and religious groups are also represented on them. Political issues are however held sway by the opinions of those in power. hey maintain their predominance through granting advertising. his has been very successfull since the advertising market is badly organized and it is not large enough due to the high number of media organizations. he legislation on broadcasting is very speciic but its implimentation is diicult.he State is uneasy with the total autonomy of the Broadcasting and Communications Authority (Haute Autorité de l’Audiovisuel et de la Communication, HAAC). HAAC is however able to exert its independence in real terms by ensuring that its decisions are adhered to. HAAC is unable to exercise much control on the public/state broadcaster (ORTB) whose board is dominated by members of the regime. In theory, the editorial independence of the public broadcaster is guaranteed by law. It is HAAC that proposes a list of three names for nomination to executive positions on ORTB. In practice however, the authorities are always interfering with ORTB’s programs especially those on national television. he major tool that the public authorities use in inluencing ORTB is its mode of funding. he State allocates an annual subvention of 20 million CFA to the public broadcaster. Since this is an insigniicant amount, ORTB is obliged each year to request a colossal subvention. he payment of the salaries of full-time staf is also under state control. ORTB is currently improving its equipment and national coverage through a 20 billion CFA program that seeks to work on radio coverage estimated at 60% and that of television estimated at 40%. he public broadcaster (especially national television) has lost some credibility as a result of the political interference by public authorities. Information is biased in favor of those in power, who censor all those who threaten their interests. A recent survey in Cotonou, the capital of the nation, has revealed that all the other private television stations have a bigger audience than the ORTB. he local content of programs has been reduced to size and ORTB’s broadcasts mainly consist of variety programs and imported shows. here are about ifty community radios in Benin who are all beneiciaries of state support to the media. he media are well organized when it comes to ethics. A code of conduct which was adopted in 1999 has been implemented by the Media Council (Observatoire de la Déontologie et de l’Ethique dans les Médias, ODEM). Judges have taken its AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BENIN 2011 71