instructions from ‘above’ and strives to work independently. However, the overall view is that it is dominated by the government. Cameroon has ratified most regional and international instruments on freedom of expression but does not always honour them. By law, print publications do not require authorisation, but the practical procedures amount to a de facto authorisation. A newspaper needs a prefectural receipt before it can claim full legal existence. In principle, the confidentiality of information sources is guaranteed by law (Act 50 of the Social Communication law of 1990). In practice, security forces use all kinds of technicalities to pressure journalists into giving away their sources. Even private organisations are keen to know journalists’ sources when they are attacked by the media. Panellists pointed out that the media have developed more and more resistance to the pressure to ‘give up’ their information sources. Public information is not readily available in Cameroon. There is no freedom of information act that can guarantee access to public information, and therefore, journalists rely on whistleblowers or personal relations. They feel vulnerable in their efforts to cross-check any information as they can be challenged to justify how and where they got the information in the first place. Cameroon has no administrative requirements for registering blogs and websites. Since 2017, the authorities have, at least twice, blocked access to the internet in the troubled Anglophone regions. The move was intended to make it difficult for independent activists to circulate information, but there were complaints in the regions that the government was punishing everybody for the actions of a few. A law was passed in 2015 that empowers government agencies to shut down websites. There is no real synergy between the media and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). In fact, CSOs tend to view the media as corrupt and unreliable. Legislation on the media is government-driven and any attempt to open concertation is looked upon as suspicious by media practitioners. In Cameroon, media outlets have mushroomed since the liberalisation of the sector – in the 1990s for print media and in 2000 for the audiovisual sector. In 2016, the country boasted 600 newspapers, 120 radio stations and 60 television channels for a population of 22 million people. Radio is still the most popular news source because of its wide coverage and accessibility. Newspapers have suffered a sharp decline in circulation, with most of them down to a few hundred. Online news is still a small fraction of the media but is growing fast. Due to the troubles in the English-speaking regions, authorities have banned the Southern Cameroons Broadcasting Corporation (SCBC) because of its Anglophone separatist leanings. Cable and satellite television distributors in the north-west region have been arrested for including the SCBC in their bundles. 5 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER CAMEROON 2018