Traditional media outlets of Mozambique are formed with television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. The prevalence of the internet is a remarkable change in the country and a notable number of people are habituated to use the internet for their regular purposes. Among all types of media outlets, radio is the most popular one for many reasons and accessible from any parts of the country.
There are governing bodies for controlling the media outlets. The government is stricter about the media censorship. And it does not want to have any situations created by the media outlets. So, almost all the media outlets are to follow some sort of self-censorship for their survival. The Supreme Media Council is responsible to check over the media outlets and their contents. When something unusual is found, the media outlets are to pay penalties for the rule breaking.
But the actual media climate has changed to some extent in the present days and the government has become more tolerant to the media outlets. The media outlets are now allowed to print or broadcast some certain events that do not hamper the government. And the government is also less threatening in the present time. The scenarios about 10 or 15 years ago were not the same. In fact, the changes have taken place after 2002. The constitution of the country ensures media freedom. So, this is hopeful for the nation and the media outlets as when a free media is available in a country, it moves for developments indeed.
There is some public and private media outlets are available in the country and they cater the needs of the people across the nation. Most of the private media outlets are popular than the state-run outlets. In some of the cases, the private outlets provide the most interesting contents for the audience and readers. But the state-run outlets are not so much fast comparing the private outlets. But people chose to listen to the state-run radio than the other types of media outlets as this is the primary source of collecting information for them.
The media outlets operate their activities using the Portuguese language. But some local dialects are also used in the media to reach an extensive group of people.
The literacy rate is lower in the country than the neighbors and so the readership for newspapers. It is estimated that around two-third of the people are illiterate. In fact, the newspaper readership is lower because a good number of people are unable to read the newspapers. So, the print outlet is used for a selected group of people only.
At present, over 15 newspapers are operating in the country and they come with a wide variety of news and information for the audience. They provide local and international news and information. But the newspaper authority does not violate the censorship rules. Sometimes, they provide a pro-government report for their survival too.
Mozambique has only two television channels in the country. And the prevalence of the cable TV channels is also lower. Only 30 percent of the people have their access to the cable TV channels. The television stations provide a wide number of events and programs for the audience. They come with different local dialects as well.
Radio is the most popular form of media outlet in the country and it covers almost all the people. This is a great source for the locals to be informed about the local and international happenings.
The use of the internet is notable. Most of the youths use the internet and they use it for two purposes – either to communicate socially or to know about the world. Hence, this is also a great source of information for them.