In May, Freedom House, a Washington-based non-profit organisation, released its report on global media freedom, in which South Africa's place in the rankings dropped from "free" to "partly free", mostly, it noted, due to the growing hostile rhetoric from top government officials, as well as official encroachment on the editorial independence of the SABC.

None of that comes as a surprise to local journalists, who are feeling the heat in every way -- from government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi's comments about plans for government's print advertising budget to the reappearance of media tribunal talk and the pressure to squeeze the Protection of Information Bill through Parliament.

The study, which surveyed 196 countries and territories, found that in this age of digital information overload the number of people worldwide with access to free and independent media had declined to its lowest level in more than a decade. The Mail & Guardian's state-of-the-media round-up for the SADC found things weren't so pretty. Well, that is if you like your reporting served up free.

Angola
Legislation supports freedom of expression and information in Angola. But, after emerging in 2002 from 30 years of civil war, the press was not ready for the transition to capitalist competition. That's according to a 2009 report by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) on the health of the country's media.

The country has a 58% illiteracy rate, which seems to keep newspapers from expanding outside of Luanda. The Journal de Angola, the daily state-owned newspaper, is the only publication available throughout the country. The Angola Press Agency is also government owned. This undermines any opposition voice, especially in rural areas, where government support is traditionally at its strongest.

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