The licensing of private broadcasters is poorly organised and regulated. The criteria for issuing licences are unclear and political considerations sometimes come into play. The supposedly independent Higher Broadcasting Board (HCA) is not free from political influence. The reasons behind its decisions are never published or explained to the media outlets concerned. The management of public broadcasting also lacks transparency. The Board of Directors is appointed by the Minister of Communications and all decisions of the board and the Director General can be reversed by the Minister. The Ministry covers most of the operating expenses of the broadcaster while all of its advertising revenue goes straight into the state coffers. Under these conditions, there cannot be any editorial independence of the public broadcaster. There is also no law to protect this independence. On the contrary, Ordinance 92-039 stipulates that “the government may at any time publish and broadcast through the public broadcaster, all statements or announcements it deems necessary”. Despite all these constraints, the public broadcaster still produces diverse programmes. Services were seriously hampered, though, when its premises were set on fire during political turmoil in 2009. Community broadcasting is neglected in Madagascar. There is no legislation or regulation to address its special needs and it does not receive any government support. The media in general do not really uphold professional or ethical standards. There were some attempts by media practitioners to draft a code of ethics, but the project was soon abandoned, mainly because no agreement could be reached on the issue of “envelopes” – bribes widely paid to journalists in exchange for favourable coverage. Most journalists do not regard these as a form of corruption but merely as a form of additional income essential for their survival. Salaries in the media industry are very low and it is not uncommon for payment to be delayed or withheld. In the absence of a code of ethics, the Association of Journalists is supposed to handle ethical issues. However, the association is barely functional and not free from political influence. Self-censorship and censorship are common, primarily because of politics, but also due to commercial considerations. Professional standards are generally compromised by the direct influence of politics on the media. Journalists often write to defend the political grouping they support and media owners demand that they toe a certain political line. As a result, the media lack credibility in the eyes of the public. . 70 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MADAGASCAR 2010