In 1992, after a period of transition, the Popular Movement for Democracy consolidated the process of democracy with the election of Alpha Oumar Konaré, who was re-elected in 1997. In 2002, Toumani, who had left the army in order to qualify for candidacy, became president of the Republic of Mali. He was re-elected in 2007. Mali is a land-locked country, with a predominantly rural economy. Around 80 per cent of the population works in agriculture, fishery and farming. Gold is the country’s prime export, followed by cotton and livestock. Mali today is the third biggest gold exporter on the continent, behind South Africa and Ghana. The local currency is Franc CFA, or F CFA, with an exchange rate of 1 Euro for 655,997 Franc CFA (as of January 2011). Mali is vulnerable to the world’s price fluctuations of its main exporting products. In Mali, the media comprises print publications (in French and other national languages), radio, television, as well as many online services (satellite, cable, and internet). Newspapers are concentrated in the capital city of Bamako, or in the main towns of the regions, and no effort is being made to widen the distribution of the print media, especially to rural communities. Free radio networks are rapidly expanding (498 authorisations have been issued among which 300 are more or less operational). They reach a wide portion of the population by broadcasting programmes in local languages. Access to the internet is developing, both in terms of infrastructure expansion, cost reduction and users’ familiarisation with the technology. There are also partnerships between internet sites and newspapers, radio and TV community centres. The public has free access to national and international online media, and the State does not seek to block or filter internet content. There is no law that protects confidential sources of information in Mali, although this is not a major concern for media freedom as journalists are not compelled to reveal their sources and so far no journalist has been forced to do so. On the other hand, the law limits entry into the journalism profession and its practice, stating that “A journalist is a person who holds a diploma in journalism or a diploma from institutes of higher learning with one year professional experience, and whose main earnings are derived from the collecting, treatment and dissemination of information and news within the framework of a public or private media either written or broadcasted.” This provision is supported by professionals in the media sector, who contributed to the development of the draft law in order to give it a good moral basis.. The legislation that governs relationships between the State and the public sets out the principle of accessing administrative documents. However, this law limits the categories of information that can be accessed. There is no appropriate legislation regarding issues of concentration, monopoly and competition within the media. 76 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MALI 2010