Media of Gabon

The media of Gabon is primarily monitored by the government. Although the main newspapers are associated with the government, there are private broadcasters, and private weeklies that are mostly controlled by opposition parties. There are 2 major television stations. One is a French radio network and the other is a provincial station. The major media categories are Press, Television, Radio, and Internet news. ^[1]

Press

The national press service is the Gabonese Press Agency, which publishes a daily paper. L'Union located in Libreville, is the government controlled daily newspaper, it had an average daily circulation of 40,000 in 2002. The weekly Gabon d'Aujourdhui, is published by the Ministry of Communications. There are about nine privately owned periodicals which are either independent or affiliated with political parties. These are publish in small numbers and are often delayed by financial constraints. These include:

Foreign newspapers are available.

Television

Radio Télévision Gabonaise (RTG), which is owned and operated by the government, broadcasts in French and indigenous languages. Color television broadcasts have been introduced in major cities. Radiodiffusion-Television Gabon is one of the state run television stations. Two channels are operated under their network. There were also two government television stations and four privately owned. TeleAfrica is one of the private owned television stations.^[1] In 2003, it was determined that around 308 television sets are available for every 1,000 people. About 11.5 of every 1,000 people were cable subscribers.

Radio

In 1981, a commercial radio station, Africa No. 1, began operations. The most powerful radio station on the continent, it has participation from the French and Gabonese governments and private European media. In 2004, the government operated two radio stations and another seven were privately owned. In 2003 it was estimated that about 50% of the population owns radios..

Internet/News Agencies

Agence Gabonaise de Presse (AGP) is an online news agency in the French language. Foreign Internet News Media includes: Africa Intelligence, Africa Time, Afrik, Afrol, All Africa, Ici Cemac, Index Mundi, IRIN, IZF, Relif Web, and Topix.

In 2003, there were 22.4 personal computers for every 1,000 people and 26 of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. There were six secure Internet servers in the country in 2004. By 2011, approximately 109,000 people were determined to be Internet users.^[1]

Telecommunications

Gabon's oil resources and the revenue that is generated from oil rank the country high among the wealthy nations in Africa. The income in Gabon has major discrepancies. However, the gross domestic profit is one of well above the average in comparison to other African nations. In 1999, the telecommunications market become liberalized. The government established an independent regulatory authority. There mobile telephone licenses and two Internet Service Providers (ISP) licenses were also established. By 2008, Gabon Telecom became privatized when Vivendi-controlled Maroc Telecom purchased a large amount of stock. The Ministry of Information, Post and Technology provides domestic services for Gabon and participates in international services. There are direct radio and telephone communications with Paris and other overseas points. Their telecom operation's are privitazations, acquisitions and new licenses. It includes fixed, mobile, and broadband. Gabon has one of the most penetrated mobile markets among in Africa. The major service providers include Zain, Gabon's Telecom's Libertis, and Etisalat's Moov.^[2]

Freedom of Speech

The Constitution of Gabon was adopted on March 26, 1991. There has been five amendments to the constitution since its was implemented in 1991. The Constitution protects the freedom of speech and the freedom of press. In the Constitution's fundamental principles and rights, the second right states: "Freedom of conscience, thought, opinion, expression, communication, and the free practise of religion shall be guaranteed to all, under the reservation of respect of public order."^[3]

See also

• Communications in Gabon

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.

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