diff --git a/src/compositor/meta-background.c b/src/compositor/meta-background.c
index 938ef6a66..cbcbdea2e 100644
--- a/src/compositor/meta-background.c
+++ b/src/compositor/meta-background.c
@@ -812,7 +812,7 @@ MetaBackground *
 meta_background_new  (MetaScreen *screen)
 {
   return g_object_new (META_TYPE_BACKGROUND,
-                       "screen", screen,
+                       "meta-screen", screen,
                        NULL);
 }