Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – A new national survey conducted by CepRass Center for Policy, Research, and Strategic Studies has found that while a majority of Gambians believe journalists operate freely, confidence in the neutrality of state-owned media remains significantly low.
According to the report, 74 percent of respondents say journalists in The Gambia are free to report on political issues. Within this group, 41 percent describe journalists as “completely free,” while 33 percent consider them “fairly free.”
In contrast, only 16 percent perceive some level of restriction, with 12 percent saying journalists are restricted and 4 percent describing them as “very restricted.” A further 10 percent of respondents expressed uncertainty.
The government of President Barroiw recently introduced a policy proposal that empowers a state-backed regulator to enforce “fairness,” “accuracy,” and “balance,” inevitably entering the terrain of editorial judgment.
The findings suggest that most Gambians view the broader media environment as open and capable of supporting political discourse, a key pillar of democratic governance.
However, perceptions of media freedom are not uniform across demographics. The survey indicates that men are more confident in journalists’ freedom than women, with 79 percent of male respondents expressing positive views compared to 70 percent of women. Women also recorded higher levels of uncertainty, pointing to a gender gap in perceptions of media independence.
Regional disparities were also observed. Respondents in Kuntaur and Basse expressed the highest levels of confidence in media freedom, while those in Kerewan and Janjanbureh reported comparatively lower confidence and greater uncertainty.
Despite these variations, the overall national outlook remains largely positive across regions, age groups, and educational backgrounds.
In stark contrast, public opinion on state-owned media paints a more critical picture. Only 32 percent of respondents believe state media coverage is balanced, 11 percent rating it “very balanced” and 21 percent “fairly balanced.” Meanwhile, nearly half of those surveyed, 49 percent, view state media as biased, including 23 percent who consider it “very biased.” An additional 19 percent said they were unsure.
Scepticism toward state media is particularly pronounced among men and respondents with university-level education, the latter group registering the highest levels of distrust. Regionally, more favorable perceptions were recorded in Kuntaur and Basse, while stronger criticism emerged from respondents in Kerewan, Brikama, and Banjul.
The survey underscores a critical divide in public sentiment: while press freedom in The Gambia is widely acknowledged, trust in the impartiality of state-owned media remains fragile, raising questions about credibility and balance in publicly funded broadcasting.
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