No News Is Bad News: Mali Lack of professionalism is probably the most significant challenge facing the media sector in Mali. Media is susceptible to coercion and bribery, which compromises the quality of their content. Most training is received through short-term donor-supported workshops designed to provide basic journalism training that often does not fundamentally change journalists' attitude. The crisis in 2012 led to serious deterioration of press freedom conditions in the country. Several media organizations, particularly those in the north of the country, were vandalized or closed down mainly by the rebel groups that took over the territory. Journalists were subjected to various forms of attacks and intimidation. After the March 2012 coup, a number of journalists, particularly newspaper editors, were arrested, detained, and abused by security officials in Bamako. The crisis did not only affect access to information, but also had negative impact on information quality. One of the underlying causes of the crisis is that the poor quality of government services resulted in the fact that for many Malians the state lost relevance. In addition exclusion based on cast, ethnic group, class, gender and age further deteriorates the population's indifference towards state institutions. Media and civil society organizations were not capable to foster transparency of the decision-making process. Downward accountability of the media towards these marginalized groups has been low. Women remain a minority in the media and the main subjects covered are mostly of concern to men. Female reporters typically fulfill roles as animators (hosts) or news readers, and very few occupy editorial or management positions. Since women do not have a say in editorial decision-making in most organizations, there is significant inequality in the representation of their voices. -Focus of the Free Press Unlimited program in Mali is to strengthen the respect for ethics in the media, enrich content and to improve the production of accurate, timely and balanced information. -To contribute to the vision of success, Free Press Unlimited will engage with journalist associations and key actors across civil society and the public sector to improve the enabling environment for the media and raise awareness among decision makers on the role of media in serving the public interest. -Free Press Unlimited will promote gender equity in the Malian media. -Free Press Unlimited will promote changes in the regulatory and legal framework of media. This includes reviving the establishment of one regulatory body with a clear mandate to regulate media, as well as ensuring proper regulation of community radios. -Free Press Unlimited and partner Union des Radios et Televisions Libres du Mali (URTEL) will build the capacity of member radio stations to diversify and enrich media content and to increase the technological quality of productions. Journalists will be trained in fact-based and gender-sensitive journalism. Media houses will be assisted to develop content formats that will improve the relevance of media to their audiences, and increasingly become a platform for participatory citizen engagement through feedback mechanisms and innovative technology. -Free Press Unlimited will provide technical assistance to journalist associations on establishing safety mechanisms for journalists. This includes the training of journalists in safety measures and setting up a dialogue between authorities and security forces and the media. Free Press Unlimited will share and develop the best available knowledge, lessons, curricula and (digital and physical) tool kits on safety, risk mitigation and emergency protection for media workers and reporters. Journalists and media consumers