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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