Sierra Leone media guide

Media freedom in Sierra Leone has its limits; media rights monitors say high-level corruption is a taboo topic, with officials using libel laws against errant journalists.

Despite a genuinely diverse media landscape "journalists are sometimes targets of arbitrary arrest and detention", says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). It notes that the main threat comes from "politicians who often use the police to try to control reporters or hinder their work".

Challenges facing broadcasters include unreliable power supplies, poor funding and low advertising revenues. There are dozens of radio stations, most of them privately owned.

The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) is the national state-owned broadcaster.

BBC World Service is on FM in Freetown (94.3), Bo (94.5) and Kenema (95.3). Voice of America and Radio France Internationale broadcast on FM in Freetown.

Dozens of newspapers are published in Freetown, despite low literacy levels. Most of them are privately-run and are often critical of the government.

Poverty, irregular power supplies and illiteracy act as curbs on internet access. says RSF. There were 1.04 million internet users by December 2021, comprising just 12% of the population (Internetworldstats.com).

• Media guides by BBC Monitoring

Press

• Awoko

• Concord Times

• Standard Times

• The Calabash Newspaper

• The Sierra Leone Telegraph

Television

• Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) - state-owned terrestrial network with limited coverage

Radio

• Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) - state-owned national broadcaster

• Radio Democracy - Freetown

• Kiss FM - Bo

• Skyy Radio - Freetown

• Capital Radio - private station in Freetown

• Voice of the Handicapped - Freetown