Freedom of the Press in Africa

This article surveys press freedom on the African continent from the colonial period (the 1880s) to the present. Because Africa's 53 countries are a diverse collection of political, economic, and social models inherited from European colonial administrations and (in some cases) traditional African systems, the contemporary situation of the press on the continent is diverse. Indeed, the situation in each country is unique. The article covers the diversity of Africa's press under British, French, German, Portuguese, and (to a lesser extent) Spanish colonial administrations and postcolonial governments. After 30 years of tight state control of the press, the end of the cold war saw the rebirth and expansion of the African press. Press laws and policies were liberalized, and new independent newspapers, radio, television, cable, and satellite systems sprang up around the continent. Governments authorized private broadcasters, and the press became an instrument for checking government and private excesses. The only region that has been impervious to liberalization and democratization is the North African region made up of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, and Morocco. None of these countries is under democratic governance, and none has a truly free press. However, even in North Africa, the Internet has made information control virtually impossible.