On the other hand, the editing company of a newspaper or periodical must prove that it is legally established, is a registered business, is up-to-date with its tax payments as well as payments to social welfare institutions. In a nutshell, the owner must first of all establish a company in the appropriate manner prior to publishing a newspaper or a periodical. The document confirming the establishment of a media outlet is part of the publication declaration file to be submitted to the Public Prosecutor. The corporation of journalists, through unions and professional associations, exercised their full authority to impose this safety clause “in order to clean up the environment at a time when journalism had become an uncertain profession with the emergence of bogus media outlets” explain panel members. The situation is far from providing total satisfaction to media professionals, but the new law has indeed enabled significant progress in this area. 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: 5.0 1.6 Entry into and practice of the journalistic profession is legally unrestricted. Practice of the journalistic trade in Ivory Coast is governed by the Media Act 2004-643 of 31 December 2004, regulated and subject to very precise conditions. The key criterion to exercise the trade is professional training. This should be substantiated by a higher diploma issued by a professional school of journalism. However, a bachelor or masters degree in a field that will allow the incumbent to practise the journalistic profession after one or two years of professional in-house training within an editorial team is accepted as well. In addition, the incumbent shall exercise the profession as a main trade on a regular and salaried basis, in a media outlet and shall be subject to the collective bargaining agreement or the general statutes of the Ivorian civil service. 80 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER IVORY COAST 2009