MAURITIUS
Sector 4:
The media practice high levels of professional 		
			
standards.
4.1 The media follow voluntary codes of professional standards, 		
which are enforced by self-regulatory bodies.
ANALYSIS:
There is no self-regulatory body for the media to oversee adherence
to voluntary codes of professional standards. This is due to lack of
cooperation and issues of pride and ego amongst journalists and
groups of newspapers.
The La Sentinelle group, owner of L’Express among others, has been
pushing for a self-regulatory media council after the Prime Minister
announced two years ago that he would set up a statutory Media
Commission to oversee the performance of the media (without tabling a draft bill or giving any detail). When the initiative failed, the
group developed its own code of ethics and complaints procedure.
There seems to be no sense of urgency regarding the establishment
of a self-regulatory body. The general feeling is that a Media Commission will not be set up before 2010, the year of the next elections.
The Penal Code and laws on broadcasting both provide for a right
to reply.
SCORES:
Individual scores: 				

2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,1,2

Average score: 				

1.9

28				

African Media Barometer - Mauritius 2008

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