Sierra Leone Media Sustainability Index (MSI)
March 15, 2012
About the MSI
IREX designed the MSI to measure the strength and viability of any country's media sector. The MSI considers all the factors that contribute to a media system—the quality of journalism, effectiveness of management, the legal environment supporting freedom of the press, and more—to arrive at scores on a scale ranging between 0 and 4. These scores represent the strength of the media sector components and can be analyzed over time to chart progress (or regression) within a country. Additionally, countries or regions may be compared to one another. IREX currently conducts the MSI in 80 countries, and began studying Africa in 2006.
MSI Overview | Africa | Asia | Europe & Eurasia | Middle East & North Africa
Download Complete Sierra Leone Chapter (PDF): 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2006/7
MSI Sierra Leone-2010 Introduction
Overall Country Score: 2.09
Three years ago, Sierra Leone organized landmark democratic elections that brought about a peaceful transfer of power from the Sierra Leone People’s Party, which governed the country during the turbulent periods of civil war and frequent military coups, to the opposition All People’s Congress (APC). The elections, both national and local, were widely acclaimed as free and fair by all significant actors in the international community.
After more than two decades of one-party rule, characterized by tribalism, nepotism, widespread corruption, and political harassment, and culminating in a devastating civil war that destroyed the country’s socioeconomic fabric—a war that killed, maimed, and displaced thousands—the elections of 2007 presented a rare opportunity for Sierra Leone to start all over again.
And yet, Sierra Leone continues to rely heavily on donor support for a significant part of its budget. The British government, through its international development agency, DFID, provides support, and the European Union funds major infrastructure projects. Direct foreign investment is insignificant. In recent times the mining sector has received investment from two companies, London Mining and African Minerals, which have acquired iron-ore concessions in the northern province of the country. The unemployment rate is more than 80 percent. Many young people have turned to crime or taken menial jobs in war-torn Iraq.
The media, themselves a major casualty of the war, have grown beyond recognition. On any single day, at least 10 newspapers are on sale in Freetown. The Independent Media Commission (IMC) has registered more than 40 newspapers and has more applications to consider. Radio stations have grown in number, too—mainly community radio stations operating in small rural communities.
Despite this plurality, the newspapers are divided along party lines, and accusations and counter accusations, rather than balanced reporting, are the order of the day. Scrutiny of government is lost in a relentless battle to convince a largely illiterate population of the advantages of one side over another. As the nation prepares for crucial parliamentary and presidential elections in 2012, many observers are concerned that the media might have to be watched closely. This is an election that Sierra Leone will have to conduct on its own—UN soldiers have been withdrawn, and even civilian personnel have been trimmed drastically. Umaru Fofanah, president of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, warned in a speech last year that journalists must not become the “trigger for the next civil conflict in Sierra Leone.”
The Sierra Leone study was coordinated by, and conducted in partnership with, Media Foundation West Africa, Accra, Ghana.
