On this Thursday 8^th November 2014, RGB launched the Rwanda Media Barometer (RMB) 2024, a publication of the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) that assesses the state of media development in Rwanda since 2013.

The launch of RMB 2024 coincided with the celebration of Africa Day of Information (ADI) which held at Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village and brought together different people including Government officials, CSOs’ representatives, development partners, media practitioners, and academia to discuss the development of Media sector in Rwanda and the importance of robust media development across the continent.

Presenting the RMB 2024 key findings to the participants, RUSHINGABIGWI Jean Bosco, the Head of Media Sector Coordination & Monitoring Department said that RMB is a tool for informing interventions that can help develop and strengthen the media sector through policymakers, regulators, and media practitioners to keep working together to address the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities presented by our rapidly evolving media landscape.

Rwanda Media Barometer (RMB) 2024 is built on five indicators namely; (i) Legal and policy framework, (ii) Media plurality and diversity, (iii) Media as a platform for strengthening governance and democracy, (iv) Media development and professional capacity, and (v) Information transmission and access. These indicators are composed of 15 sub-indicators and 49 variables.

In the RMB 2024, two out of five indicators scored above 80% while the remaining three scored between 60% and 79%.

The overall score of the Rwanda Media Barometer 2024 is 76.7%. The indicator of Legal and policy framework recorded the highest performance with a score of 90.0%, followed by Media as a platform for strengthening governance and democracy with 81.3%, Information transmission and access with 79.1%, Media plurality and diversity 72.3%.

 The lowest performing indicator in this edition is Media development and professional capacity that scored 60.7%.

The RMB 2024 highlights areas that performed well such as the media regulatory environment and citizen satisfaction with the role of media in promoting good governance and democracy.

On the other hand, the study identified challenges impeding media sector development particularly related to media profitability, journalists’ working conditions in terms of salaries, health and insurance coverage, professionalism and accountability among media practitioners.

Radio remains the most trusted and widely used information source in Rwanda, followed by television and social media, indicating a blend of traditional and modern platforms as the public’s preferred channels.

Dr. Doris Picard Uwicyeza, the CEO of RGB, spoke on the increasing role of social media in content creation, stressing the need for Rwanda and Africa to capitalize on digital advancements.

“We want to use the ADI celebration to discuss how Africa, and Rwanda in particular, can make effective use of these developments in the media sector,” she noted.

Dr. Uwicyeza added that to sustain African media’s impact, it must adapt continuously to the rapid shifts in digital technology.

Overall, the Rwanda Media Barometer serves as a reliable tool to evaluate Rwanda’s media landscape, supporting the development of a professional, responsible, and dynamic media sector.