FOTP 2013 Full Report

of the ruling party. Although Lesotho has a printing press, many local newspapers are printed inSouth Africa and transported into the country to avoid the high cost of printing domestically.Because of high distribution costs and low literacy rates, especially in rural areas, radio is themost popular news medium. There are eight private and two state-run radio stations, and manySouth African and other foreign broadcasts reach Lesotho. The country’s only television stationis state run. Media development is constrained by inadequate funding and resources. The privatemedia are increasingly turning to private advertising to generate income, but many outlets, bothprint and broadcast, continue to rely heavily on state advertising, which allows the government totacitly reward those that provide more favorable coverage.The government did not restrict access to the internet in 2012, but due to a lack ofinfrastructure and high costs, the medium was used by just 5 percent of the population.LiberiaStatus: Partly FreeLegal Environment: 15Political Environment: 21Economic Environment: 20Total Score: 56Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 65,NF 63,NF 61,NF 59,PF 60,PFThe Liberian media environment improved in 2012 due to a decrease in libel cases, efforts torepeal defamation laws, and a reduction in violence against journalists. The constitution providesfor freedoms of speech and the press, and the government largely respected these rights. In July2012, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf became the second African head of state to endorse theDeclaration of Table Mountain, which calls on African governments to abolish criminaldefamation laws. The Press Union of Liberia submitted a draft bill to the parliament in lateNovember that would carry out such an abolition, but it had not been enacted at year’s end, andsome libel charges continued to be leveled against media houses during the year. In addition, thecompensation sought and imposed in civil cases is often excessive, leading to severe financialdifficulties for journalists and their outlets, and encouraging self-censorship in the media. InFebruary, former senator Nathaniel J. Williams filed a libel suit against the Independentnewspaper for an article alleging that he had been evicted from his rented home. Williamsclaimed damages of US$5 million. In March, Robert Sirleaf, the chairman of the board ofdirectors at the National Oil Company of Liberia and the president’s son, threatened a libel suitagainst the Independent if it did not retract an article claiming that he had seized national oilholdings for commercial use. Corruption and bribery in the judicial sector also contribute to alargely unfavorable environment for journalists. In February, three newspaper publishers wereordered to appear before the Supreme Court on possible charges of contempt following thepublication of an article that accused the judges of embezzling funds. At the hearing,representatives of two of the papers apologized to the court.In 2010, Liberia enacted West Africa’s first freedom of information law. Both journalistsand the general public have the right to access any public document, with exemptions for those244