Online Newspapers, Live TV Channels, Radios

The media of Sao Tome and Principe is not so much enriched like the neighboring nations. In fact, this is the sum of two islands of volcanic origin. Besides, there are some smaller islets are lying as well which have played roles to form the islands. So, the number of population is limited. Earlier, the islands were used for slavery purposes. The islands were used for sugar plantations and slaves from different other parts of the mainland were brought here to serve in the plantations.

The media outlets also could not bloom here for some other reasons. The settling conflicts played the key role here. The settlers of the islands were engaged in conflicts from the very beginning of the history. And so, the colonizers were busy in establishing supremacy over the others which created the unwanted situations. In such circumstances, it was nearly impossible for the media outlets to establish strong bases in the islands. As a result, the media outlets of the islands are feeble and have less familiarity with the outer world.

The mainstream media outlets of the islands are made of broadcast, television, radio and internet outlets. The newspapers are not published regularly rather they are available on the weekend or weekly basis. Besides, the newspapers are available in some specific languages. Most of the newspapers are published in the Portuguese language. Some others are available in some local dialects.

The themes and topics of the media outlets revolve centering the generalized issues. They provide the information on contemporary matters so that the Islanders could get to know about the happenings around them. But the readership of the newspapers is lower as a large number of people are under the literacy line.

The media outlets try to cater the needs of the islanders in different ways. They provide some entertaining issues, especially the television programs are highly entertaining. The television stations broadcast a wide number of programs for the audience and they are available across the islands. In fact, this is a great source of entertainment for the people living in the islands and a way of relaxation for them too.

But one thing is interesting that some of the broadcast media outlets have their online version. The newspapers are available on the internet and the number of the internet users is also adorable. So, people who do not have the printed version are able to read the newspapers through their online presence. So, this is really an adorable issue for the islands and the Islanders.

However, the media outlets have to follow some sort of censorship while operation. They are not allowed to express whatever they think from their media outlets. They need to be careful with operation across the islands. They follow a sense of self-censorship among them for their survival. In fact, the freedom of expression is restricted by the constitution. Earlier, it was found that the media outlets played important roles in creating anarchy on the islands. And situations went beyond control. Hence, the government applied censorship on the media outlets’ operation. The similar thing is applied to the television and radio outlets as well.