{{Short description|Liberian daily newspaper}} {{Infobox newspaper | name = FrontPage Africa | logo = | logo_size = 200px | image = | caption = | type = [[Daily newspaper]] | format = | owners = | founder = [[Rodney Sieh]] | publisher = | editor = | chief_editor = | associate_editor = | managing_editor = | news_editor = | campus_editor = | campus_chief = | opinion_editor = | photo_editor = | seniorstaff = | staff_writers = | founded = 2005 | political_position = | language = English | ceased_publication = | relaunched = | headquarters = [[Monrovia]] | circulation = 1,500 | sister_newspapers = | ISSN = | oclc = | website = {{URL|frontpageafricaonline.com/}} }}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''FrontPage Africa''}}
[[File:2010_press_Liberia_4659554069.jpg | thumb | right | The business end of the printing press for Front Page Africa, a daily newspaper based in Monrovia Liberia.]] '''''FrontPage Africa''''' is a Liberian daily newspaper founded in 2005 by [[Rodney Sieh]]. As of 2012, it had a circulation of 1,500. ''FrontPage Africa'' has received international recognition for its investigative journalism, and the ''[[Christian Science Monitor]]'' called it the nation's "leading investigative daily".<ref name="CSM" /> The paper has run stories on teenage prostitution, government corruption, and an alleged rape by a police officer.<ref name="CSM" /> In 2012, a story by reporter [[Mae Azango]] on [[female genital mutilation]] sparked national controversy and led to the official suspension of the practice. In the same year, the publisher and editor were charged with contempt after publishing reports that members of the [[Supreme Court of Liberia]] had embezzled international aid money.<ref name="CSM" />
== Early history == ''FrontPage Africa'' was founded in 2005 by [[Rodney Sieh]], a veteran of several US daily newspapers. Originally an online-only publication, the newspaper began to print copies in 2008, expanding to a circulation of 1,500, which were collated and folded manually.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/liberia-front-page-africa-investigative-newspaper-print |title=Liberia: FrontPage Africa, an Investigative Daily |author=Jina Moore |date=19 March 2012 |publisher=The Pulitzer Center |accessdate=23 September 2012 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023741/http://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/liberia-front-page-africa-investigative-newspaper-print |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2010, ''FrontPage Africa'', Sieh, and reporter Samwar Fallah were sued for [[libel]] by Christopher Toe, a former Agriculture Minister, who demanded US$2 million in damages; the newspaper had reported that he had embezzled millions of dollars from public funds. The [[World Association of Newspapers]] issued a statement on the paper's behalf, stating that while it had no opinion on the merits of the case itself, the amount sought was clearly punitive.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-221768105.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924152208/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-221768105.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 September 2015 |title=WAN-IFRA condemns libel judgement in Liberia |date=19 March 2010 |publisher=World Association of Newspapers |accessdate=23 September 2012}}</ref>
== 2012 female genital mutilation story == On 8 March 2012—[[International Women's Day]]—''Front Page Africa'' published a story by [[Mae Azango]] telling of a woman who was held down by five other women while her clitoris was amputated.<ref name=DB>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/23/liberian-writer-mae-azango-forced-into-hiding-for-story-on-female-genital-cutting.html |title=Liberian Writer Mae Azango Forced Into Hiding for Story on Female Genital Cutting |author=Danielle Shapiro |date=23 March 2010 |work=The Daily Beast |url-status=live |archivedate=9 September 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909140631/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/23/liberian-writer-mae-azango-forced-into-hiding-for-story-on-female-genital-cutting.html |accessdate=23 September 2012 }}</ref><ref name=CSM>{{cite web |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2012/0529/Mae-Azango-exposed-a-secret-ritual-in-Liberia-putting-her-life-in-danger/(page)/2 |title=Mae Azango exposed a secret ritual in Liberia, putting her life in danger |author=Jina Moore |date=29 May 2012 |work=Christian Science Monitor |url-status=live |archivedate=23 September 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923170358/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2012/0529/Mae-Azango-exposed-a-secret-ritual-in-Liberia-putting-her-life-in-danger |accessdate=23 September 2012 }}</ref> The story detailed the procedure, which the Sande consider secret. The paper received so many threats the day that the story appeared that editor Wade Williams called to tell her to go into hiding.<ref name=DB /> The threats included that Azango herself would be "caught and cut".<ref name=AP /> After local police failed to take action against the threats, Azango went into hiding, sending her nine-year-old daughter to stay with relatives.<ref name=DB /><ref name=G />
