Publishers Association Unleashes Media Blackout on Government

MONROVIA – The Publishers Association of Liberia (PAL) has told members under its umbrella not to disseminate government information due to the failure of the government to pay media institutions for advertisements.
A statement from PAL said “The leadership of the Publishers Association of Liberia (PAL) is urging all its members not to publish or disseminate all press releases and statements from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning until all media bills submitted before it are settled.
Publishers and media owners are also advised not to do business with any Government ministry or agency on credit. All transactions should be made based on up-front payments.
Media services have business aspects, from where media owners pay their staff and cover overhead costs like taxes and rent.
Regardless of which party is in power, the Government of Liberia has shown over the years that it has no interest in media sustainability and, therefore, would choose to do business with it and refuse to pay.
Let’s not forget that a strong and viable independent media is a crucial element of democracy. Its role cannot be overemphasized. Thus, depriving it of its rightfully earned payments undermines that pillar of democracy.
Over time, the move against the Finance and Development Planning Ministry will be extended to other Ministries and Agencies that deliberately refused to settle their obligation to the media. This would include, but not be limited to, withdrawing all reporters from covering Government functions”, PAL leadership said in a press release.
The media blackout follows an altercation in June of this year between some media executives, led by Philibert Brown in which they expressed their frustration by walking out of a meeting with Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah and Presidential Press Secretary Kula Fofana.
Media executives, including publishers and radio and television station managers, have urged the Executive Mansion to stop advertising on its website.
They argued that the practice, which began during the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration, is negatively impacting their businesses. According to them, clients now prefer to advertise on the Executive Mansion website rather than with their media outlets.
The media executives have continuously insisted that the Executive Mansion website should be used to disseminate information about the President and the government, not for commercial advertisements. They believe that advertising should be left to the media.
“If the government continues to handle advertisements for companies and private organizations, whether free or paid, it will divert the attention and focus of investors from advertising with us. This deprives us of opportunities to access revenue from the advertising sector as a whole,” the media executives argued.
They noted that the independence of the media in any society depends on self-sustainability, which can only be achieved through revenue generation from both the public and private sectors via legal transactions or advertisements.
Removing private sector advertisements from companies, organizations, NGOs, and other investors will not only hurt the Liberian media but also deprive the country of a viable fourth estate.
The Publishers Association of Liberia (PAL) is an umbrella organization of owners, managers, and editors of newspapers and online publications operating in the Republic of Liberia. It has more than 15 members of media outlets.