Liberia Media Outlets

(UNCLASSIFIED) Liberia’s communication infrastructure was largely destroyed or plundered during the two recent civil wars. Amid low rates of adult literacy and high poverty rates, television and newspaper use is limited, leaving radio as the predominant meads of communicating with the public. During the Civil war, the transmitters of small local stations were often stolen or their buildings were razed. Even the offices of the Liberian Broadcasting System, located just outside Monrovia, exchanged hands between militants several times during hostilities. With the end of the war much of Liberia’s broadcast sector had to restart operations from scratch.Radio is the primary means of public communication in Liberia, where a little less than half the population is illiterate. The number of radio outlets has grown considerably since the end of Liberia’s civil war, often with the help of external donors. Many of the new radio stations are based within the community, with local staff and missions to support community peacebuilding and development. Community radio also fills a void in domestic information in many areas created by the lack of a national public service broadcaster with broad signal reach. The state-run Liberian Broadcasting System, while strengthening technically in recent years, continues to be more a voice of the ruling political party than a public service provider. Along with community-based radio stations, there are a few domestic and international broadcasters with a reach beyond their county. UNMIL Radio, controlled by the United Nations Mission in Liberia, is the most popular radio network on a national scale. It is also the only domestic station with a national presence, which it obtains through a network of FM transmitters. Two international broadcasters, the BBC and Voice of America, also have strong national reach, as they broadcast through a shortwave signal that covers much of the country. Two domestic stations broadcast both on FM and shortwave - Radio Veritas and ELWA.Print circulation remains limited to areas within and surrounding the capital Monrovia. Distribution is hampered by a transportation infrastructure that suffered destruction during more than a decade of civil war, while many Liberians simply can't afford print media or are illiterate.The Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism in Liberia has asked all media entities operating in the country to renew their permits and get registered or risk being shut down. In a public service announcement released in Monrovia by the ministry on July 15, 2014, the ministry warned all heads of media entities operating in Liberia that their entities risk being deemed “illegal” if they fail either to register or renew their operational permits with the ministry.