Press freedom and the imperatives of democracy

In this paper, the authors argue that press freedom is a key element of democracy. They, however, contend that for the press to serve its meaningful role towards a country's sustainable development, it must be transparent, accountable and responsible. The authors draw extensively from research findings in Nigeria and Sierra Leone, which to them are adequately representative of the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region. The paper discusses at length some factors which affect sustainable development, as well as the performance of the press in the two countries. The conclusions made are that the press systems in both Nigeria and Sierra Leone are neither democratic nor do they serve the cause of ensuring sustainable development. A major weakness, the authors maintain, is the fact that the press in the two countries pay more attention to the outside world than to issues affecting their predominantly illiterate population.