The New Vision Printing & Publishing Company Limited launched operations in 1986 after the National Resistance Movement (NRM) took power in Uganda. Initially the company was publishing only The New Vision, an English language newspaper, which filled the gap left by the collapse of previous government-owned newspapers (Voice of Uganda, Uganda Times). Today, the company, known as Vision Group runs several print media outlets, radio and television channels.
Media assets
Television: Bukkede TV, West TV, Urban Television
Radio: Radio Bukedde, XFM, Radio West, Radio Rupiny, Etop Radio, Arua One
Publishing The New Vision, Saturday Vision, Sunday Vision, The Kampala Sun, Bukedde, Akadirisa, Orumuri, Rupiny, Etop
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
The majority shareholder in Vision Group is the Government of Uganda, which controls more than 53% of the company. The remainder is floated on the stock exchange and controlled by several investors as well as dozens of individuals.
The company was established through a government act dating back to 1987. The main governing body in Vision Group is a board of directors with a managing director who is appointed for a period of three years by the minister in charge of information and communication.
The managing director is in charge of running the company’s operations and responsible for the financial wellbeing of the company. An editor-in-chief appointed by the minister, based on recommendations from the board, is in charge of overseeing the editorial operation of the group’s outlets.
Source of funding and budget
Vision Group had total revenues of UGX 81.9bn (US$23m) in the fiscal year ending in June 2021, according to data reported by the company. Most of this revenue was generated through advertising and paid circulation.
In the financial year ending in June 2023, the company pulled in revenues of UGX 87.6bn (US$ 23.2m), a decline from more than UGX 111bn (US$ 29m), according to data from an investor report.
Editorial independence
From the outset, the government granted financial autonomy and editorial independence to The New Vision newspaper. Although the newspaper’s editorial guidelines at the time envisioned that the outlet would be supportive of the NRM’s ideals, The New Vision was also allowed to criticize the party’s failings.
Today, the media outlets part of Vision Group are sometimes accused of editorial bias towards President Yoweri Museveni and government officials, especially during election campaigns. At the same time, the company is known for pushing back to protect its editorial independence, writing freely about numerous topics, which often leads to assaults on its journalists.
Generally, however, journalists working for outlets controlled by Vision Group can’t cover some of the more politically sensitive topics, as a recent study has shown.
Vision Group has a detailed set of editorial rules collected under a document named Editorial Policy, which is meant to guide the company’s journalists and ensure their editorial independence. The law that established the company also empowers the group’s media outlets to “voice public opinion and criticisms of a given Government policy in a fair and objective manner without becoming an institutional opponent to the Government or its interests.” However, in practice, these rules are often not followed as pressures on journalists, when it comes to highly sensitive topics, prevents them from covering such stories in an unbiased manner (if at all).
One of the five committees in charge of overseeing various parts of the Vision Group’s activity is the Editorial and Digital Committee. Its main mission is to oversee the editorial performance of the media run by Vision Group and make recommendations to the board to adopt decisions that would help improve the editorial quality and independence in the group.
October 2023