Introduction to Mauritius News Media.
Mauritius is a country with small population and so is its media network. However, the economy of the country is in good shape and thus, several big media outlets operate in Mauritius. Online media is gaining importance with time in a market majorly served by print newspapers, television and radio networks.
Language
A majority of newspapers in Mauritius publish in the French language, followed by English and an Indigenous language of the island nation.
Press Freedom
The freedom of speech is guaranteed to the media in Mauritius as per the Section 12(1) of the country’s Constitution. However, Section 287 and 287A of Mauritius’ Criminal Code allow the government to ban newspapers in case of sedition. Another ground for ban is publishing false news, which comes under Section 299 of the Criminal Code.
Controversy
In 1837, Mauritius introduced The Newspaper and Periodicals Act, an amendment of which was proposed in 1984. The Newspapers and Periodicals Bill, which asked the newspapers to deposit a bond of MUR 500,000, faced protests by the media. As many as 44 journalists were arrested from the protests. In January 2015, then Vice-Prime Minister of Mauritius was fined by a court for leading an illegal demonstration that damaged some of the properties of a major daily newspaper.
When a news magazine published an editorial on National Assembly speaker Maya Hanoomanjee in June 2016, she handed its editor in chief a ban of four sessions. The editorial had alleged Hanoomanjee of showing bias in the National Assembly.
Online Media
The internet media is on rise in Mauritius, which is served by several operators such as Mauritius Telecom, Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius Limited (MTML), Nomad and Emtel. All the service operators provide internet using a different technology. While Nomad uses WiMAX, MTML has CDMA2000 and Emtel makes use of HSDPA (3.5G) technology. Mauritius Telecom has the monopoly over other service providers as it offers features like phone dialing services over the existing telephone lines.
Mauritius newspapers and news websites’ list
We have compiled a list of top newspapers and websites that are quite popular among the readers in Mauritius and its neighbouring countries.
Part I: Newspapers and websites
In the first part of the article, we have shared a list of the prominent newspapers and websites of Mauritius with their details.
Le Défi Media
Le Défi Media is a media group founded in 1993. It owns newspapers, magazines, websites and radio stations. Most of them operate in the French language. Based in Port Louis, Mauritius, it is a private multimedia company. The group publishes a daily newspaper Le Défi Quotidien, a weekly newspaper Le Défi Plus and a radio station called Radio Plus. It also owns two magazines.
Products
Le Défi Plus is a newspaper published in the French language. The first issue of Le Défi Plus appeared in 1996. www.defimedia.info is a comprehensive portal owned by the group. It was launched in the year 2008. Citing Alexa’s ranking, Le Défi Media claims that its website receives an average of 60 000 unique visitors daily. The portal also gets an average of 9,674,849 page views every month.
Social Media Presence
In the About Us section of its website, Le Défi Media states that its mission is to “present timely, accurate and well-researched news and features about the diversified aspects of Mauritian life, both to our audience in the Republic of Mauritius and worldwide”. Le Défi Media has accounts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram besides a YouTube channel. Readers can also get instant and daily news updates on their WhatsApp number.
L’Express
L’Express is a daily newspaper published in Mauritius. The first issue of the newspaper appeared in 1963. Owned by La Sentinelle, it is published in the French language. One of the most popular newspapers in Mauritius also publishes a Sunday version known as L’Express Dimanche. The newspaper has a circulation of around 20,000 copies.
Owner
The parent company La Sentinelle is headquartered in Baie-du-Tombeau, a village located in the Pamplemousses District of Mauritius. It boasts of being the first media group in the country. Established in 1962, it basically operates in three fields- media, printing, distribution and logistics. La Sentinelle owns thirty titles including weeklies, dailies, bi-monthly and monthly.
Target Audience
Describing its target audience, L’Express states that it “enjoys a great influence with political, economic and social decision-makers who appreciate the high quality of its content, the credibility of its editorial team and the relevance of its analyzes”.
Digital Media Presence
L’Express also has a news website to complement its print version. To cater to the interest of its readers, the portal has segregated its news stories into sections and sub-sections such as politics, society, economy, regions, sports, international, multimedia and many more. L’Express is available on all major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube besides LinkedIn. It also offers mobile application for both Android and iOS devices.
Mo Ti News?
Mo Ti News is a news website in Mauritius. The French language portal was launched in June 2016. Citing Alexa ranking, Mo Ti News claims to be the third most popular website in Mauritius after Defimedia and L’Express. It describes itself as a “cross-platform, multi language network for news and entertainment”.
