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: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Le Sahel is run by Office National d’Edition et de Presse (ONEP), a government-owned publishing house belonging to the Ministry of Communication. ONEP was established through Decree No. 89-26 of 1989. The highest governance structure at ONEP is its Board of Directors, which has 10 members appointed by the government.
Source of funding and budget
According to local journalists and experts, although it generates funding on its own, mainly through advertising revenues, Le Sahel is dependent on government funding to stay afloat. 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
No explicit rules require 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 publishes content based on official releases from government bodies. Especially after the coup in July 2023 that overthrew the democratically elected president, the government pressures on all media in the country have intensified.
No domestic statute and no independent oversight or assessment mechanism to validate Le Sahel’s editorial independence have been identified.
July 2024