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

References

  1. 1 2 3 Michael Kudlak, IPI World Press Freedom Heroes: Kenneth Best, IPI Report, June 2000
  2. Carl Patrick Burrowes, Power and Press Freedom in Liberia, 1830-1970, 2004, p.108
  3. 1 2 W. Joseph Campbell, The emergent independent press in Benin and Côte d'Ivoire, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998, p.19-20
  4. Paul Gifford, Christianity and Politics in Doe's Liberia, pp.26-28
  5. 1 2 Gabriel I. H. Williams, Liberia: The Heart of Darkness, Trafford Publishing, 2002, p.333
  6. "Contact Us." The Daily Observer. Retrieved on 28 February 2009.
  7. "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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