117:, began a democratic environment more conducive to building a free and independent press. Sirleaf signed West Africa's first freedom of information law in 2010, granting journalists and the general public the right to access any public document with the exception of records sensitive to national security.
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to temporarily close in 2013 due to libel damages. The PUL signed a letter authored by CPJ that year to
President Sirleaf Johnoson, asking her to follow through with the Table Mountain signing. Earlier the same year, the PUL boycotted coverage of the presidency due to her "glaring silence" after her
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Libel, however, remained a criminal offense and there were cases of government press intolerance between 2005 and 2011 two elections. A spike in attacks against the media in 2009 included police-led assaults and unlawful detentions. The PUL spoke out in a 2010 case against the mayor of
Monrovia who
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Taylor's election in 1997 came with a brief pause in the war, but his rule included many human rights abuses, which the media were pressured to avoid. There were a number of arrests and closures of several radio stations. Members of the PUL were forced to flee the country during the war. Several of
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led to the temporary suspension of certain media rights, as the government tried to control reports for the sake of national safety. President
Sirleaf Johnson, however, later lauded the PUL for its excellence in helping fight Ebola through information dissemination. She admitted the Union into the
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The PUL website boasts more than 500 journalists as members under its umbrella. Full membership is granted to
Liberian journalists with degrees in journalism or mass communication and who have practiced for two years. Foreign media personnel are often offered associate membership and organizations
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who claimed no allegiance to Taylor or any party attempting to gain control of the country by force. The
Monrovia-based Press Union continued to criticize violence against and exiles of foreign media correspondents who came to cover the wars. Despite the war, one of the country's more prominent
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By the time the PUL formed in 1964, a rapid growth of military forces in the 1940s created an environment where the government became the largest purveyor of news. The only significant outlet beyond direct government control was ELWA, a religious radio station operated by
American missionaries.
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A board of elected officials composed of a president, vice president, secretary general and assistant secretary general leads the PUL. Five permanent committees oversee PUL functions and facilitate discussions about journalistic practice. These include: Media
Complains/Grievance & Ethics,
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these journalists eventually formed the
Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA). An assessment written by the Press Union in 2003, after Taylor's rule, said media institutions were looted during the fighting and had to focus on rebuilding what was lost.
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Membership, Welfare, Intellectual
Discourse/Press Club and Sports & Entertainment. General PUL members also make up the Congress, which is the Union's official decision-making body. In annual meetings, members discuss what issues the Union should prioritize.
68:, a leader at the PUL during this time, said: "We had to advocate for freedom of speech and the press and respect for the rule of law. ... We were just ordinary guys doing what we had to do, and all of a sudden you face death. I was so scared."
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was founded on
September 30, 1964, by a group of independent journalists. It serves as an umbrella organization for media professionals and institutions to advocate for press freedom and the legal protection of journalists.
79:, led to journalist deaths and exiles and the closure of many media institutions. During the early years of the first war, for example, former secretary general of the PUL R. Jaryeneh Moore was murdered in Monrovia.
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independent newspapers, the Inquirer, was founded in 1991 during the conflict. The secretary general of the PUL at the time, Gabriel I. H. Williams, helped found and edit the publication.
136:, a document calling for the repeal of defamation and "insult" laws across Africa. The laws had justified journalist imprisonment and influenced self-censorship.
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252:"Journalism at a Crossroads in Liberia: War devastated the nation's independent media, and now the job of restoring the foundation for news reporting begins"
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125:, leading to the closure of media outlets that were reported to be pro-CDC. The closures were condemned by the Press Union of Liberia,
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198:"Power and press freedom in Liberia, 1830 - 1970: The impact of globalization and civil society on media-government relations".
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like the Sports Writers Association of Liberia and the Economic Journalists Association receive institutional membership.
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The PUL collaborates with local, national and international organizations including the Liberian Ministry of Information,
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ordered the arrest of a Love FM reporter. The 2011 election was rocked by violence in protests by the opposition party
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chief security aide, Othello Daniel Warrick, threatened journalists for articles criticizing the government.
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Liberia: The Heart of Darkness: Accounts of Liberia's Civil War and Its Destabilizing Effects in West Africa
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156:, an award for distinguished service to Liberia in public service of the arts or sciences, in July 2015.
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However, full decriminalization in Liberia has been slow, leading media organizations such as
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217:"Individual and Organizational Human Rights Activism in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Kenya".
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Some journalists, fearing Doe's death squads, broadcast propaganda for
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Critical Arts: A South-North Journal of Cultural & Media Studies
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A division was created within the PUL between those in
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Liberia, Press Union of Liberia The Press Union of.
113:The 2005 and 2011 elections, both won by President
29:International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
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129:and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
88:National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL)
64:regime routinely threatened journalists.
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240:. Victoria, B.C.: Trafford Publishing.
33:Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
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123:Congress for Democratic Change (CDC)
16:Journalism organization in Liberia
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291:Organizations established in 1964
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92:Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS)
236:Williams, Gabriel I. H. (2002).
276:1964 establishments in Liberia
71:The Liberian Civil Wars, from
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134:Declaration of Table Mountain
132:In 2012, Sirleaf signed the
154:Order of the Star of Africa
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149:Ebola virus crisis in 2014
127:Reporters Without Borders
175:"Press Union of Liberia"
219:Journal of Human Rights
66:Gabriel I. H. Williams
21:Press Union of Liberia
286:Mass media in Liberia
115:Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
281:Journalism in Africa
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270:Categories
184:2016-10-18
160:References
90:, via the
62:Samuel Doe
39:Leadership
103:Monrovia
99:Gbarnga
52:History
147:The
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