Burkina Faso is one of the leading African countries and the traditional form of media outlets is consisted with newspapers, television, radios and obviously newspaper websites. The local people of the country prefers to listen to radio and thus it has become the most popular type of media outlet across the country. Television access is not possible in some places and majority of the people used the internet for different reasons. They use the internet either to share their personal feelings and emotions on the social platforms or to know the news and views of different countries.
The number of media outlets in the country is remarkable. But the financial conditions of the journalists are poor. They are ill paid for their jobs. So, most of the time, they are reluctant to complete their jobs with sincerity and professionalisms. Besides, media freedom in the country is in a fragile state. The government mostly dominates the media outlets and there are strict censorships on some specific issues. The media outlets run by the government do not need to follow the censorship but the privately owned media outlets have to do so.
But recently, the media outlets have enjoyed a political and legal freedom and the environments have become easier for them. So, the media outlets try to cover the large and special political events and highlight the matters to the people. However, despite the political coverages, the media outlets have to remain under the restrictions. Some of the media outlets have been penalized so far while the journalists have also been sued. Even the events of attacking the media outlets also take place in some points. So, to prevent the situations, the amount of fine has been increased.
The state has ensured access to information sources for the journalists. But the access is limited to a certain extent. They are not allowed to enter into highly classified information sources which could prove harmful to the nation. The media outlets are also not allowed to access in sensitive military information and strategic issues. Besides, they are kept aside from the ongoing investigations.
At present, there are nine newspapers are available as print media outlets. They are published in different languages and they convey news and views for a certain group of people. Some of the newspapers have their supplementary issues and those are published in a weekly basis. The print media outlets are careful about the censorship issues and thus they do to publish or leak any information that could be harmful to the state. Some of the media outlets are owned by the state while there are some private outlets are under operation too.
Television transmission in the country began in 1963 and the transmission is available six days on a week basis. The television contents mostly aim to entertain people. They broadcast different types of news and information for the local audience.
There are four radio stations are available in the country and one of them are state-run. The private radio stations run different types of programs. Since radio is the most popular media outlet in the country, the broadcasters always try to bring some variations in their shows and events.
The use of the internet is also remarkable in the country and the internet users browse various websites for news and information related to them or the world.