FOTP 2013 Full Report

outlets. In February, police raided the offices of the daily Newsday and the home of journalistAndre Bagoo after he refused to reveal his sources for a story on a dispute between members ofthe government’s Integrity Commission. Police confiscated Bagoo’s computers, documents, andmobile telephones. In late December 2011, the police had raided the newsroom of TV6 inconnection with the probe into the controversial October Crime Watch episode.Among other incidents, in response to an article published in September 2012 byTrinidad Guardian reporter Anika Gumbs-Sandiford on the efforts of Planning Minister BhoeTewarie to disband the board of the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA), the CDAobtained the journalist’s confidential phone records to uncover her sources. The government andits supporters allegedly led a smear campaign against two journalists in October, after theirinvestigative reports criticized legislative measures taken by Warner to protect two donors to theruling United National Congress party from charges of money laundering. The MediaAssociation of Trinidad & Tobago specifically cited public statements and anonymous e-mailmessages that contained personal attacks on Denyse Renne of the Trinidad Guardian and AshaJaveed of Trinidad Express. Also in October, Communications Minister Jamal Mohammed sentan e-mail to TV6 that accused the station, and Trinidad Express, of bias against the ruling partyand criticized what he viewed as their efforts to embarrass government officials.There are three daily newspapers—Trinidad Express, Newsday, and the TrinidadGuardian—and three political weeklies, all of which are privately owned. Four televisionstations are in operation, including the state-owned Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG),though TV6 dominates ratings. There are about a dozen radio stations, including three operatedby CNMG. The government and state-owned businesses disproportionately place theiradvertising with state-owned media and private outlets that favor the government. In 2012, therewere reports that at least two critical media outlets had faced attempted advertising boycotts bythe government. In October, Mohammed announced a new rule that will require all privatelyowned radio and television broadcasters to air up to one hour per day of government messagingwith no financial compensation, a move that was condemned by press freedom advocates.There were no government restrictions on the internet, which was accessed by nearly 60percent of the population in 2012.TunisiaStatus: Partly FreeLegal Environment: 18Political Environment: 18Economic Environment: 16Total Score: 52Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 81,NF 82,NF 85,NF 85,NF 51,PFThe Tunisian media environment remained in transition in 2012 following the overthrow ofPresident Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in early 2011. The National Constituent Assembly (ANC),elected in 2011 as the interim legislature and tasked with drafting a new constitution, is led byEnnahda, a moderate Islamist party that was banned during the Ben Ali era. The space for media376