Liberia documents by Year:
In Ebola-stricken countries, authorities and journalists should work together
October 17, 2014 4:14 PM ET
The Ebola crisis in West Africa is unrelenting, and journalists on the frontline of reporting on the virus are caught between authorities wanting to control how the outbreak is reported, and falling victim to the disease themselves....
In attempts to contain Ebola, Liberia censors its press
September 11, 2014 12:49 PM ET
With the Ebola epidemic predicted to get worse, the Liberian government has taken action to silence news outlets critical of its handling of the health crisis which, according to Liberia's Information Ministry, has claimed more than 1,000 lives in the country since March. Publishers have been harassed and forced...
Press freedom: Challenge of changing words into deeds
May 28, 2013 11:53 AM ET
The Pan African Parliament's (PAP) launch of a media freedom campaign through a "Dialogue on Media Freedom in Africa" in mid-May marks an important and welcome starting point. For too long, media freedom has been divorced from the debate around development and democratization when it has an integral role...
Liberian press boycotts Sirleaf over aide's comments
May 14, 2013 5:14 PM ET
Most governments, even repressive ones, at least give lip service to supporting freedom of the press--especially on World Press Freedom Day, May 3. But in Liberia this month, Othello Daniel Warrick, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's chief security aide, shocked local journalists by threatening them and calling them "terrorists" at...
Awardees say indignation trumps intimidation
November 21, 2012 12:46 PM ET
The battle for a free press sometimes feels like a war between indignation and intimidation. Journalists learn of abuses of power, crime, or corruption, and--indignant--they speak out. In response, the perpetrators of those abuses--be they government officials or criminals--try to intimidate the journalists into silence with threats, lawsuits, jail,...
Liberia university suspends student journalist over article
May 25, 2012 2:58 PM ET
A private university in Liberia has suspended a journalist studying there for publishing a newspaper story critical of the institution's management. On May 8, private Cuttington University in Suacoco in central Liberia suspended Selma Lomax, a reporter with independent newspaper FrontPage Africa and a third-year student in agriculture at the institution, for...
Liberian journalist Mae Azango on cold threats, hot stories
April 27, 2012 5:00 PM ET
Mae Azango was not surprised when the Liberian police failed to help when she began receiving threats of violence in response to an article she had written about female genital cutting that was published on in FrontPage Africa on March 8. She had previously reported critically on the police,...
In Liberia, journalist Mae Azango moves a nation
April 5, 2012 5:42 PM ET
Liberian journalist Mae Azango's courageous reporting on female genital mutilation, which made her the target of threats and ignited international controversy, has forced her government to finally take a public position on the dangerous ritual. For the first time, Liberian officials have declared they want to stop female genital...
In Liberia, silencing press critics through libel lawsuits
July 12, 2011 12:15 PM ET
During Liberia's 14-year civil war, the press was silenced through violence. Journalists now say they are the victims of a more subtle assault. They say a corrupt judiciary and a vindictive use of libel suits are a threat to an otherwise burgeoning free press. ...
Tribute to Chris Hondros, who ventured far with his torch
April 22, 2011 4:49 PM ET
My dear friend Chris. In the silence, I hear the symphony of memories that was your life as I knew it. I see your waving hand gestures and wry smile as you recount stories whilst we sit together in the tropical Liberian heat discussing everything from classical music to...