This socialist regime changed the name of the country and imposed a highly centralized planned economy, which reached its limits in 1990. Under the pressure of public demand, a 10-day national conference was organised in February 1990. By a wide consensus, this national conference provided the new basis for the establishment of a State of Law founded on democratic pluralism and economic liberalism as a development option. Despite the democratic renewal, the frequent organisation of elections with several changeover of political power between parties since 1991 and the support of the international community, the country, like many African States, is still struggling to stay on the path to good governance, economic growth and social development. The big unresolved issue is the alarming corruption that has poisoned public administrations up to the highest levels, including several vital sectors of the economy. The media sector has also been dangerously affected by this problem aggravated by the impunity that characterizes the phenomenon at all levels. There was initially a lot of hope and enthusiasm when President Thomas Boni Yayi, former CEO of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), came to power in March 2006 which rapidly subsided. Many Beninese are increasingly questioning what the Head of State really meant during the electoral campaign when he promised to raise moral standards in the public sector and fight corruption. Benin has ratified most conventions and treaties on freedom of expression and freedom of the media. Provisions of these regional and international instruments on freedom of expression and freedom of the media have been integrated in the Constitution and other laws. However, implementation of these national and international instruments leaves to be desired. Entry into and exercising the profession of a journalist is totally unrestricted in Benin even though this constitutes a limitation in terms of quality and is in itself a threat to freedom of the press. Several violations of the professional code of conduct are frequently observed. Journalists have, however, developed a code of professional conduct and established a self-regulatory body, ODEM (Observatory on deontology and ethics in the media) in 1999. This self-regulatory body ensures observance of ethical conduct and handles complaints from the public. Aside from the code of professional conduct, there are no legal provisions to protect confidential sources or organise access to information. Journalists and other media professionals in the public sector are paid based on the civil service salary scale. The salary status of journalists in the private sector is quite worrying and exposes them to poor performance and corruption. This corruption is encouraged by the tendency of the ruling government and politicians in general to contract information relations with the media. Big shady AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BENIN 2009 67