The media in Sierra Leone has been enjoying very cordial relations with the government of President Julius Mada Bio. Indeed, the state\u2019s pro-media airs have resulted in many positives for the media environment in Sierra Leone, among which are the passage of laws that greatly inure to press freedom.<\/p>\n
In 2020, criminal libel was abolished while in June 2021, Parliament also passed a cyber security and crimes Act to govern the cyberspace. The Government has also committed to table a Data Protection Bill before parliament for passage into law.<\/p>\n
Along with these positive developments in the legal environment, the government, through its Ministry of Communications, has also been having a very cordial relationship with the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and other media support organisations. Through this cordiality, SLAJ has received assistance to acquire land for a national office.<\/p>\n
Other notable pluses include the Government\u2019s launch of a Media Viability Investment Conference in November, 2021, and its signing a of a global pledge on media freedom, making Sierra Leone the 5th<\/sup> African country to commit to the values and principles of the Media Freedom Coalition.<\/p>\n All of these are backgrounded by the fact that Sierra Leone is a democracy which has had an Access to Information Law since 2013.<\/p>\n In spite of all of these positives however, Sierra Leone is far from the ideal environment that journalists and journalism should thrive in.<\/p>\n Also, the country continues to remain a place where journalists are attacked both physically and verbally by all manner of assailants, including soldiers, public officials and individuals.<\/p>\n