Online Newspapers, Live TV Channels, Radios

Equatorial Guinea is a small coastal country and the media outlets here are primarily made of television and print media. But the media outlets in the country enjoy a slight flexibility at some points. Most of the media outlets run by the state but the state has no direct touch with them. The media outlets are operated by higher government officials are engaged to look over the media outlets. They filter the types of news and information and ensures that there no media contents are against the government.

Different types of media outlets are under operation in the country with several types of language including French and Spanish. The use of the English language is not that much available in the country because people mostly communicate using their local dialects. And the readers are not so interested as well in using the English language too. But the state-run media outlets strictly use French as their broadcast or publication language.

The media outlets have not flourished in the country for several reasons and the political instability in the country is one of them. Formerly the country was known as Spanish Guinea and gained independence in 1968. But there have been some political changes in the country which have created an unfavorable situation for the media outlets. Mismanagement and the questionable elections have changed the course of media outlets. They are now unable to express their opinions freely for public exposure.

Freedom of the press is not practiced in the country and event it is unimaginable that the media outlets will work freely inside the border. They are unable to expose the truth to the people fearing the government. In fact, the government feels that media outlets are potential threats to them. So, they try to control the outlets by all possible ways. So, freedom of expression is not practiced at all.

Besides, the local population of the country is also reluctant to know the latest updates and secret information through newspapers. They are in fact buys with their own respective tasks and get relaxed through the entertaining television shows. The literacy rate is higher among the males but in line with the literacy rate, media outlets especially the print media outlets have not grown so much. The readership is lower for the print media outlets.

The circulation of the newspaper is relatively lower than the neighboring state and the conditions of private newspapers are also similar. Around eight national level and regional newspapers are under publication in the present day and they come with a generalized news and information. One of the national dailies is published in English but with a lower readership while the remaining others are published in the local languages. A self-censorship is imposed on the newspapers and thus they carefully remain aware of some special issues like the state secret or others which may cause a threat to the state security. The most important thing is that the newspaper publication is irregular in the country.

Three television channels are available in the country and they operate using some local languages and dialects. Among the three, two of them are state-run. The television channels come with a wide range of shows and events for the audiences. But the broadcast contents are highly scrutinized before airing so that there are no anti-state issues. Television is accessible to almost everyone in the country and the audiences enjoy a lot the programs and shows they watch on television.

The country has four radio stations altogether while three of them are state-run and one is owned by the presidential family. The radio stations broadcast different types of news and information for the audience. And mostly Spanish language is used in these stations.

The use of the internet is not so available in the country and thus there are no remarkable online media outlets available here.