The Rwanda Media Barometer (RMB) 2021 has indicated that the media development and professional capacity indicator scored 62.4 per cent, the least performance compared to other indicators it considered.
This media development and professional capacity performance implies a 10 per cent drop compared to the previous RMB which was published in 2018 in which it was recorded at 72.4 percent.
RMB 2021 was launched by the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) on Tuesday, November 23, 2021.
RMB is a tool that gauges the state of media development in Rwanda.
It was based on findings from questionnaires administered to over 800 respondents including 652 ordinary citizens and 165 journalists and Media Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
Desk research, Key informant interviews, and focus group discussions also contributed to the findings.
The launch of RMB 2021 coincided with the celebration of the Africa Day of Information (ADI), under the theme: Media Professionalism and Information Access in the Digital Era: Literacy, Data Protection & information accessibility.
Previous editions of the Rwanda Media Barometer indicated a steady and positive improvement of media development status from 60.7 percent in 2013 to 69.6 per cent in 2016 and 72.4 percent in 2018.
While presenting the findings of the RMB 2021, Jean Bosco Rushingabigwi, Head of Department for Media Sector Coordination Monitoring at RGB said that the least performing sub-indicators which are below 70 percent are all under the media development and capacity indicator, and "are areas where we need more efforts in the future to make our media vibrant and professional and sustainable."
Under the media self-regulation sub-sector, the aspect of independence of the media self-regulatory body, the Rwanda Media Commission, got 37.6 percent.
Under the media industry viability and financial sustainability, media profitability scored 21.3 per cent.Joseph Hakuzumuremyi, the Managing Director of Umuryango.com, a local online-based media outlet, said that financial constraints were some of major challenges to the media sector.Commenting on media profitability, he said that the media was lacking an entity that is devoted to its development."The money that media houses get is that to help them remain afloat, apart from those public media houses that get a share from taxpayers’ money and again get revenues from advertisement," he said, adding that some journalists lack salaries.Berna Namata, the Country Manager of Nation Media Group said that for the media professionals to be able to tap into the enormous opportunity brought about by digital platforms and be profitable, they have to invest in good journalism […]
