African Media Barometer Madagascar 2012 Summary In the two years since the last edition of the African Media Barometer (AMB), Madagascar has made progress in certain areas of media development. However, caught in the middle of on-going political turmoil and aggravated by an economic crisis, Madagascar struggles to make real progress. The crisis has had a negative impact on an otherwise promising media landscape. This is the conclusion the 12 participants of the recent African Media Barometer (AMB) panel convened in Mantasoa in July 2012 reached. Media professionals, lawyers and members of civil society agree that significant progress has been made across the media landscape over the past two years. With over 30 newspapers and magazines published in the country today, print media has made a quantum leap forward. The emergence of newspapers and magazines specialised in fashion, business/economics, health and employment is part of new media outlets available. Broadcasting and new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have not been part of this upsurge. The hundreds of mostly commercial, community and evangelical FM radio stations, are competing for airwaves with the national broadcaster, which asserts its presence by establishing new regional stations and upgrading existing stations. With regards to Internet access, developments are underway but they are still hesitant. Access to mobile telephones meanwhile has increased significantly breaking all traditional barriers linked to the appropriation of technology, such as space, purchase power and social status. The rice farmer and the shepherd, just like the white-collar worker in the public and private sectors of Madagascar, have become dependent on the mobile phone. This variety that can be found across the media landscape literally translates into an impressive diversity in terms of media content. “Juvenilisation” is the term used by one of the panellists to describe the overwhelming presence of younger actors in Madagascar’s newsrooms and on its airwaves. Programmes and newspapers that respond to the specific needs of different groups of the population: women, children, students, ethnic groups, etc. are today an integral part of the media landscape. The different opinions to be found in this island state with its 21-million inhabitants are in free competition for space and airtime, which gives rise to lively debates around possible solutions to political and economic problems that the nation is facing. 64 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MADAGASCAR