SECTOR 1 program le Club de la Presse – broadcast by RTI and presented by a renowned journalist – was halted because, according to panellists, the participants announced on air that a program would be dedicated to the 11th anniversary celebrations of the rebellion, and that journalists from all editorial tendancies would be invited. The example of the journalist Zio Moussa is also rather pronounced, as related during the panel discussions. Zio Moussa presented the chronicle des Arts et Lettres for eleven years on the national radio waves, but following one particular broadcast, he received a letter from the Director General of RTI announcing the suspension of the chronicle which, according to the terms utilised, did not interest anyone anymore. In reality, this suspension followed the broadcast of a specific episode entitled “the white woman and the black man”, inspired by Frantz Fanon’s book, “Black Skin, White Masks”. Those who listened to the programme very quickly made the comparison with the President of Côte d’Ivoire who married a European woman. Against this background, the panel was in agreement that in Côte d’Ivoire one does not express oneself without fear – whether in speech, or in writing. The journalist Joseph Titi, for example, lived the bitter experience of being imprisoned for one week at the Maison d’Arret et de Correction d’Abidjan (MACA) for his writings, according to one panellist, although the National Press Council clearly indicated to the state prosecutor that the journalist merely committed a disciplinary error and should have been sanctioned accordingly. When a citizen or a journalist is arrested for his opinions, the investigators make him/her wait for hours before listening to him/her. In certain cases, this fear promotes censorship and self-censorship. One panellist underlined that media bosses directly feel the need to censor in state-owned media enterprises. 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: 70 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Côte d’Ivoire 2016 2.1 (2012 = 2.9, 2009 = 3.0)