Target Audience
Though the portal carries content mainly of the interest of Mauritian audience, it has reaches in countries such as France, UK, Australia, Canada and the United States. Mo Ti News gets 70,000 unique visitors per day. The target audience of the website is between the age group of 18 to 40. Mo Ti News also provides the service of push notification to its users.
Categories And Social Media
For the convenience of its readers, Mo Ti News has categorised news and reports into multiple sections such as entertainment, economy, fashion, education, world, music, people, health, Hollywood, science & technology and news among others. It is also present on social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube. Mo Ti News even provides ad-free mobile application exclusively for Android users.
Le Mauricien
Le Mauricien is a daily newspaper published in Mauritius. The first issue of the newspaper appeared in 1908. It is published in the French language. Week-End, Week-End Scope and Turf Magazine are its sister publications. Some of the former editors of Le Mauricien include prominent names such as Raoul Rivet, Andre Masson and Lindsay Riviere.
History
Le Mauricien started offset printing in 1978. Initially, the newspaper published only four pages. It later grew till forty-eight page daily edition. From July 2014, Le Mauricien adopted the compact tabloid format. It also reduced its pages to 40 and decreased the paper size by 55 percent.
Digital Media Presence
Le Mauricien also has a news portal besides the print version. It has categories like news, opinions and sports to cater to the interest of its readers. It is available on all major social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Le Mauricien has a YouTube channel as well.
Inside news
Inside News is a news portal based in Mauritius. Headquartered in Port Louis, the news website operates in the French language. For the convenience of its readers, the portal has categorised news and reports into categories such as politics, news, interviews, health and miscellaneous facts among others. Inside News is also available on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Live Mega
Live Mega is a news portal based in Mauritius. To cater to the interest of its readers, the website covers various genres like cars and motors, business, economy, politics, news and many more.
MBC
MBC or Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation is a government-owned national public broadcaster of Republic of Mauritius that comprises Mauritius, Rodrigues and Agaléga islands. Headquartered at Réduit, Moka, it was founded on June 8, 1964. Before that, it operated under the name of Mauritius Broadcasting Service. It was established by Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.
Network
Programmes are available in twelve languages like French, English, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Mandarin/Cantonese, Tamil, Creole, Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu and Hakka. MBC also has 17 television channels in Mauritius, 2 in Agaléga and 4 in Rodrigues besides 7 radio channels. The website of MBC has sections such as culinary, culture, entertainment, health, music, technology and sports among others.
ION News
ION News is a news website in Mauritius that publishes stories in the French language. Launched in 2013, the portal was owned by Indian Ocean Network Ltd. until September 2020. The website has multiple sections such as society, economy, business, lifestyle, politics and world among others. ION News is also available on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Republic of Mauritius – News
?Republic of Mauritius – News is an official website of the Mauritian government. The portal has a directory with the contact numbers, websites and addresses of different government ministries. The website also provides information about Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agaléga and Chagos. Digital government, information and services are other sections available on the portal.
Republic of Mauritius – News Online
Radio One
Radio One, owned by Viva Voce Ltd., is the first private radio station in Mauritius. Launched on March 12, 2002, it is based in Port Louis. Radio One is mainly known for news and entertainment stories. It is available on major social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Radio One also has a YouTube channel. Its websites has sections like All the news, Replay, Our programming and Events among others.
Sunday Times
Sunday Times is a Sunday newspaper published in Mauritius. Based in Port Louis, Sunday Times is published in the French language. It also has a website with different sections covering news related to sports, politics and judiciary. Sunday Times is available on Facebook and Twitter as well.
Zinfos Moris
Zinfos Moris is a Mauritian news website published in the French language. To cater to the interest of its readers, Zinfos Moris has categories such as economy, social, society, health, justice, culture, sports, international and environment among others. It is also available on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
5-Plus Dimanche
5-Plus Dimanche is a Sunday newspaper based in Mauritius. Published in the French language, it is owned by Le Sentinelle based in Baie du Tombeau, a Mauritian village. The first issue of 5-Plus Dimanche appeared on April 1, 1990. It has a website to complement the print version. The portal covers a wide range of topics such as fashion, sports, leisure, politics and food. 5-Plus Dimanche also has an account on Facebook.
Mo Pays
Mo Pays is a news website in Mauritius. Published in the French language, it is based in Floréal. Mo Pays describes itself as “the ultimate platform to connect Mauritians from across the globe” For the convenience of its readers, Mo Pays has sections such as local, international and gallery among others. It is also present on the social media platform Facebook.
