SECTOR 2 2.12 Government does not use its power over the placement of advertisements as a means to interfere with editorial content. The government and parastatals companies are easily the biggest advertisers in Congo with regular tender and other public announcements. Most of it goes to “friendly” publications, in the absence of any market-driven criteria for the placement of public announcements. There is evidence that such adverts are given as tokens to influence the recipient media’s editorial lines. Authorities use advertisements to interfere with editorial content either directly or indirectly. Employees of Radio Liberté, for example, claim they have received threats to pull down some content without which they had to lose their advertising contract with a government department. The ministry of works, the country’s largest public advertiser, used to place adverts in all media but began axing adverts from “hostile” media organisations. Private advertisers also fear to advertise in “critical” media because they fear to be perceived as sponsoring “the opposition” as such media are referred to as opposition. Mobile telephone giant, MTN, which is one of the largest private advertisers, once asked a Radio Liberté producer to only run their advert with musical programmes, “because musical shows are not sensitive”. 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 2.13 The advertising market is large enough to support a diversity of media outlets. It is hard to estimate the size of the advertising market in Congo because of the lack of publicity agencies and the often informal nature of advertising transactions. No one has carried out studies in the sector. Advertisers also do not make their advertisement spending public. 100 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 2013