L’Indpendant is a paper specialising in analysis and commentary, and it tries to find a balance between analysis and passion. "The current tendency of the press in Burkina Faso is against the authorities of the Ivory Coast. There is a lot of passion but, in our newspaper, we try to be as objective as possible. In the same way that we criticise the authorities from Burkina Faso, we criticise those from the Ivory Coast because neither the Ivory Coast people nor the Burkina Faso people need this nasty war. We stand back, compared to the other newspapers," Mr Som says.

Objectivity is the only solution to calm the debate and to obtain journalistic distance, he says. "I think it would be risky to take position in this crisis in the Ivory Coast. And unfortunately it is what almost all journalists do: on the side of the Ivory Coast, Burkina is seen as the aggressor and, on the Burkina’s side, it denies having done anything to encourage the Ivory Coast’s destabilisation. In a war which surprised everybody, the attitude of standing back is, in my opinion, the best," he says.

L’Indpendant struggles with its editorial line. "During each newsroom conference that we hold every Tuesday, we decide by common consent to grant a big place to the events in the Ivory Coast, which dominate at present the national current events. Our articles are basically analysis on the crisis. In our comments, we are very careful not to give somebody more than his due," Mr Som says.

"Journalists must try to understand before reacting. The best role a journalist from Burkina Faso can take is to stand back before he speaks about this war. By doing this, he renders a service to his readers," he says.

The task is, however, delicate because the situation in the Ivory Coast has direct consequences on the newspaper. "The crisis in the Ivory Coast already has repercussions on the print media in the Burkina Faso. We import paper of the Ivory Coast and, if the war should last, we risk shortages of paper," Mr Som says.