SECTOR 3 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: 1.6 (2006= n/a, 2008 = n/a, 2010 = 1.0) 3.7 The state/public broadcaster is adequately funded in a manner that protects it from arbitrary interference through its budget and from all commercial pressure. The state/public broadcaster draws its funds from the state budget and advertising revenues. It is a public body, which operates like with commercial and industrial character (EPIC)11 , given that it has to seek additional revenue. Funds drawn from the budget, however, are minimal and are only used to pay the salaries of civil servants. This causes a very strong dependence on and hence frequent interference by the State. This has not improved. “Our editorial line – is all the government is concerned about.” “Our editorial line – is all the government is concerned about.” This need for additional funds also exposes it to the lobby of business operators that sometimes manage to impose attitudes that are barely legal. During the Telma (phone operator) strikes in 2010, for example, the strikers held a press conference to explain the reasons behind their movement. The state broadcaster, which had covered the strike, blocked this story as it received a lot of advertising from Telma. The other example one can mention is beer advertisement. Malagasy law bans alcohol advertising but breweries such as Skol and Star manage to buy advertising space on state TV. 11 Etablissement Public à caractère Industriel et Commercial (EPIC) AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MADAGASCAR 97