SECTOR 1 La Haute Autorité de la Communication Audiovisuelle (HACA) is the independent administrative regulator of audio-visual communication. Its mission is, amongst others, to ensure the principles of free exercise of audio-visual communication, to guarantee and ensure the freedom of audio-visual communication within legal bounds; and to act as watchdog in respect of ethics and deontology as far as communication is concerned. The HACA issues licences on a tender basis. Authorisation to use broadcast frequencies for both private commercial radio stations and private non-commercial radio stations are subject to a security deposit of FCFA 400,000,000 (USD 683.803) for commercial radio stations and FCFA 3,000,000 (USD 5.128) for non-commercial radio stations. With the start of the liberalisation of televised broadcasting, the tender application process was launched in May 2016 for the next implementation of private television networks. Radiodiffusion Télevision Ivoirienne (RTI) is the public broadcaster. Its administrative board is neither independent nor representative of the population at large. Ten of the twelve members of RTI’s board are nominated by the President of the Republic and Cabinet Ministers. Despite guarantees provided in law, the RTI has still not achieved its objective of providing a public service of good quality. RTI’s budget depends on the Ministries of Finance and Communication. Despite income received from royalties, advertising and shows, the funding of RTI remains a current issue. For the past ten years, programming and content have lacked diversification. Despite the effort to apply the Collective Convention of Journalists of January 2015, corruption still exists. Journalists and editors practice self-censorship; the majority of the media do not respect the basic principles of accuracy and equity; and the news is often politically oriented. Fortunately, the National Press Council (CNP) and the National Press Ethics Observer (OLPED) watches over them to keep them in check. OLPED self-regulates, the CNP regulates and the two bodies complement each other in their functions in the written press framework. The HACA receives complaints related to broadcasting. From 2012 to 2016, the OLPED has noticed a conscious effort by journalists to better respect the code of ethics. This was especially noticeable during the electoral period of 2015. Since January 2015, there have been improvements in the regular payment of journalists’ salaries experienced - particularly in the private media. However, there are still media companies with detestable working conditions that do not pay according to the convention barometer,. There are eleven trade unions in the public media: four at RTI, four at Fraternité Matin, one at the AIP and one in the private press. There is also SYNAPPCI (National Trade Union of Media Professionals of Côte d’Ivoire), which covers the private and public sectors from time to time. SYNAPCI is by far the most representative and most active trade union. Certain trade unions were simply defence mechanisms of managing directors, but all are currently working to establish a strong umbrella-union. The presence of various media associations – including the National Union of Journalists of Côte d’Ivoire AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Côte d’Ivoire 2016 65