Nigeria’s 2011 Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is considered the most important piece of media regulation enacted in recent years and has helped to “push the frontiers”. But there are “challenges in compliance”. In the absence of any law or regulation, individuals and institutions in Nigeria can create and run websites, blogs and other digital platforms without seeking authorisation. But citizens are now required to register their SIM cards before accessing mobile telephony services, although it is hard to argue that this constitutes a restriction to producing and distributing digital content. Nigeria has many organisations promoting and protecting the interest of media and journalists. Media organisations and other civil society groups regularly advocate for the protection of press freedom. When it comes to news and information outlets or sources, Nigeria has them in all formats and in good number: newspapers, radio stations, television channels and increasingly online news sites. Accessibility and affordability is, however, not so straightforward to predict, since they differ from one sector to the next and are determined by multiple factors. Although years of advocacy for the rights of women and other minorities have produced positive results in the Nigerian media, bias against women has not completely gone away. Men’s views are still favoured when discussing “important” issues like politics, business, conflicts and current affairs. Even though women and children are the main victims of the ongoing armed conflict in the north of the country, news reports hardly reflect this reality. Fewer women also rise to important positions in newsrooms, even though most of the brightest students from journalism schools and faculties are usually young women. No sector is taboo in the Nigerian media. They cover a wide range of issues, particularly politics, business, culture, entertainment, economy, and religion. Investigative journalism, however, is still a work in progress. Advertising is a powerful tool in the hand of government officials and agencies, and is used to influence the editorial posture of media organisations. They routinely use the placement of adverts to either reward friendly organs, or to punish those considered hostile or friendly to political and business rivals. Public broadcasting is governed by several Acts setting up each Federal public broadcaster. These include the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria Act, the Voice of Nigeria Act and the Nigerian Television Authority Act. States also have laws setting up state broadcasters, and these vary in form and content from state to state and media organisation to media organisation. 8 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NIGERIA 2015