Generally, the Ivorian media landscape is diversified. There are 150 radio stations, around twenty dailies and forty weeklies. There are no private television channels and some households have satellite dishes in order to capture international channels. The media is primarily concentrated in the urban areas. Many media entities have seen their equipment destroyed during the pre- and post-electoral crisis, which crippled their operations. Law no. 2004-463 organises the distribution of newspapers, which is subject to a monopoly held by a private company, Edipresse. This affects the availability of newspapers, especially in the north. Internet is accessible across practically the whole national territory and the costs to access it keep dropping. There is no legal limit to accessing local or international media. However, the State potentially has the power to impose media restrictions in case of a crisis. The State does not undertake any particular effort in distributing media in rural areas. There is, nevertheless, reason for hope, as discussions with the postal service to improve the situation are under way. The only national daily published by the state, Fraternité Matin is under the direct political influence of the authorities. This has affected readership numbers considerably and in order to boost the newspaper its management had to adjust. The law authorises media concentration. This does seem to rule out a diverse media landscape though. A Fund for the Support and the Development of the Press provides support for the media. Women are poorly represented in the media. Cultural barriers explain this situation. Generally, matters relating to women are under-represented. Ethnic, linguistic, religious, and social diversity mostly find expression in audiovisual media. While the written press does cover different social and religious trends, it is restricted to urban communities. There are nonetheless limits to this diversity since topics such as animism and the elderly receive little media coverage in general. With regards to Information Technologies and Communication, (ITC) a policy regarding plans for its development exists. The Ministries of Posts and Communication and of New Information and Communication Technologies drive these. Five mobile phone operators share the Ivorian market. The advertising industry is fairly limited in Côte d’Ivoire. At present, the state seems to be playing nice and is allocating publicity without taking into account political affiliations. It does in fact trail the five largest advertisers, which are the five mobile phone companies. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER COTE D’IVOIRE 2012 65