Press world: public sector jubilating, private sector complaining

The Malagasy national radio channel is celebrating its 80th birthday on April 29th 2011. And it actually looks like the same as forty years ago. After a brief blow of modernity, the RNM recovered its folkloric face devoted to the ruling power, straining to be entertaining in spite of its constant propaganda. When its facilities were set alight by supporters of Antananarivo´s mayor on January 26th 2009, the RNM was brought back to the Stone Age, deprived of archives, deprived of soul.

The HAT´s communication ministry concentrated its scarce financial efforts on facilities, at the expenses of staff issues. Public media groups are now based in barely restored buildings in Anosy. The TVM is currently the largest beneficiary. For being keen on convincing the international community, the Malagasy public television channel is boasting about its availability on satellite waves. Being observed in Europe is definitely the single objective. The ORTM´s director, managing the public channels, addressed the installation of a genuine international channel: “We have to produce Malagasy programs for TVM2 and Europe” declared Johary Ravoajanahary.

Considering the TVM and RNM´s human resources, the challenge remains quite hard. Most of the staff is being recruited the “traditional way” throughout regions and transferred in Antananarivo. The 25% high bonus on their pay check is at least likely to motivate these civil servants. Public channels´ reporters actually used to earn very little. It has so far been being profitable for whoever willing to control them through sideline cooperation, official or not.

Neither the TVM nor the RNM are however affected by the private press´s current issue. The backlash of the information technology companies´ led boycott on commercials is being felt. But private press groups are actually hesitating to support their biggest clients in opposing the HAT´s international gateway project… certainly because most of these channels are no purely business oriented groups. For being subsidized by political or religious sponsors, the private press is not making a priority concern of its commercials.

It still remains inevitable that the HAT is lacking arguments in the gateway issue: the HAT prime minister in charge of the ministry addressed the loss of 25 millions of minutes of communication a year, Rajoelina mentioned the situation of neighboring countries happening to be everything but models in information technology policy. The issue´s genuine incentive is the leadership´s interest. An international gateway would be a lucrative business, and could it come into completion, it would insure total control, as what is currently happening in Egypt.