Cameroon by starting their own newspapers. Such publishers are everything for the newspaper; managing editor, editor-in-chief, commercial manager, reporter, etc. Business persons do not want to risk their money in the newspaper business for fear that it can be closed at any time. The general belief is that it is a high risk sector. Again the public does not consider the journalist trustworthy enough. The advertising market in Cameroon is first of all too small and there are too many publishers operating within this extremely tied market. Things are growing worse for the publishers due to the fact that it takes months and sometimes years for published adverts to be paid by the ministries. By the time the money comes in, the publisher is unable to settle all his/her debts, debts which were not incurred for the publication. Another deterrent for business persons is a taxation system which seems to be geared towards ripping people off. As soon as newspaper enterprises expose their turnover their taxes are almost automatically increased. Newspapers in particular in Cameroon are seen as family enterprises. Family members depend on them for resources to settle hospital bills, pay rents, buy food, pay children’s school fees, etc. These expenses are not covered from the profits, but rather from the small capital. With all this, it becomes practically impossible to keep staff. At the moment, the authorities are insisting that for someone to run a newspaper he/she must establish a work contract with at least two journalists and pay them as stipulated by the recent collective convention for persons operating in the media sector. SCORES: Individual scores: 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 2 Average score: 1.8 African Media Barometer - Cameroon 2008 19