The [[Committee to Protect Journalists]] (CPJ), a US-based press NGO, called on Liberian president [[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]] to issue Azango protection and guarantee her safety.<ref name=AP>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1A1-c5e1de8e76fd444b9dd9c73dd29ab56c.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924043652/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1A1-c5e1de8e76fd444b9dd9c73dd29ab56c.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 September 2015 |title=Liberia reporter gets death, mutilation threats |date=14 March 2012 |publisher=Associated Press|accessdate=23 September 2012}}</ref> [[Amnesty International]] and [[Reporters Without Borders]] also issued statements of support,<ref name=G>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2012/apr/30/journalist-safety-liberia |title=Journalist who revealed genital mutilation in Liberia forced into hiding |author=Roy Greensdale |date=30 April 2012 |work=The Guardian |url-status=live |archivedate=20 June 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620192541/http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2012/apr/30/journalist-safety-liberia |accessdate=23 September 2012 }}</ref> as did the [[Columbia Journalism School]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spj.jrn.columbia.edu/2012/03/15/letter-to-the-liberian-government/ |title=Letter to the Liberian Government |author=Jake Heller and Mohamed Ademo |date=15 March 2012 |publisher=Columbia Journalism School |url-status=dead |archivedate=20 December 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121220212819/http://spj.jrn.columbia.edu/2012/03/15/letter-to-the-liberian-government/ |accessdate=23 September 2012 }}</ref> and the [[International Federation of Journalists]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201203161470.html |title=Liberia: IFJ Calls On Govt to Protect Threatened Female Journalist |date=16 March 2012 |publisher=allafrica.com |url-status=live |archivedate=30 June 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630195638/http://allafrica.com/stories/201203161470.html |accessdate=23 September 2012 }}</ref> Radio journalist Tetee Gebro of the Liberian station Sky FM broadcast a version of Azango's story in a show of solidarity.<ref name=DB/>
Before the end of the month, in part due to domestic and international pressure sparked by the incident, Sirleaf's government announced that it had agreed with traditional leaders that the practice of FGM would be officially suspended.<ref name=CPJ>{{cite web |url=http://cpj.org/awards/2012/mae-azango-liberia.php |title=Mae Azango, Liberia |publisher=Committee to Protect Journalists |archivedate=20 September 2012 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920145449/http://cpj.org/awards/2012/mae-azango-liberia.php |accessdate=23 September 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theworld.org/2012/03/female-genital-circumcision-temporarily-stopped-in-liberia/ |title=Female Circumcision Temporarily Stopped in Liberia |author=Bonnie Allen |date=March 29, 2012 |work=The World |url-status=live |archivedate=7 July 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707192050/http://www.theworld.org/2012/03/female-genital-circumcision-temporarily-stopped-in-liberia/ |accessdate=23 September 2012 }}</ref> The statement was the first time Liberian politicians had publicly criticized the practice of FGM.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newnarratives.org/news/nns-proudest-moment-reporting-prompts-leaders-to-end-female-genital-cutting/ |title=NN's Proudest Moment: Reporting Prompts Leaders To Herald End Of Female Genital Cutting |date=1 April 2012 |publisher=New Narratives |url-status=live |archivedate=20 June 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620173747/http://www.newnarratives.org/news/nns-proudest-moment-reporting-prompts-leaders-to-end-female-genital-cutting/ |accessdate=23 September 2012 }}</ref>
==See also== * [[List of newspapers in Liberia]]
==References== {{Reflist|33em}}
== External links == * {{Official|http://frontpageafricaonline.com/}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:2005 establishments in Liberia]] [[Category:African news websites]] [[Category:Newspapers published in Liberia]] [[Category:Newspapers established in 2005]] [[Category:English-language newspapers published in Africa]]