The Daily Talk

File:The Daily Talk.jpg]]

The founder, managing editor and sole employee of the Daily Talk is Alfred J. Sirleaf, an inventor and father of three{{Cite web|last=Lentfer|first=Jennifer|date=March 23, 2015|title=When reliable information is gold: Demanding the truth during the Ebola epidemic|url=https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/when-reliable-information-is-gold-demanding-the-truth-during-the-ebola-epidemic/|access-date=2021-02-27|website=Oxfam America}} who founded his blackboard newspaper on May 14, 2000{{Cite web|last1=Duckstein|first1=Stefanie|last2=Fuchs|first2=Susanne|last3=Dunham|first3=Tony|date=2009|title=PEOPLE WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE EPISODE 08: Alfred Jomo Sirleaf – THE BLACKBOARD JOURNALIST|url=https://www.dw.com/downloads/26640782/peo-08liberiasirleaffinal.pdf|website=Deutsche Welle|page=3}}{{Cite web|last=|date=2018-10-31|title=Monrovia's famous showpiece chalkboard 'newspaper' deliberately damaged|url=https://ifex.org/monrovias-famous-showpiece-chalkboard-newspaper-deliberately-damaged/|access-date=2021-02-27|website=IFEX|language=en-US}} because of his belief that a well-informed citizenry is crucial to the rebirth of Liberia after years of civil war. In post-war Liberia, Sirleaf sees access to information as the key to peace.{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/theglobalist/docs/focusjournalism/14|title="The Talk of the Town" from Spring 2010: Journalism issue of The Yale Globalist|last=|first=|date=|website=Issuu|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-10-21}} Sirleaf's critical writing about Liberian President Charles Taylor led to him being jailed several months after the board's creation, and the Daily Talk was destroyed by government soldiers.{{Cite web|date=December 17, 2018|title=Popular Daily Talk News Blackboard in Liberia Relaunched After Vandalism Damage|url=https://internews.org/updates/popular-daily-talk-news-blackboard-liberia-relaunched-after-vandalism-damage|access-date=2021-02-27|website=Internews}} Following a period in exile, he returned in 2005 and resumed writing.{{Cite web|last=Quist-Arcton|first=Ofeibea|author-link=Ofeibea Quist-Arcton|date=December 12, 2014|title=Liberia's Daily Talk: All The News That Fits On A Blackboard|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2014/12/12/370154232/liberias-daily-talk-all-the-news-that-fits-on-a-blackboard|access-date=2021-02-27|website=NPR.org|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=January 8, 2013|title=Liberia has a blackboard newspaper!|url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/liberia-has-a-blackboard-newspaper|access-date=2021-02-27|website=Free Press Journal|language=en}} With help from his fellow Monrovians, Sirleaf rebuilt it a week before the 2005 election of president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (not a close relation) and resumed publication of the Daily Talk.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}} After a vehicle drove into and damaged the board in 2018, US Ambassador Christine A. Elder was present at the reopening ceremony two months later.{{Cite web|last=Worzi|first=Alvin|date=December 19, 2018|title=New Day for Daily Talk|url=https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/new-day-for-daily-talk/|access-date=2021-02-27|website=Liberian Observer|language=en-US}} Funding for the reconstruction was provided by USAID via the non-profit Internews.

Attached to the back of the {{convert|10|by|15|ft|m}}{{Cite web|last=Schanche|first=Didrik|date=2014-12-12|title=A Liberian Prof Doesn't Like What He's Seeing On The News Blackboard|url=https://www.keranews.org/2014-12-12/a-liberian-prof-doesnt-like-what-hes-seeing-on-the-news-blackboard|access-date=2021-02-27|website=KERA|language=en}} chalkboard there is a small wooden shed, the "newsroom", where Sirleaf prepares and writes reports. Lacking a computer of his own, he visits an internet café to read international news reports.{{Cite web|date=2012-11-12|title=The Daily Talk - Liberia's Blackboard Newspaper|url=https://nation.com.pk/12-Nov-2012/the-daily-talk-liberia-s-blackboard-newspaper|access-date=2021-02-27|website=The Nation (Pakistan)|language=en}} He writes on the board in Liberian English, and adds symbols to assist understanding of stories for those with limited literacy {{En dash}} including a bottle of dirty water for news about oil prices, a blue helmet for United Nations peacekeeping or a devil for the Ebola virus.{{Cite web|date=2014-10-10|title=The Daily Talk: keeping Monrovia in the know|url=https://www.channel4.com/news/the-daily-talk-the-chalk-board-keeping-monrovia-in-the-know|access-date=2021-02-27|website=Channel 4 News|language=en-GB}} Colors are also used to distinguish topics, such as yellow for numbers, prominent people and leaders.

The Daily Talk is free to read,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=March 30, 2018|title=Delivering the news in Liberia, free of charge|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/delivering-the-news-in-liberia-free-of-charge/|access-date=2021-02-27|website=CBS News|language=en}} with Sirleaf receiving support in the form of occasional gifts of taxi rides and pre-paid cellphone cards. In 2010, he relied on reports from 200 volunteers around Liberia.{{Cite web|last=Duckstein|first=Stefanie|date=29 March 2010|title=Liberian blogger uses blackboard to inform|url=https://www.dw.com/en/liberian-blogger-uses-blackboard-to-inform/a-5390100|access-date=2021-02-27|website=DW.COM|language=en-GB}}

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• Media of Liberia

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120305173021/http://www.monocle.com/sections/culture/Web-Articles/The-Daily-Talk/ Video report from Monocle featuring The Daily Talk], September 2009

{{commons category|The Daily Talk}}

• {{cite news|title=Weah leads Liberia election, may face run-off|agency=Reuters|date=October 10, 2005|publisher=polity.org.za|url=http://www.polity.org.za/pol/news/2005/?show=75729}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}

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Category:Mass media in Liberia

Category:Mass media in Monrovia

Category:2000 establishments in Liberia