Freetown, 17th July 2026 – Sierra Leone’s print industry is facing its darkest hour. A new survey by Meraki Analytics, conducted between 13 April and 4 May 2026, reveals that more than 95% of respondents no longer depend on newspapers for news, signalling an existential crisis for the nation’s traditional press.
Out of 1,217 respondents, only 5% reported reading newspapers and even within this small group, preferences are deeply fragmented:
Awoko takes the lions share with -33%, Standard Times – 23%, Awareness Times -12%, Concord Times -12%, Night Watch -12%, The Calabash – 5%, Global Times – 2% and Salone Times- 2%
This collapse in readership contrasts sharply with the 54% of residents who now rely on social media platforms- Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram, X, and YouTube as their primary news sources. Radio, television, and other traditional outlets together account for just 23%, while 11% depend on informal networks of family, friends, and community leaders. Alarmingly, 12% of respondents reported no regular engagement with news at all.
The data paints a stark picture: offline newspapers are losing relevance in Freetown’s digital-first environment, where algorithms dictate what people see, read, and believe. Unless newspapers embrace online distribution channels and adapt to the algorithm-driven reality, the “good old newspaper” may vanish altogether.
These findings are not just statistics but a wake-up call. The tragedy lies not only in declining readership but in the erosion of editorial independence and the weakening of journalism’s role as a public watchdog.
