It is hard to imagine a place more difficult to keep a blog than a country that just barely has an electric grid [1]. But a few ambitious, aspiring Liberian journalists are working hard to join their colleagues from the DR of Congo [2], Uganda [3], Zambia [4], Côte d’Ivoire [5], Burkina Faso [6], and Nigeria [7] on the frontiers of African new media. We discussed recently [8] on the Rising Voices mailing list [9] that not every participant of a new media training program can be expected to continue blogging forever. In the same way that not every piano student can be expected to become a musician, not everyone is a natural blogger. The following six Liberian journalists, however, most definitely are.
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Emmanuel Tobey [11] (AKA “Tango”) is a photojournalist working for the United Nations Mission in Liberia [12]. In the following video Tobey explains how he was introduced to photojournalism during the Liberian civil war.
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Nat Bayjay [14] was perhaps the most motivated of all the participants of the new media workshops last week in Liberia [15]. On Nat's personal blog he has already published two very informative posts: “Cleaning The Capital of Africa’s Oldest Republic [16]” and “Intensive Labor Malpractices at Guthrie [Rubber Plantations] [17].”
Nat has also started a second lifestyle and entertainment blog, Entertainmentlib [18], which is reminiscent of Tanzania's wildly successful Swahili-language blog, Bongo Celebrity [19]. In the first post we are introduced to Liberian gospel singer Kanvee Gains [20].
Varney Karneh [21] is a student of the University of Liberia's Mass Comm department. On his new blog he has written about the recently concluded international colloquium on women [22] and the donation of photographic and computer equipment by Syracuse University to the University of Liberia's Mass Communication department [23]. Photojournalist Kathleen Flynn has a great portrait of Varney on her blog [24].
Denna Gibson [25] is also a student of the University of Liberia and an aspiring sports journalist. So far she has blogged about the lack of support for female soccer players in Liberia [26] and the shortcomings of the Liberia National Soccer League [27].
Titus [28] and Prince Tokpah [29] are student activists and volunteers of the Liberian chapter of Amnesty International. Both young men are also involved in Project Ceasefire [30], a new Rising Voices grantee project led by journalist Ruthie Ackerman [31].
The above-mentioned bloggers have all displayed the passion, motivation, and natural talent to lead Liberia's nascent blogosphere forward, but the obstacles standing in their way are still enormous. Cybercafes – dependent on gas-powered generators for electricity – are still expensive, and the internet connection is painfully slow. Furthermore, with unemployment around 80%, Liberians must work hard at their day jobs in order to not lose them. Still, with enough encouragement and support, Liberia has just entered a new chapter in new media.