MONROVIA – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai used the Second Annual Presidential Media Dinner in Congo Town to reaffirm his administration’s declared commitment to press freedom. His message also placed a demanding burden on journalists: expose national failures without overlooking resilience, progress and possibility. That appeal matters because governments often invoke patriotism when reporting becomes uncomfortable. Boakai nevertheless acknowledged the media’s duty to question, investigate, criticize and hold officials accountable. He pledged openness, access and respect under the Table Mountain Declaration. The test will come beyond the dinner hall, when critical reporting challenges powerful officials. Liberia needs cooperation between government and journalists, but that relationship must protect independence, verification and the public’s right to know without fear, favor. The ANALYST reports.
President Boakai used the second media dinner to court an uneasy Fourth Estate. His message balanced praise with a quiet plea. Expose Liberia’s failings, he said, but also tell the world its progress. The paper reads that appeal as a nudge toward softer coverage, dressed in patriotism. Yet real guarantees were renewed. The test is whether commitment survives the next damaging headline about his government.
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has renewed his administration’s commitment to a free and professional press, while urging Liberian journalists to weigh their scrutiny of government against stories of the country’s progress and promise. He argued that being positive about Liberia did not mean abandoning the duty to question, investigate, and hold power to account.
Addressing the Second Annual Presidential Media Dinner at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo Town on Saturday, September 12, 2026, Boakai said a strong democracy requires a free, responsible, professional, and vibrant media. He noted that he had returned to the same table a year after the inaugural dinner to renew that conviction and to thank the men and women who serve Liberia through journalism.
Tribute To Fallen Broadcaster
Before turning to his central message, the President extended condolences to the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) over the death of Charles Johnson, a journalist and radio announcer with its ELBC network. Boakai observed that Johnson’s years of sacrifice were a reminder that journalism is more than a profession; it is a public service.
The President commended reporters for their long hours, courage, and personal risk, and singled out their part in telling Liberia’s story to the world. He encouraged them to stay positive about the country, while insisting that optimism should never blunt the media’s obligation to stand upright and question those who govern.
Tell The Balanced Story
“Even as we expose our challenges, we must also tell the story of our resilience, our progress, our people, and our possibilities,” Boakai declared. He contended that the story Liberians tell about themselves shapes how the world weighs the country’s worth and its appetite for investing in it.
The President cautioned journalists against saying things that destroy the nation’s chances abroad, even as he professed strong trust in their ability to tell the true Liberian story. He told the gathering they were not merely reporting history but documenting it, and helping to shape the national conversation.
Partners, Not Adversaries
Boakai reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the Table Mountain Declaration, describing freedom of expression, access to information, and an independent press as fundamental to the democracy his administration is building. He assured the audience that the government would remain open and responsive, and would never treat the media as an institution to be muzzled or controlled.
Framing the relationship as a partnership with different responsibilities, the President acknowledged that government and press would not always agree, and noted that in a democracy they should not. He urged both sides to build the bond between government and the Fourth Estate on mutual respect, openness, and professionalism.
Boakai closed by calling on Liberians to create space for honest conversations, credible journalism, and the free exchange of ideas, and to tell the national story without hiding its shortcomings. He ended with his familiar appeal to think Liberia, love Liberia, and together build Liberia.