Kenneth Best
Kenneth Y. Best (born 28 October 1938) is a Liberian journalist who founded The Daily Observer (in Liberia) and a paper of the same name in the Gambia.[1]
Best was the nephew of the Americo-Liberian and Caribbean journalist Albert Porte.[2]
Career
In February 1981 Best founded the Daily Observer, a daily newspaper.[3] Under the Presidency of Samuel Doe, the Daily Observer was subject to sustained political harassment.[4]
The First Liberian Civil War caused Best to relocate with his family to the Gambia.[5] There he founded Gambia's first daily newspaper, again called The Daily Observer.[5] In October 1994, following Yahya Jammeh's military coup, Best was expelled from Gambia,[3] although the newspaper was allowed to continue and is still published today.[6]
He and his family moved to the United States.[1] In 2012, Best published The Evolution of Liberia's Democracy: A Brief look at Liberia’s Electoral History – 1847-2011.[7]
Awards
Best was named one of International Press Institute's 50 World Press Freedom Heroes in 2000.[1]
Works
- Cultural Policy in Liberia, 1974
- African Challenge, 1975
- "My Fight for Press Freedom", in New African, August 1991.
- The Evolution of Liberia's Democracy: A Brief look at Liberia’s Electoral History – 1847-2011, 2012
References
- ^ a b c Michael Kudlak, IPI World Press Freedom Heroes: Kenneth Best, IPI Report, June 2000
- ^ Carl Patrick Burrowes, Power and Press Freedom in Liberia, 1830-1970, 2004, p.108
- ^ a b W. Joseph Campbell, The emergent independent press in Benin and Côte d'Ivoire, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998, p.19-20
- ^ Paul Gifford, Christianity and Politics in Doe's Liberia, pp.26-28
- ^ a b Gabriel I. H. Williams, Liberia: The Heart of Darkness, Trafford Publishing, 2002, p.333
- ^ "Contact Us." The Daily Observer. Retrieved on 28 February 2009.
- ^ "Kenneth Y. Best Publishes New Book on Liberia's Evolution to Democracy". Daily Observer (Liberia). 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
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