"The media sector in West Africa has seen significant region-wide improvements, attributable not just to improvements in isolated cases but to general improvements in all countries. Nevertheless, despite general improvement, aspects of the media sector lag behind others, including: 1) government harassment of journalists, 2) weak or lacking media criticism of government, 3) unequal distribution of citizen access to media, and 4) gender imbalance among journalists. Countries where the media sector is faring less well than in other nations are Guinea, Nigeria, and Togo. Detailed analysis of four critical indicators reveals that: government censorship persists even in relatively democratic countries like Benin and Senegal, and remains a major problem in Togo and Guinea; government harassment of journalists is occurring in several countries, particularly Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Benin, and Senegal; media bias has diminished across the region compared to the past, except in Nigeria; media corruption is very significant in most West African countries. The problem may now be the region's largest single threat to democratic rights in this sector." (Executive summary)