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: 3.3 (2007 = n/a ; 2009 = 4.1) 4.5 Journalists and editors do not practice selfcensorship. “hat is just what they do” according to one of the panelists. he degree to which this is practiced depends on which of the media one is talking of. If it is the public media the journalist is asked to add a positive and action-oriented color to “hat [selfhis information. An illustration was given to depict this case when a journalist of Radio Parakou said that censorship] is just the Head of State had lown over cotton ields in the what they do” ... area though he was being directed by Head Oice to instead state that the Head of State was in the cotton ields himself. Another case of self-censorship or of double standards happened when a journalist from the public media handling environmental issues wrote an article that seriously criticized the cutting of trees in a fairground (a resting place and public garden in Cotonou), which featured in La Nation, and it was censored. On the other hand, no censorship was imposed on ORTB for seriously criticizing the same initiative though the Managing Director had wanted to censor it. ORTB, however, censored the pictures in which the Head of State was slapping somebody in the compound of the Ministry of Foreign Afairs. In the private media houses the practice is diferent from the ideology. he guiding principle here is the level of understanding between the bosses and the staf on the inancial implications (conidential agreements with news readers, be they public or private). his can go as far as deforming the articles that are written. he panelists cited an example of parliamentary reporters who had written an article which showed that the minister in charge of institutions had been shaken in parliament. he next day their articles had undergone change though their names were still appended to the articles. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BENIN 2011 121