MAURITIUS is losing money. SCORES: Individual scores: 4,3,4,4,4,3,3,4,3,3 Average score: 3.5 2.11 State print media are not subsidised with taxpayers’ money. ANALYSIS: There are no state print media in Mauritius. Not applicable 2.12 Government does not use its power over the placement of advertisement as a means to interfere with media content. ANALYSIS: There was unanimity on the fact that government does use its power over the placement of advertisements in a way that harms many vulnerable newspapers. There seems to be a strong link between the government of the day and some small newspapers which get more business from government than the leading dailies. L’Express and Le Quotidien have seen their government advertising reduced. L’Express claims to have lost more than Rs 2 Millions (66,600 US dollars) worth of government advertisements. Some newspapers even had to close down due to lack of funds from this source. SCORES: Individual scores: 2,1,1,1,1,1,2,1,1,2 Average score: 1.3 16 African Media Barometer - Mauritius 2008