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 (2006 = 2.5; 2008 = 2.6) 4.7 Journalists and media houses have integrity and are not corrupt. “We do not know whether a journalist really has integrity”, confessed panel members. Journalists are corrupt in general, they said, but there are exceptions. Certain practices such as the acceptance of “envelopes”, referred to as “felaka” in the Malagasy language, are becoming rather common amongst journalists. Moreover, and even more disturbingly, journalists do not seem to regard these envelopes as a form of corruption or compromising their professional integrity. This kind of unethical behaviour in journalism, the panel agreed, is a very real and burning issue and urgently needs to be diagnosed and addressed in genuine training sessions. Even organisations that have sometimes taken a stance in support of the freedom and independence of the media are offering ‘envelopes’. Other institutions actually have a budget line for such expenditure and argue amongst themselves on the rates to be applied. Envelopes are often given without journalists having requested anything whatsoever. But there are also cases where journalists do not hesitate to demand an envelope in exchange for the broadcast of the news item or publication of the article. Occasionally these envelopes are given a subtle name: “technical fees”. Panelists pointed out, though, that the practice is by no means solely due to journalists being fundamentally corrupt. It is the result of the very fragile and complex situation they find themselves in. Malagasy journalism has never been known to pay well. In some cases, journalists receive no salary at all. These particularly difficult conditions often compel journalists to accept such envelopes in order to survive. 120 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MADAGASCAR 2010