Maurice Info
Maurice Info is a news website based in Mauritius. Published in the French language, it has multiple sections such as video, government, world, news, weather forecast, region, leisure and tourism among others. Maurice Info also has accounts on all major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. It has a YouTube channel as well.
L’Eco Austral
?L’Eco Austral is a regional news magazine published in the French language. It is based in Mauritius, Reunion and Madagascar. The first issue of L’Eco Austral appeared in December 1993. The magazine was founded by Alain Foulon. It has its headquarters in St Denis Cedex. According to L’Eco Austral, its readers include “entrepreneurs, executives and managers, politicians and opinion leaders”. The magazine also has a French language website and is present on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Mauritius Times
Mauritius Times is an English language newspaper that publishes on a weekly basis in Mauritius. Bikramsingh Ramlallah and Sir Kher Jagatsingh established Mauritius Times on August 14, 1954. Ramlallah acted as the newspaper editor from 1954 to 2000. Mauritius Times has a website as well that features all stories in digital format and a free-to-download PDF version of the newspaper.
Star
Star is a weekly newspaper published in Mauritius. Based in Port Louis, it is available in the French language. Star also has a website besides the print edition. To cater to the interest of its readers, Star has segregated its news and articles into sections such as people, interview, reportage, news, activities, society, religion and many more. Star is also available on Facebook.
Rising News
Rising News is a Mauritian news website. Headquartered in Quatre Bornes, it is published in the French language. For the convenience of its readers, Rising News has categorised its news and articles into multiple sections such as politics, interview, lifestyle, video, business, tech, cinema and many more.
Biz Week
Biz Week claims to be the first electronic economic and financial weekly newspaper in Mauritius. It is headquartered in Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius. Founded in February 2014, it was initially printed under the name of Capital Publications. Back then, Biz Week was also distributed in pdf to CEOs of public and private companies. After an increase in demand, its website was launched in 2016. The subscribers of Biz Week are present in Africa and the Indian Ocean region as well. Biz Week is also available on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Advance
Advance is a news website headquartered in Port Louis, Mauritius. The French language portal has multiple sections to cater to the interest of its readers. There are categories such as politics, economy, media, technology, international and sport among others. Advance is also available on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
Part II: Business newspapers
In the second part of the article, we have explained about the newspaper that is known for the coverage of business news in Mauritius.
Business Mega
Business Mega is a news portal published in the French language. Based in Mauritius, it mainly covers business and finance related news. For the convenience of its readers, Business Mega has segregated the news and articles into various sections such as world, lifestyle, events, education and many more.
mega.mu – Mauritius business news Online
Part III: Sports Newspapers
In the third part of the article, we have explained about the newspaper that is known for the coverage of sports news in Mauritius.
Sports – L’Express
The website of L’Express has a separate category to cover sports. The sports category has several sub-sections such as soccer, local sport, world sport, premiere league, European championships and others. As far as, L’Express is concerned, it is a daily newspaper owned by La Sentinelle group. The French newspaper was established in 1963. It is present on all major social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. L’Express also provides mobile application for both Android and iOS devices.
Conclusion
The state of media is much better in Mauritius than many other countries in the world. The media gets a guarantee of freedom of expression by the country’s constitution. Television is the primary source of news in Mauritius and dominated massively by state owned Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), which has a radio network as well.
The MBC mostly reflects the views of the government on its radio and television platforms. The funding of MBC comes from a television license fee mechanism and advertising. The MBC broadcasts programmes in languages like French, Hindi, English, Creole and Chinese. The broadcaster also serves the neighbouring Rodrigues and Agaléga islands. Canalsat, London Satellite Systems, Parabole Maurice and DStv are among other prominent television broadcasters operating in Mauritius.
Print Media
The print media network is quite limited in Mauritius, though it serves the entire population in many different languages. A majority of print media outlets are politically neutral and criticise both the ruling party and its opposition parties. Media conglomerates La Sentinelle Ltd and Le Mauricien Ltd are among the most popular in the print media business in the country.
Talking about foreign media, one can listen to BBC World Service on a mediumwave (AM) relay (1575 kHz) and Radio France Internationale on an FM channel.
Internet Media
According to Internet Live Stats, as many as 543,000 people had access to the internet in Mauritius by 2016. While some of the newspapers struggle to survive amid an ongoing financial crisis due to coronavirus, most of them have their presence on the internet and various social media sites.
While the propelling industry knows no bounds, we at MediaBuzz are working hard to provide encyclopedic coverage of all the news sources. We are a team of professional writers with a knack for the trends in the world of journalism.
We are always looking for suggestions to produce a more concise list.
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