such as homosexuality, remain taboo. Although the Government does not make use of its power directly to influence editorial content via advertising contracts, there is evidence that the distribution of the advertising market share depends on the nature of the State-clientele relationship. The advertising market is not very diversified and it is dominated by the State and a number of sizeable corporate advertisers. It remains a nebulous sector where the State and a few advertisers are the law, their budget is not known. Although there is a well-known code of ethics for journalists in Mali, there are too many cases of journalists not adhering to this and failing to respect the basic principles of accuracy and fairness. There is a glut of reports on seminars, and insufficient space granted to investigative and professional reporting. Very few media bodies have an affirmed editorial independence and editorial lines are flexible, depending on the interests of the media body concerned. Journalists practice self-censorship for social reasons, but increasingly for economic reasons. The moral integrity of some journalists and press bodies remains disputable, as it is common for reporters to be bribed by event organisers with gifts or ‘brown envelopes’. This practice is worrying, especially given the poor salaries in the media sector. An increasing number of private schools of communication provide training programmes in journalism. These programmes, however, fall short of meeting the required standards for the State to acknowledge the qualifications. There are about 50 media associations and professional networks, although they are largely affected by internal conflicts that defeat their actions and synergy. Citizens are increasingly becoming involved in media freedom issues and media pressure groups are active. Nonetheless, a lack of trust between civil society and media practitioners is evident. The lack of motivation and dynamism of self-regulating bodies and professional associations undermined by conflict of interest, the unfavourable economic environment, the failure to implement a collective convention among all media players, the lack of professional expertise, the crisis of trust between the public and the media, among other issues, indicate that during the past two years gains made towards media freedom and freedom of expression have largely been reversed. However, there has been some progress, namely the growth in media coverage, the signing of the collective convention in the sector, the ongoing review of legislative documents and regulations, and the continued improvement of ORTM’s programmes. 78 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MALI 2010