Sector 4: The media practice high levels of professional standards. 4.1 The media follow voluntary codes of professional standards which are enforced by self-regulatory bodies. Two codes of conduct co-exist currently. The first has been drawn up by the “Order of Journalists” (Ordre de Journalistes) according to the provisions of law no. 90-031 on communication. It is supposed to be legally binding on all members of the profession. Only few journalists know about the existence of this code whose text has also been ignored by the media owners who were not involved in its elaboration. The second has recently been initiated by media practitioners in collaboration with Ouest-Fraternité (an association created by the employees of the French paper Ouest-France with the objective to make the know-how of employees of the group available to papers in developing countries) and put in place after a workshop that brought together magistrates and journalists. Following this encounter where criticism was voiced regarding the performance of the press and the threats it faces, the Association of News Editors of Madagascar (Groupement des Editeurs de presse d’Information de Madagascar (GEPIM)) found it necessary to provide the profession with a code of conduct. Originally meant only for the press, this text became the Media Charter and private television channels now also adhere to it. The Charter stipulates that each media organisation will define the provisions for its own internal rules. In fact these two codes are not contradictory since they are both inspired by the Charter of Munich of 1971. In practice, each media organisation is self-regulatory without having recourse to the Order of Journalists. Its disciplinary committee only convened once in order to pronounce on the case of a fellow who had been called to order. No other disciplinary measures - such as warnings or withdrawals of the press card for a certain period have ever been taken. Even though the Order of Journalists is entitled to intervene in all matters relating to the press, it has never made use of this right. Madagascar is one of the few countries in the world to have a professional body for journalists. SCORES: Individual scores: 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3 Average score: 2.8 4.2 The standard of reporting follows the basic principles of accuracy and fairness. 41