Mass media in Mauritania

The media of Mauritania is undergoing a shift into a freer journalistic environment, while becoming increasingly open to private sector.

Journalists are experiencing a period of relative freedom following the coup of 2005, which ended a military dictatorship. The laws governing media are the most liberal in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. As of 2010, Reporters Without Borders ranked Mauritania 99 out of 178 in its worldwide index of press freedom.

A setback for press freedom occurred in 2009, when Hanevy Ould Dehah, editor of the website Taqadoumy, was imprisoned for several months, with an arbitrarily extended prison sentence, on the grounds of offending morals. Journalists may be banned in Mauritania for publishing work that undermines Islam.

After a coup in 2008, the new regime clamped down on some radio and television journalists, while other media enjoyed freedom of speech, notably "Le Calame" and "La Tribune". Poorly paid journalists often edit work on demand by politicians or business interests. Self-censoring and lack of sources for articles are other problems marring balanced reporting in Mauritania.

Print

Print media are enjoying a period of freedom under the current government, and freedom of speech is, for the most part, flourishing. The most popular print publications in Mauritania today are sensationalist newspapers called "peshmergas".

Public

• "Chaab", daily, in Arabic
• "Horizons", daily, in French
• "Journal Officiel", government journal of record

Privately owned

• "Le Calame", weekly
• "L'Eveil-Hebdo", weekly
• "Rajoul Echaree"
• "Akhbar Nouakchott", daily, in Arabic
• "Nouakchott Info", daily, in French

Television and radio

Mauritania's TV and radio stations are state-owned. In 2010, however, the government passed legislation to open broadcasting to the private sector. Mauritania's public television station also has six regional stations that offer local programming.

• Television de Mauritanie (TVM), in Arabic and French
• Radio Mauritanie, in Arabic and French

News agencies:

• Mauritanian News Agency (AMI), public agency
• Maurinews, privately owned

Radio

• Radio France Internationale
• BBC World Service, FM 106.9 in Nouakchott and 102.4 in Nouadhibou

Agence Indépendante d'information ALAKHBAR. Première agence d’information indépendante en mauritanien. Elle publie en Arabe et en Français

Telecommunications

Mauritel, which was privatized in 2001, maintains a monopoly over fixed-line service.

Mobile phone service is mostly restricted to urban areas, where 70 out of 100 people have mobile phones. Moroccan-owned Maroc Telecom operates in Mauritania, as well as Burkina Faso, Gabon and Mali.