SECTOR 4 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: 1.9 (2008 = 2.4) 4.7 Journalists and media houses have integrity and are not corrupt. “In a country that is as corrupt as Mauritius, the media can be considered to be exemplary in their conduct. There are only a few journalists who are corrupt and yet the majority of them work under difficult conditions with low pay,” stated one of the panellists. One panellist related that a Member of Parliament had told him/her that she had been asked by a journalist for Rs 25 000 to carry out an interview. She refused to pay. There are many such incidents where reporters will ask for payment to write features on individuals or companies who want to be profiled in the media. Organisations will try to influence the press with gifts and other contributions which journalists will willingly take, but there is no guarantee that the story will be in their favour. Different media houses have different rules on gifts. One media house has clearly instructed its journalists not to accept any gifts, large or small. Another media organisation insists that their staff should inform the editor of gifts that exceed the value of Rs1000. The coverage of the story involving the benefactor will also be tracked to ensure that the journalist is not writing the story in a biased manner as a result of the gift. 58 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MAURITIUS 2010