SECTOR 2 2.4 Transparency of ownership of media houses in print/broadcasting is guaranteed by law and enforced In accordance with Article 183 of the Information and Communication Code, newspapers are required to reveal the names of their owners and list the names of senior management upon registration. Thereafter, they are expected to publish the names of the owners and the editor in every issue (Article 187). The law does not require broadcasting media to follow the same level of transparency in terms of ownership. Generally, there are three categories of private media owners in Benin: media professionals, businessmen and politicians. The panellists, however, argued that most media owners are politicians who ‘hide behind’ other people. Media ownership is therefore not transparent. According to panellists, only those within the media know who the real owners are, while the general public is usually left in the dark. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: ✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓✓✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ 2.3 (2009 = n/a; 2007 = n/a; 2011 = n/a; 2014 = 2.5) 2.5 Adequate competition legislation/regulation seeks to prevent media concentration and monopolies According to Article 16 of the Information and Communication Code: a private individual or a private legal entity may not hold more than one press outlet of the same category at the same time. However, a private individual or a private legal entity may own several thematic media outlets or several outlets of different categories. In other words, vertical concentration is allowed but not horizontal concentration. As such, it is legal to own a TV station, a radio station and a newspaper outlet at the same time. In addition, the law does not prohibit media companies from owning advertising and communication agencies. 22 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BENIN 2018