SECTOR 3 The media practise high levels of professional standards. 4.1 The standard of reporting follows the basic principles of accuracy and fairness. According to members of civil society taking part in the panel, journalists are still far from being accurate in their processing of information. Some journalists are still at the stage of fighting and slinging insults, and because of competition, they publish articles without checking their veracity. One panellist noted that journalists should at the very least verify the information they publish and have regard to professional ethics, so as not to give the impression that journalism is still in its infancy. They demonstrate a very high rate of verbal aggression (insults). The most common complaints received by the HAAC against the media, are the non-verification of facts, and the inability to prove the statements put forward. Many journalists publish information that other people have written for them. They practice subsistence journalism, which means that some journalists are paid CFA francs 20,000 (USD 40) to write an article. Insults and sensationalism are therefore sometimes linked to the pursuit of financial gain. The panel recalled an instance of unverified information bordering on libel. It concerned the former director general of the Office togolais des retraites (Togolese pension bureau - OTR) who was reported to have fled after his dismissal with a sum of CFA francs 25 billion (almost USD 45 million). During his handover period, he not only put in an appearance, but remained in the country several days before going abroad. According to a panellist from civil society, a journalist had written an article about him saying that he had seen him campaigning alongside JeanPierre Fabre, from the opposition party, although he was not an activist for any political group. When he called the editor of the newspaper, the latter responded by saying that he had obtained the information from a source, without specifying its nature. His reply (in application of the right of reply) was never published, but the journalist who had written the article eventually apologized to him privately. During an inspection visit of the Togo breweries, the Association Togolaise des Consommateurs (Association of Togolese Consumers - ATC) said they found two journalists there, who had been invited by the Commercial Department to cover the visit. Three days later, the headlines of their newspapers stated that the ATC was undermining the national economy. The panellist concluded that this kind of journalism is akin to story-telling. 100 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TOGO 2017