Editing Telecommunications in Niger (section)

==Radio and television==

'''[[Radio broadcasting|Radio stations]]:'''
* state-run TV station; 3 private TV stations provide a mix of local and foreign programming (2007);<ref name=CIAWFB-Niger-2014>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/niger/ "Communications: Niger"], ''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 28 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.</ref>
* 5 AM, 6 FM, and 4 shortwave stations (2001).<ref name=cia2009 /> 			

'''[[Receiver (radio)|Radios]]:'''{{update after|2014|2|10}}
* 680,000 (1997);<ref name=cia2009 /> 
* 500,000 (1992).<ref name="Decalo1997">{{Cite book
|last=Decalo
|first=Samuel
|title=Historical Dictionary of the Niger (3rd ed.)
|publisher=Scarecrow Press (Rowman & Littlefield)
|year=1997
|isbn=0-8108-3136-8
|url=https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810870901
}}</ref>{{rp|231}}

'''[[Television broadcasting|Television stations]]:''' state-run TV station; 3 private TV stations provide a mix of local and foreign programming (2007).<ref name=CIAWFB-Niger-2014/>

'''[[Television set]]s:'''{{update after|2014|2|10}}
* 125,000 (1997);<ref name=cia2009 /> 
* &nbsp;&nbsp;37,000 (1992).<ref name="Decalo1997" />

Because literacy levels in the country are low, radio is a key source for news and information.<ref name=BBC-NigerProfile-2013/>

[[Radio France Internationale]] (RFI) is available in the capital, [[Niamey]], and in the [[Maradi Region|Maradi]] and [[Zinder Region|Zinder]] regions. The [[BBC World Service]] broadcasts in the capital (100.4 FM).<ref name=BBC-NigerProfile-2013/>

===Press freedom and control===
The state controls much of the nation's broadcasting, though private radio stations have proliferated. The media regulatory body, the National Observatory on Communication, and the Independent Nigerien Media Observatory for Ethics, a voluntary media watchdog organization, help to maintain the media environment in Niger. The government maintains a 200 million CFA (~US$400,000) press support fund, established by law and available to all media, to encourage support for education, information, entertainment, and promoting democracy.<ref name=BBC-NigerProfile-2013>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13943665 "Niger profile: Media"], ''BBC News'', 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2014.</ref>

Press freedom "improved considerably" after [[Mamadou Tandja]] was ousted as president in 2010. Media offences were decriminalised shortly afterwards.<ref name=BBC-NigerProfile-2013/> With the passage of the 2010 law protecting journalists from prosecution related to their work and [[Mahamadou Issoufou|President Issoufou's]] November 2011 endorsement of the [[Declaration of Table Mountain]] statement on press freedom in Africa (the first head of state to sign the statement),<ref>[http://www.wan-ifra.org/articles/2011/11/29/president-of-niger-mahamadou-issoufou-to-sign-declaration-of-table-mountain "President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, to sign Declaration of Table Mountain"], Andrew Heslop,  World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), 29 November 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2014.</ref> the country continues its efforts to improve press freedom. The Declaration of Table Mountain calls for the repeal of criminal [[defamation]] and "[[insult]]" laws and for moving [[freedom of the press|press freedom]] higher on the African agenda.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Niger-2012/>