A recent social media post about a chance encounter with Rodney Sieh of FrontPage Africa stirred a national conversation about the state of the media in Liberia. My initial reaction was simply a reply, but the more I reflected, the clearer it became that the issue is much bigger than one interaction, one outlet, or one journalist.
Let me be clear from the start: I am not a journalist. I am a financial professional. However, for more than 35 years, I have had close personal friendships with independent journalists, including Rodney Sieh and 1st cousin Bai Best. Through those relationships, I have had a front-row seat to the pressures, dangers, and sacrifices that come with trying to practice journalism with integrity in our environment.
Many Liberians believe today's media landscape is divided, politically aligned, and at times influenced by financial or partisan interests. We see stories that appear slanted. We hear commentary that feels sponsored.
Trust in the media has weakened. But while criticism is loud, support for independent journalism is painfully quiet.
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We proudly remember the legacy of Charles Cornelius Gbenyon, the fearless broadcaster whose tough questions during one of Liberia's most volatile periods led to his brutal death under the regime of former head of state Samuel Doe. Today, a hall at the Ministry of Information bears his name, a symbol of courage, patriotism, and sacrifice.
But remembrance without responsibility is hollow. If we praise independent journalism, we must ask ourselves hard questions:
1) When was the last time we consistently bought a newspaper?
2) When did we last subscribe to a local media outlet?
3) When did we place an advertisement that helps sustain an independent newsroom?
4) If Charles Gbenyon died standing for truth, when last did we checked on his family or offered meaningful support?
Journalists are human beings. They have rent, school fees, medical bills, and families to care for. They work under political pressure, legal threats, online abuse, and sometimes physical danger. Yet we expect heroism from them while providing little economic support.
We cannot demand integrity while starving the very system we want to be honest.
Media credibility is a shared responsibility. It depends on:
· Citizens willing to pay for factual reporting
· Businesses that advertise without demanding editorial loyalty
· Institutions that defend press freedom
· A public that holds media accountable without trying to silence voices they dislike
Right now, our media reflects our society, politically divided, financially strained, and ethically challenged. That reality should inspire reform, not just outrage.
And this is not abstract for me.
I personally witnessed how Bai Best and his father at The Liberian Observer struggled for more than 14 months trying to get the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, under then-minister Samuel Tweah, to settle a legitimate legal debt owed to their newspaper. This was not a handout. It was a lawful financial obligation.
Yet they were made to wait... and wait... and wait.
I saw the frustration. I saw the strain of trying to keep a newsroom functioning while funds that were rightfully theirs remained unpaid. It made me deeply upset, because this is how independent institutions are quietly weakened, not only through intimidation, but through financial suffocation.
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So when we talk about bias, balance, and credibility, we must also talk about sustainability and responsibility, from government, from the private sector, and from us as citizens.
Across the world, political climates influence how strong or fragile media institutions become. But one lesson is universal: democracy works best when the press is free, responsible, and supported, not starved, bought, or bullied.
Honoring Charles Gbenyon must mean more than naming a hall after him. It must mean building a Liberia where journalists do not have to choose between telling the truth and feeding their families.
If we want better journalism, we must become better supporters of journalism.
The fight for credible media is not only in the newsroom. It lives in our values, our wallets, and our willingness to stand for truth, even when it challenges the side we favor.
