By Mabinty M. Kamara
Media Owners and Editors in Sierra Leone have cited advertisers as a major challenge in the current state of the Sierra Leone media, saying that advert revenues hardly come by after they had advertised for clients.
Speaking at a meeting of the Guild of Newspaper Editors in Sierra Leone, held on 24th January 2022 at the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone, the members of the guild who are mostly media owners noted that with the market being small for the media to thrive, they rely heavily on the revenues generated from advertisement to manage the institutions.
Speaking at the meeting, Austin Thomas Editor of Awoko Newspaper said that they have waived off several advert revenues as bad debts because they couldn’t get the institutions to pay them despite several efforts.
Among the other concerns raised had to do with the government’s pattern of distributing adverts among newspapers.
Speaking at the event, Femi Jariett-Coker, Managing Editor of Women’s Voice Newspaper recommended that SLAJ and Guild go into procuring printing materials and sell at a cost-recovery basis to their members. “SLAJ and Guild should also buy a printing press to make printing easy for us”.
Speaking at the event, the Board Chair of the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), Dr. Victor Massaquoi, emphasized the critical role played by newspaper editors in every society to ensure freedom of expression and professional standards.
President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, SLAJ Ahmed Sahid Nasralla spoke about the relationship between the MRCG and SLAJ in supporting the work of the media in Sierra Leone with a goal of achieving professional standards.
He therefore urged the meeting to reflect on the challenges that have held them from fulfilling their moral responsibilities such as the agenda-setting role among others. He acknowledged government’s support to the media through subvention to SLAJ but said he was yet to receive the funds since approved by President Julius Maada Bio.
Nasralla added that the media is also a business that is seriously hit by the COVID pandemic with inflation in the cost of printing materials. However, he said media owners were not considered for the government relief packages for businesses.
The Chairman of the Independent Media Commission, George Khoryama noted the relevance of such a reform meeting held by the Guild, given the effects of Social Media on the Newspaper industry, the Covid-19 pandemic, among other challenges.
The Chairman said that there are a total of 217 registered Newspapers in the country with only 47 active in the market.
He added that the industry is the powerhouse set to positively impact society by leading dialogue on national issues. However, he said there was a need for education and the financial muscle to sustain the relevance of the papers and their editors. He also urged media owners to renew their registrations for 2022.
In his keynote address, the Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahaman Swaray said that it is never too late for the media to benefit from relief packages. He urged media owners to make a case and see what follows. He commended journalists for their professionalism since the repeal of the age-old 1965 Public order Acts which used to criminalize libel and defamation.
He also urged media owners to go in for the Munafa fund, a loan launched by the government last year with a single-digit interest rate. He added that the media can play its role in society if it’s financially independent.
The Chairman of the Guild Theo Harding said they could not hold the Annual General Meeting as planned due to financial constraints but said it will commence in six months’ time from now during which a new Executive will be elected. A committee has already been set up to look at the current constitution for a possible review.
The group at the end of the meeting agreed on a ‘reasonable’ increment at the prices for advert placement for which the public will be notified in due course.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (26/01/22)
