The Daily Talk

The Daily Talk is an English-language newspaper published daily on a blackboard in the Tubman Boulevard in Monrovia. According to a New York Times report is the most widely read newspaper in Monrovia. Especially since many locals the money for access to conventional media is missing.

The founder, editor and only employee is Alfred J. Sirleaf. Sirleaf founded the newspaper in 2000, still during the Liberian civil war. He believes that a well-informed population is the basis for the reconstruction of Liberia. The newspaper is financed by donations and is free, also Sirleaf is not paid directly for its service. This distinguishes the newspaper from other publications in Liberia, most of which are owned by politicians and where journalists are not paid by their editors, but from those on which they report. In The Daily Talk, unpaid correspondents, in addition to voluntary reports, taken over news from the printed newspaper, which are edited and annotated by Sirleaf. The printed newspapers Liberia are written in formal English, which is not well understood by most Liberians, The Daily Talk, however, used dialect and street words that are used in everyday life. Since ( according to estimates) more than half of the residents of Monrovia barely read, can Sirleaf support understanding with the use of symbols and images. In addition, the messages are often picked by bystanders, which also opens illiterate access to information.

During the reign of Charles Taylor, the panels were destroyed after critical articles and arrested Sirleaf. However, the newspaper could be restored one week before the presidential election in 2005.