A distinguishing feature of Cabo Verde is the absence of attacks on journalists and the exceptional media freedom, which is guaranteed by the constitution. The most recent defamation suit was in 2002. Many of the country’s media, including TCV (the main TV channel) and Radio Nacional de Cabo Verde, are state-owned and their directors are appointed by the government. Their content is not controlled but self-censorship is widely practiced. Radiotelevisão Caboverdiana (RTC), the main public media group, is trying to impose a code of ethics and conduct on its journalists with various clauses limiting their freedom of expression on social networks. Under the new statutes for the state media approved in 2019, the government has relinquished its power to appoint RTC’s executives. From the first quarter of 2020, these executive functions are exercised by an independent board in which anyone who has occupied a political position in the previous five years cannot participate. The development of privately-owned media is held back by the limited income available from advertising and by the lack of state subsidies for broadcast media. The archipelago’s geography hampers print media distribution and broadcasting to all ten islands.