In much of Africa, the challenge for journalists, editors, and readers goes beyond freedom of the press, and involves its very survival. Under Nigeria’s various dictatorships, for example, many journalists underwent a rite of passage that most prefer to forget: routine harassment, beatings, torture, frame-ups on spurious charges, and incongruously long prison sentences.
In much of Africa, the challenge for journalists, editors, and readers goes beyond freedom of the press, and involves its very survival. Under Nigeria’s various dictatorships, for example, many journalists underwent a rite of passage that most prefer to forget: routine harassment, beatings, torture, frame-ups on spurious charges, and incongruously long prison sentences.