SECTOR 4 4.6 Owners of established mainstream private media do not interfere with editorial independence. The characteristic of the private media in Ivory Coast is that it is mainly owned and managed (even at a distance) by politicians. Most private media outlets are actually controlled by politicians, says a panel member. But, according to another panel member, even in media houses that belong to non-political persons, the owners do not hesitate, where necessary, to sacrifice editorial independence for personal friendships and economic interests of their companies. Besides, in the opinion of a participant, this economic dependence is the worst form of dependence. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country minimally meets aspects of the indicator. 3 Country meets many aspects of indicator but progress may be too recent to judge. 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator. 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator and has been doing so over time. Average score: 1.3 4.7 Journalists and media have integrity and are not corrupt. Panel members agree that corruption remains widespread in the Ivorian media and exists under varied forms and at different levels. The mere per diem more of less solicited by journalists to cover an event to the millions of CFA bribes paid to editors and owners for stories and other favours have warranted a rich vocabulary for bribery, the one more colourful than the other (words such as communiqué final, gombo, etc.) The issue of corruption and blackmail in the media is not new. At the onset of the “media springtime” and even during the one-party rule, journalists and media outlets did not hesitate to resort to blackmail. For instance, certain newspapers announced headline news regarding alleged scandals and then sold their silence to the presumed culprit under the threat of publishing the article in its subsequent editions. As regards per diems, this practice has been institutionalized. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER IVORY COAST 2009 121