Benin’s High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) is preparing to broaden its oversight to include university media outlets, signaling a major shift in the country’s media regulation landscape.
This development was revealed by HAAC Secretary General François Awoudo during a radio interview on Bip Radio’s L’entretien program on July 6, 2025.
Addressing questions about academic media such as Le Héraut, Radio Univers, and Le Révélateur, Awoudo emphasized that while these outlets operate within academic settings, they remain public information channels and thus fall under media regulations.
“The university press, of which I am one of the finished products, just like President Edouard Loko, is part of the media,” he stated.
Awoudo acknowledged a longstanding legal gap: “The HAAC, which should regulate the activities of this type of media, did not do so in time. All this is currently being developed.”
Awoudo described this initiative as part of HAAC’s renewed mandate and called for clearer definitions around media institutions. “It’s a bit like a certain number of media outlets in the country that have the status of public service media that we call institutional, and the contours of these media outlets need to be clarified,” he said.
“When you are a media outlet and it is a public institution that creates this media outlet, is it a public service media outlet, a private media outlet?”
He further explained that for public service media, the law outlines a specific process: “It is the HAAC that normally proposes those who will be appointed to head these media, and the Head of State appoints them. But none of this had been clarified.”
To address these gaps, Awoudo highlighted an intensified effort within HAAC, revealing that “52 reports have been adopted and 19 decisions taken in four months.”
This surge, he said, explains the public perception of an institution “doing a bit too much,” though all activities remain within HAAC’s legal remit.
Regarding regulatory specifics, Awoudo noted that “texts are being drafted” to define authorization criteria for university media. “Even to launch a call for applications so that you can be authorized, the law only provides for the general conditions,” he said, adding that detailed decisions will soon clarify implementation—drawing a comparison to ongoing regulatory work on satellite television.
As Benin’s media ecosystem evolves, HAAC’s expanded role promises to bring greater clarity and oversight to university press operations, marking a significant moment in the governance of academic media.
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