SECTOR 2 Interviews and vox pops aired on RNM and TVM generally do not give the full picture. Internal filters, political censorship and self-censorship have an influence on the choice of content. These filters and censorship are generally determined by government interests: negative opinions, open criticism, views considered harmful to the credibility of the regime are all edited. There is no clear criterion for what is considered harmful: classification is left to the assessment of the government and its representatives. The Malagasy media charter ensures equal access of electoral candidates to public media on paper. Equal access is also provided by law: Ordinance 92-039, Chapter III, Article 37 on the legal status of public broadcasters states: “During an election period, the authority responsible for overseeing all operations relating to the conduct of the elections, or otherwise the Higher Broadcasting Board (HCA), determines the conditions for allocating air time among the duly authorized groups”. In practice, though, government has a stranglehold over electoral coverage at least in regard to public media. In private media with certain political affinities or leanings, opinions which differ from the editorial line are not given much space. Whether social diversity is reflected in the media is open to debate: The vox pops, interviews and programmes take up the views of people from various socioprofessional backgrounds. Ordinary citizens or the underprivileged population, however, are rarely consulted, except in the case of stories that mainly feature their living conditions. Finally, with regard to religious diversity, the media are open to faith and evangelical communities and their voices are indeed heard. However, this representation is largely limited to the Christian faith while other religions such as Islam are virtually non-existent in the media. 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: 94 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MADAGASCAR 2010 2.3 (2006 = n/a; 2008 = n/a)