In any case, journalists summoned before the judge have always used a lot of imagination to extract themselves from such an obligation. The late journalist Diégou Bailly gave a memorable example. At the time when he was in charge of the daily newspaper Le Jour, he did not hesitate to claim that he was the author of a caricature published by his paper, a claim that aimed to protect the identity of the actual author and extract the latter from the hands of the law. 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: 3.4 1.8 Public information is easily guaranteed by law, to all citizens. ...“psychological obstacles” are not to be underestimated. accessible, There is no specific law on access to information. However, the principles of the public’s right to information and of equal access to information are abundantly stated in the different legal and regulatory instruments of Ivory Coast. Their application and effectiveness is however lacking. On the one hand, the political commitment to make information available to all citizens, particularly to journalists, is not always obvious. Panel members observe that not only are there no communication mechanisms within public administrations (ministries, institutions, etc.), but they do not always provide complete and useful information where they exist. The same applies to certain core and sensitive sectors. As an example, panel members cite in particular the absence of reliable statistical data on petrol and mining resources as well as reliable figures in the health sector. Moreover, access to information sources is made more difficult by the numerous physical and technical constraints. The National Archives of Ivory Coast and other similar institutions are perfect illustrations. Though teeming with exceptional resources, these centres are inaccessible due to their outdated management. 82 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER IVORY COAST 2009