SECTOR 1 1.5 Print publications are not required to obtain permission to publish from state authorities. No prior permission by the authorities is required for publishing seeing that the first article of the 2004 laws stipulates that the “publication of any newspaper or written periodical is allowed, under the compliance of the terms and conditions prescribed under article 6”, which require a simple preliminary declaration of publication to be obtained from the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, which validates the legal status of the media entity and reports on certain administrative information regarding the managing editor (filiation, criminal record, letter of commitment to the interprofessional collective bargaining agreement). Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 5.0 (2009: 5.0) 1.6 Entry into and practice of the journalistic profession is not restricted by law. Up until 1991, the media was at the intersection of political and economic law. Numerous slip-ups and serious mistakes journalists made, led the profession to question the qualification and training of media professionals and to make an attempt at improving the quality and ethics of publications. Law no. 2004-643, which concerns the legal status of the press, clearly defines the entry into the profession for a professional journalist under article 23: As of Title IV “is a professional journalist, under the conditions foreseen by the present law every natural person: holding a third-level degree issued by a journalism school, failing that, a higher education degree coupled with two years of vocational training or failing that, a master’s degree in higher education or an equivalent degree, paired with one year vocational training provided 74 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER COTE D’IVOIRE 2012