State of the Media Reports

This is the Media High Council (MHC)’s second annual report on the state of the media in Rwanda. Like the preceding one of 2007, this one too documents the progress made by the media in Rwanda throughout the year, 2008.

The report is intended to give an overview of the state of the media industry in the country, looking at the achievements registered and challenges encountered in professional practice, availability of a conducive environment for free practice and media development. It suggests a way forward in the ongoing effort to develop the media sector in the country.

The coming up of new media outlets is testimony that the media industry is attracting more investment. Five newspapers and one magazine have sprung up to push the total number of media outlets in the print section from 57 in 2007 to 61 by the end of 2008. The latest entrants are Inyenyeri Iwacu, L’Entrepreneur, Imanzi, Solidarité, Temps Eco newspapers, and The Rwanda Dispatch magazine. In the broadcast section, the MHC recommended the
licensing of two radio stations, namely, Choice FM and Family Christian Network.

The latter also has plans of introducing Family Christian TV at a later stage. Both radios are still preparing for official launch to go on air. 2008 also saw the beginning of entry into the Media landscape in Rwanda of two East African media giants Nation Media Group of Kenya and IPP of Tanzania. The two companies applied for both content and infrastructure licenses to operate multiple media outlets including TVs, radios and newspapers. These
companies will no doubt fundamentally improve the professional status of the media in the country.

Download Full 2008 Report

This report, “The State on the Media in Rwanda-2007”, highlights developments in the country’s media industry that took place during the year 2007. Right from the beginning till the end of the year, Rwanda progressively witnessed an upward trend in media development such as Media infrastructure, an increased number of media houses and level of professionalism and freedom of the press among other areas. Despite this positive trend however, allegations of violations of press freedom continued to appear albeit as isolated incidents both in local media and reports of international human rights or media rights advocacy groups. Among improvement still to be made, there is a need to abide much more on journalism ethics so as to diminish unprofessional practices.

Download Full 2007 Report