Senegal’s media outlets stage a blackout day to bring attention to press freedom concerns

BY  MARK BANCHEREAU AND BABACAR DIONE

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Media organizations in Senegal staged a blackout day on Tuesday to protest a government crackdown they say targets them directly and is aimed at curtailing press freedoms in the West African country.

Television screens went blank on the main TV stations TFM, ITV and 7 TV, and radio outlets such as RFM and iradio were silent. Most of the daily newspapers did not publish Tuesday’s editions, except for the government-owned Le soleil and the private pro-government WalfQuotidien and Yoor Yoor Bi.

The move comes as tensions have been rising between media organizations and the government, triggering international concerns over press freedoms in one of Africa’s most stable democracies. Separately, Senegal’s main media companies have accumulated massive debt over the years, threatening the sector’s economic survival.

The Senegalese Council of Press Distributors and Publishers, an organization representing both private and public