Madagascar Media Sustainability Index (MSI)
March 14, 2010
About the MSI
IREX designed the MSI to measure the strength and viability of any country's media sector. The MSI considers all the factors that contribute to a media system—the quality of journalism, effectiveness of management, the legal environment supporting freedom of the press, and more—to arrive at scores on a scale ranging between 0 and 4. These scores represent the strength of the media sector components and can be analyzed over time to chart progress (or regression) within a country. Additionally, countries or regions may be compared to one another. IREX currently conducts the MSI in 80 countries, and began studying Africa in 2006.
MSI Overview | Africa | Asia | Europe & Eurasia | Middle East & North Africa
Download Complete Madagascar Chapter (PDF): 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2006/7 | 2006/7 (français)
MSI Madagascar-2010 Introduction
Overall Country Score: 1.68
On the heels of the violent demonstrations and political crisis of 2009, Madagascar continued to face many
challenges in 2010. The adverse effects of the still-unresolved political crisis have impacted almost the entire
population, but the poorest above all. Politically, little has changed, with a transitional regime that the
international community refuses to recognize, a blockade that continues and even tightens, and suspension
of aid from the outside. Various attempts at a resolution or mediation (at the national level through civil
society organizations or political parties, and internationally through the SADC) have not yet ended the
crisis. Proposals for a roadmap and agreements remain at embryonic stages, rejected by stakeholders for
failing to be consensual and inclusive.
Almost in tandem with these mediations, the country experienced various failed attempts at overthrowing
the transitional regime. They involved incidents with high-ranking non-commissioned officers of the Malagasy
army and open insubordination by some elements of the Force d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale
(FIGN). Similarly, the members of the opposition—the movements of the three former presidents—continued
demonstrating against the regime. Their attempts were unsuccessful, and ultimately ended in the authorities
pursuing and imprisoning opposition leaders (or those presumed responsible) and their accomplices.
For its part, the ruling regime initiated various efforts also to try to end the crisis. At the end of its National
Conference in September 2010, the government ratified general guidelines and principles to conduct a
“consensual and inclusive transition” and form the “4th Republic.” In October, the regime restructured
its transitional institutions, establishing the Conseil Supérieur de la Transition (CST) and the Congrès de la
Transition (CT). A constitutional referendum in November 2010 paved the way for the advent of the 4th
Republic, announced formally in December.
Socio-economically, the situation remains alarming, with a 10 percent rate of inflation keenly felt by all—
and low-income households especially. Fuel prices (and therefore transportation costs) keep rising, along
with basics such as rice, sugar, and oil. Key sectors, such as tourism and textiles, continue to suffer, with
recovery uncertain and unemployment worsening.
Journalism continues to be one of the sectors most severely impacted. Media outlets that dare to criticize
the authorities are repressed forcefully. Journalists have said that they cannot perform their jobs properly,
for fear of being branded opponents and threatened with imprisonment. Within this context, the MSI’s
overall score of 1.68, the lowest in the four years of the MSI in Madagascar, reflects a situation that is
deteriorating and confirms the precarious viability of the media in Madagascar. None of the five objectives
scored above a 2.00. Objectives 1 (freedom of speech) and 3 (plurality of news) scored the lowest, at 1.58
and 1.61, respectively.
The Madagascar study was coordinated by, and conducted in partnership with, Multi-Service Information Systems, Antananarivo.
