friendly media). A few news organisations, including La Nation, Le Matin Libre and Le Matinal, receive the lion’s share of advertisements. The last radio spectrum frequencies were allocated in 2013 and this relates to all categories of radio broadcasters. The organic law governing the HAAC states that it is composed of nine appointed members: three appointed by the president of the republic, three appointed by the Bureau of the National Assembly and three appointed by media professionals. The president of the republic and the Bureau of the National Assembly each appoint a communicator, a lawyer and a person from civil society. Broadcasting and communication professionals appoint two professional journalists; one from broadcasting media, one from print media and in addition a communication technician. The president of the HAAC is appointed from among these nine members. The president of the HAAC is appointed by the president of the republic through a decree issued during a Council of Ministers, after consulting with the president of the National Assembly. This creates the risk of the president of the HAAC being subordinate to the head of state or the regime in place, which was noted to be the case with some of the previous presidents of the HAAC. The process for the awarding of licences and frequencies by the HAAC continues to be a problem because it is considered highly politicised. The ORTB, whose board of directors is not independent, is subject to strong political influence from the government in place. However, the national radio has a certain level of independence. In Benin, journalists frequently mix facts and opinions and do not guarantee the balance of analyses. They openly take part in national political debates and reflect their prejudices in their press articles. The Code of Ethics, which will be revised in 2019, remains the only framework document defining the duties, responsibilities and standards of journalism in Benin. The Media Ethics Observatory (ODEM in French) was created in 1999 and is in charge of enforcing the code. A Beninese journalist receives at least a monthly salary of 77,000 FCFA (154 USD). A collective agreement renegotiated by journalists’ unions in 2017 set this minimum wage. However, some private journalists who are at the bottom of the salary scale earn only 40,000 FCFA (80 USD) per month. Media outlets with more resources may possibly pay more. Within public media, journalists enjoy better working conditions and benefits, such as health insurance schemes. Benin has two main media associations, one for employees and the other for employers. These two associations are the Union of Media Professionals of Benin and the National Council of Print and Broadcast Media Employers. They are the official voices of the media as umbrella associations. 6 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BENIN 2018