............................27 Financial Health, Coronavirus and 2021.................30 Conclusion and Recommendations .......................35 References ...............................................................37 Annexes....................................................................40 Annex 1: Quantitative Survey Participating Radio Stations.......................................... 40 Annex 2: Key Informant Survey Participants ................................................................ 43 Annex 3: Laws and Policies that Regulate the Media and Telecommunications Sector ........................................................................................................................................ 45 The State of Radio in Uganda 2 Constitution (1995)..................................................................................................... 45 Official Secrets Act (1964) ......................................................................................... 46 Penal Code Act (1950 amended in 2007) ................................................................. 46 Broadcasting Policy (2008) ........................................................................................ 47 The Press and Journalist Act (Cap 105, 2000) ......................................................... 47 Anti-Terrorism Act (2002) .......................................................................................... 47 Access to Information Act (2005) .............................................................................. 48 National Technology Act and the Regulation of Interception of Communications Act (2010) ......................................................................................................................... 48 Public Order Management Act (2013)....................................................................... 48 The Anti-Pornography Act (2014).............................................................................. 48 Uganda Communications Act (2013 as amended in 2016)...................................... 48 Annex 4: Uganda Bureau of Statistics, "Uganda Demographic and Health Survey," January 2018.................................................................................................................. 50 Table of Charts and Figures Figure 1: Regional overview of radio stations that participated in the quantitative survey ......................................3 Figure 2: Geographic dispersion of radio stations according to the 14 UCC broadcast zones ...............................4 Figure 3: Percentage of households possessing various household effects, UDHS 2016 .....................................6 Figure 4: Growth of licensed radio and TV stations in Uganda .................................................................................8 Figure 5: Quantitative survey responses regarding the laws, policies and regulations that govern the media....13 Figure 6: Quantitative survey responses regarding laws, policies and regulations that protect journalists .........15 Figure 7: Quantitative survey responses regarding risks faced by journalists on the job ......................................16 Figure 8: Quantitative survey participants reported annual operating budget and audience size ........................17 Figure 9: Programming priorities of radio stations (quantitative survey).................................................................21 Figure 10: Radio Station Ratings by Region, GeoPoll 2018....................................................................................23 Figure 11: Management, operation, and administration training needs of radio stations (quantitative survey) ...29 Figure 12: Media and journalism training needs of radio stations (quantitative survey) ........................................29 Figure 13: Quantitative survey respondents’ level of satisfaction with COVID-19 mitigation measures ..............30 Figure 14: Main organizational challenges experienced by COVID-19 (quantitative survey) ...............................31 Figure 15: What happened to your organization’s revenue following the lockdown (quantitative survey) ...........31 Figure 16: Main organizational benefits experienced by COVID-19 (quantitative survey) ....................................34 Figure 17: Organizational support needed to recover from COVID-19 (quantitative survey)................................35 Figure 18: Post-COVID-19 organizational investment priorities (quantitative survey) ...........................................35 The State of Radio in Uganda 3 Acronyms ACHPR African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ACME African Centre for Media Excellence BBS Buganda Broadcasting Services CBS Central Broadcasting Services CIID Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Directorate CIPESA Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa CMA Computer Misuse Act CSO Civil Society Organization/s DISO District Internal Security Organization DPC District Police Commander FDC Forum for Democratic Change HRNJ-U Human Rights