Office National d’Edition et de Presse (ONEP) is a state-run publishing house in Niger that runs among other titles Le Sahel, a print publication that was founded in 1960 as Le Temps du Niger (later renamed Niger). In 1974, following a coup by Seyni Kountche, the publication took its current name.
Media assets
Publishing: Le Sahel, Le Sahel Dimanche
State Media Matrix Typology:
Ownership and governance
Le Sahel is run by Office National d’Edition et de Presse (ONEP), a government-owned publishing house, which belongs to the Ministry of Communication. ONEP was established through the Decree No. 89-26 of 1989. The highest governance structure at ONEP is its Board of Directors with 10 members appointed by the government.
Source of funding and budget
Although it generates funding on its own, mainly through advertising revenues, Le Sahel is dependent on government funding to stay afloat, according to local journalists/experts. Data about its budget is lacking. In January 2023, to boost its revenue and thus improve its financial position, the publisher increased the price of the copy of its publications.
Editorial independence
There are no explicit rules requiring Le Sahel to follow an editorial policy favorable to the government. Nevertheless, through the appointment of the newspaper’s management, the government has full control over the editorial coverage of the newspaper. An ad hoc analysis identified a pro-government bias in the publication’s coverage, the newspaper mostly publishing content based on official releases from government bodies.
No domestic statute and no independent oversight or assessment mechanism to validate Le Sahel’s editorial independence have been identified.
September 2023