Audience measurement organisations
Apart from the rare audience surveys conducted by specialised organisations, it is difficult to measure the audience of Burundian media. The only surveys were conducted in 2008 by the Panos Institute via the IMMAR office, again in 2010 and then in 2014, always by IMMAR.
The audiovisual area is the one lagging mostly behind. Radio journalists are testing their following via interactive shows. In some radio stations that have had UNESCO training, including community radios, all the calls of the listeners can be stored in a computer connected to an Android phone via the Frontline SMS software. It is thus possible, after some time, to get an idea of one's audience. The software is not used in older radios like the national one.
Some radios have set up listening clubs throughout the country. The managers of these radios are able to make impact surveys of their information and their programmes. The clubs also propose to these radios that they treat subjects of interest for the local populations.
Televisions have not implemented any audience measurement tool. They broadcast for a very small audience who has a high standard of living. On television journalists take a vertical stance, acting as information lords.
Thanks to their interactivity, online press outlets still manage to measure the number of people who follow their news. Web televisions also manage to identify the number of people around the world who follow them. For example, the managers of Humuriza TV (Channel 2), which broadcasts on Facebook from Gitega in central Burundi, know that about 17,000 people from all over the world like their productions.