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Senegalese commuters hoping to catch up on the news on their commute were in for a disappointment on Tuesday – most national newspapers refused to publish stories in protest against the new government’s scaling back of media freedoms.
The Council of Local Newspaper Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (CDEPS) said the media was experiencing “one of the darkest days in its history”.
The government, led by a former opposition politician, has frozen the bank accounts of media companies and seized their equipment over alleged tax arrears, the report said.
Officials defended the crackdown by saying they were seeking to end practices that led to misappropriation and mismanagement of funds in the media industry.
President Basilu Diomaye Faye came to power in March after defeating the ruling coalition’s candidate in elections.
His rise to power came after the opposition led massive protests demanding elections, which then-President Macky Sall postponed in what critics saw as a ploy to cling to power.
As part of a media blackout on Tuesday, newspapers were placed on newsstands without content, just a black cover with the words “journée sans presse” (French for “day without news”) and an image of three raised fists holding pencils.
Not all newspapers joined the protest – private media Wal Fadjri called the blackout “an ugly scar on the face of our beautiful democracy”.
While Val Fajiri acknowledged that the media was going through a “crisis”, he said suspensions should be a last resort as it would deprive readers of their right to be informed.
Radio stations mostly refused to boycott, but two popular private stations chose to play music instead of broadcasting news.
Private television stations such as TFM (owned by Grammy Award-winning singer Youssou N’Dour), ITV and 7 TV have shown their support for the protests by showing slogans and images of the protests alongside the news.
Months ago, concerns arose that Fahey’s government would try to restrict the media.
In June, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko was criticised by media professionals for warning the government would no longer tolerate “false statements” from journalists, who he said were “too easily punished”.
Mr. Sankoh, who had been an open representative of the opposition and was barred from running for president, later supported Mr. Faye.
Both were imprisoned under the previous government and have pledged to fight corruption and strengthen democracy in Senegal.
From 2021 to 2024, Senegal slipped from 49th to 94th place in the World Press Freedom Index of media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.
The human rights group recently urged Senegal’s new president to take action to promote press freedom after years of “arrests and attacks on journalists, media closures, and arbitrary internet shutdowns” during Sall’s administration.
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