Attacks on the Press in 1996 - Antigua and Barbuda
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | February 1997 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Attacks on the Press in 1996 - Antigua and Barbuda, February 1997, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/47c564f448e.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda provides for freedom of the press and free speech, and the government of Prime Minister Lester B. Bird, whose Antigua Labor Party (ALP) has controlled the government since 1976, generally respects these provisions.
Nevertheless, the government wields enormous influence over news coverage through its active presence in the electronic media: It owns the country's only television station and one of its two radio stations. According to the U.S. State Department's human rights assessment of Antigua and Barbuda, government domination of the electronic media "effectively denies equal coverage to opposition parties."
The only daily newspaper, the Daily Observer, does provide critical coverage of the government, over which it has clashed with officials.
