SECTOR 4 have the patience to wait. Often they will simply say that the information published is still to be verified or confirmed. “That’s cheating!”, one panelist exclaimed. The practice is particularly widespread when it comes to information relating to the administration of public affairs. In this domain as in many others, the panel noted, there is also discrimination in the way information is communicated to the media. In the view of the panel, the sorry moral and professional state of the Togolese media is also due to historical factors. The first journalists in the private press were political activists, “freedom fighters” who took their fight to the media arena together with their whole arsenal of partisanship, diatribes etc. Even today, “there are more activists than journalists among the editorial staff,” according to the panel. However, one should be careful not to generalise or exaggerate the gravity of the situation. “We must not take isolated cases and hastily conclude that the Togolese press is not credible”, said one panelist. The majority recognised that there are some papers which do an excellent job, with rigorous and thorough investigation and systematic verification of facts. Still, by one panelist’s count, these number not more than ten out of fifty published regularly in the country. Finally, one panelist suggested that perhaps the issue should be looked at within the broader context of the multidimensional crisis that Togolese society is currently facing. Under these conditions people demand an escapist press, with stories that will allow them to relax and unwind. And the most professional media will not necessarily be the ones that sell best. Quite to the contrary. 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: 124 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TOGO 2010 2.1