SECTOR 4 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: 2.8 (2006= 2.9, 2008 = 2.5, 2010 = 2.0) 4.3 The media cover the full spectrum of events, issues and cultures, including business/economics, cultural, local and investigative stories. Overall, the media covers all news events, in particular the print media through the different sections available in the newspapers. Coverage of regional information, however, barely features in the national papers, noteven in the newspapers that have correspondents in the regions. The Internet Festival (Fête de l’Internet), for example, is given very little space in newspapers albeit the fact that this annual event takes place in nearly all regions. Some believe this state of affairs is due to a certain ranking of information, which favours politics. Nonetheless the panel recognises that efforts have been made either to dispatch reporters or to fall back on Radio Nationale. Investigative stories, however, remain the only area where coverage currently reveals gaps, for reasons linked either to availability of staff dedicated to this work in the newsrooms or to the editorial line of the media, which often are faced with conflicts of interest. The Rosewood Affair13, published in the La Gazette de la Grande Ile is one example for a conflict of interest. Lack of coverage may also be due to risks that a journalist has to take in order to cover certain issues in certain places, where authorities enforce a media blackout. 13 Rosewood is a much sought-after wood in South-East Asia due to its therapeutic properties. The exploitation of rosewood timber is illegal in Madagascar but there is clandestine trafficking going on, involving high-profile individuals. 106 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MADAGASCAR