SECTOR 2 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: 2.0 (2006= n/a, 2008 = n/a, 2010 = 1.6) 2.10 Government does not use its power over the placement of advertisements as a means to interfere with editorial content. The government influences a dozen or more media houses that it closed advertising deals with. Other more critical media houses are systematically excluded from advertising without even being considered for tenders. As a panellist even reveals: “Certain radio stations complain about their airwaves being used for public service announcements (vaccination campaigns, for example) whereas they receive no state subsidies.” The procedure for government advertisement is, in fact, that the Ministry selects among the applications it receives. Many tenders of media houses such as La Gazette de la Grande Ile are unsuccessful. The reason often brought forward is audience research conducted by the two largest agencies of the capital (ATW Consultants and Agence Capsule). The outcome of these studies, often contested by the media, usually results in the same selection including Midi Madagasikara, La Gazette de la Grande Ile and l’Express de Madagascar. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MADAGASCAR 87