African media faces crisis of economic instability and declining independence

Media professionals in Senegal and across Africa are warning of a deepening crisis characterized by economic instability and a decline in investigative journalism.

Mamadou Ibra Kane, president of the Council of Broadcasters and Press Publishers of Senegal (CDEPS), described the Senegalese press as being in a state of “putrefaction” during a meeting with the Prime Minister. He noted that since 2020, media companies have seen revenue drops of over 70%. Key issues cited include the blocking of the Press Support and Development Fund (FADP), unpaid debts to private companies, heavy taxation, and rising costs for digital terrestrial television. This economic strain has led to media closures, hundreds of job losses, and significant salary arrears.

In a broader regional context, journalist Dieudonné Sewonou has called for African journalists to reclaim their role as a democratic counter-power. He warned that investigative and analytical journalism is losing ground to the mere repetition of official government communications. Sewonou argued that economic precariousness and a lack of social protection leave journalists vulnerable to political pressure, making it difficult to maintain editorial independence and perform critical scrutiny of public actions.