Monrovia, Liberia – At a forum celebrating The Liberian Investigator Newspaper’s first anniversary on Thursday, February 20, 2026 , the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Elias B. Shoniyin cautioned that the country’s media sector must quickly adjust to the rapidly evolving digital age or risk becoming obsolete.
Shoniyin warned media professioners and public officials that traditional journalism can endure in the era of viral misinformation, if it becomes “more digital and never less disciplined. “Trust does not come from being first. Trust comes from being right, and being humble enough to correct yourself when you are wrong.”
According to Shoniyin global statistics indicates sharp drop in print readership and advertising revenue, characterizing the current media landscape as a historic turning moment. He claims that while print advertising in important areas has decreased by more than 90% since 2000, newspaper circulation has drastically decreased globally over the last ten years.
“If the world is shaking, we cannot pretend Liberia will be stable. But we can decide how to build in the earthquake,” Shoniyin cautioned.
He added that recent assessments have showed that many media institutions operate without formal editorial policies or written ethical guidelines. Meanwhile, low pay, often around US$100 per month, leaves journalists vulnerable to bribery and political pressure.
“When a journalist is hungry, truth can start to look like a luxury item. But truth is not luxury. Truth should be the meal,” he explained.
He cautioned that many media sources have been forced to blur the distinction between sponsored content and independent reporting due to economic instability and a small advertising market, a behavior that erodes public confidence adding that Liberia’s worldwide press freedom rankings had improved, but also stressed that statistics do not accurately represent the situation on the ground.
“Liberia has made significant improvement, as seen by its current mid-tier global ranking. Nonetheless, the atmosphere in which journalists work is still shaped by issues with government, corruption, and occasional instances of harassment and media company closures. Journalism does not float in the air. It operates inside institutions, courts, laws, police behavior, and economic systems,” Shoniyin stated.
