AYV News, January 20, 2026
Former President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and veteran journalist, Umaru Fofana, has raised serious concerns over what he described as the Independent Media Commission’s (IMC) apparent failure to recognise the harsh realities confronting Sierra Leone’s print media industry.
Fofana warned that newspapers across the country are facing an unprecedented decline in sales and advertising revenue, coupled with rising production costs and the growing impact of social media, which he said continues to disrupt the traditional media landscape.
“Essentially, the country’s newspapers are on the brink of collapse,” Fofana said. “It is therefore shocking that the regulator would increase the annual licence renewal fee by 150 percent.”
He criticised the IMC for what he described as a lack of meaningful support for the struggling industry, despite provisions in the Media Act mandating the commission to promote and protect media development. According to him, the commission has instead become a burden on media houses.
“They do little to nothing to support the industry as the law says they should. They are becoming an albatross around our necks,” he said. “They should not expect us to fund their unnecessarily expensive operations or lifestyle. Rather, they should cut their coat according to their size.”
Fofana further argued that the IMC is a state-funded institution and that any shortfall in government funding should not be transferred to media owners. He noted that while the commission continues to impose fines on media institutions for breaches of the media code, the financial strain on newspapers has reached a critical level.
“We simply cannot afford it—especially those of us who resist political control of our editorial content and refuse to act as ventriloquists for political interests,” he said.
Highlighting the daily struggles faced by media houses, Fofana said paying staff salaries has become increasingly difficult, while rent and operational costs continue to rise.
“Paying salaries has never been this hard. Rent is breaking our necks. Our survival has become a gamble,” he said, calling on the IMC to reconsider its decision.
He concluded by urging the commission to rethink the increase and revert to the previous licence renewal fee in the interest of preserving the country’s independent print media.
