SECTOR 4 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country minimally meets aspects of the indicator. 3 Country meets many aspects of indicator but progress may be too recent to judge. 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator. 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator and has been doing so over time. Average score: 1.8 4.10 Journalists and other media practitioners are organised in trade unions and/or professional associations. The level of union membership is relatively low in the Algerian media. Based on the estimates of panel members, only 5 to 10% of journalists are members of a trade union. Besides, the national union of journalists (SNJ – member of the International Federation of Journalists) is undermined by internal divisions that have consequently held back and even blocked its functioning. These internal problems stemmed from the profound division in the 90s between the media termed as “reconciliatory”, in complete support of those in the central government in favour of a dialogue with the Islamists, and the journalists termed as “eradicators” who supported the hard wing of the regime, advocates of stern measures. This division further widened the gap between the Arabic and the Francophone media. Attempts to reunify and reactivate the union are on-going. The National Federation of Algerian Journalists (FNJA) was thus created on 28 May 2009. It is affiliated to the central labour union UGTA (General Union of Algerian Workers). 60 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ALGERIA 2009