By Kumba Leigh
The Secretary General (SG) of The Gambia Press Union (GPU) Mr. Modou S. Joof recently presented to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) the state of Gambia’s media landscape from 2017. He said since 2017, the Gambian media has grown rapidly in terms of quality, depth and diversity, with the once dreaded field of investigative reporting slowly, but surely becoming commonplace.
“The number of private radio stations has increased by almost 75% with 39 FM stations in operations, according to data from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), which is responsible for registration of broadcast media,” he said. SG Joof stated that Gambians now enjoy the luxury of watching multiple local television channels with five private television stations in operations, in addition to the national television, which was the only TV station until 2017 when television broadcasting services was liberalized.
He submitted that there are seven newspapers, with five regularly publishing a print version. There are nine community radio stations, and at least twenty online news media platforms. He said the proliferation of media houses means more people now have access to the media to express their views on issues of national importance related to political and socioeconomic issues. He said the Media Academy for Journalism and Communication (MAJaC), owned by the Gambia Press Union, offers journalism courses from foundation to advanced diploma level; the University of The Gambia offers a bachelor’s degree programme in journalism – both institutions and a few others, are contributing immensely to the professional development of journalists. Mr Joof however observed that while there has been considerable progress in terms of press freedom there has been a little dip in Gambia’s ranking over last few years. He also lamented the slow progress in media law reforms
