SECTOR 2 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: 4.7 2.3 The editorial independence of print media published by a public authority is protected adequately against undue political interference. Congo’s state-owned newspaper La Nouvelle République barely publishes. It started off as a daily paper, became a weekly and is now very irregular on the stands. The Congolese News Agency also produces a weekly 12-page newsletter, distributed mostly in the big cities. Both papers are heavily influenced by the authorities and political interests. Since they are directly supervised by the Ministry of Communication, the publications are run as a service of the Ministry. The minister hires and fires management and editorial staff and can use instruments like service notes and even a telephone call to dictate editorial content. It is also widely known that the Minister of Communication habitually demands to be briefed on the content of the next issues before they go to press – at that point, he can add, remove or alter content. Perhaps due to the country’s sour legacy of conflicts, military personnel are regularly posted to take up editorial roles in state-owned newspapers, and even in some private publications with close links to government officials. “It is these officers that are often in charge of writing editorials” presumable dictated from “higher quarters”. Non-military workers of state-owned publications are also compelled to submit to the authority of their superior, especially if they are civil servants. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 2013 89