Published: October 5, 2026
KAKATA, Margibi County – The Reporters Association of Liberia plans to build a national database of reporters, identifying journalists by county and media institution, and to reinforce membership dues beginning in early 2027, the association’s secretary-general said Saturday as RAL pledged support and a cash contribution to a newly launched journalism training center here.
RAL Secretary-General Blamo N. Toe announced the plans at the launch of the Liberia Center for Media and Journalism, where he served as special guest and sponsor. He said the database would help RAL understand its membership, improve accountability and strengthen public confidence, and that the dues drive is meant to make the association financially independent.
Toe said the reforms, undertaken by the leadership of RAL President J. H. Webster Clayeh, aim to make the association more vibrant, transparent, financially sustainable and responsive to reporters across Liberia. He said RAL also wants to widen its idea of members’ welfare.
“We also want welfare to mean more than visiting members when they are sick or bereaved,” Toe said. “We want to create opportunities for training, empowerment, international exposure and professional growth.”
Toe welcomed LCMJ as a new platform for training aspiring journalists, particularly outside Monrovia, and said the center’s work matches RAL’s own goals.
“What LCMJ is doing speaks directly to RAL’s constitutional objectives: protecting reporters, promoting press freedom and professionalism, building journalists’ capacity and developing partnerships within and outside Liberia,” he said.
“RAL’s doors are open. Reach out to us. Let us collaborate,” he told the center’s leadership.
He praised LCMJ’s founder, whom he described as a proud RAL member, and said the association’s cash contribution showed that “support should go beyond words.”
Toe urged students at the ceremony to take their training seriously and guard their credibility.
“Take this opportunity seriously. Learn, verify your information, protect your credibility and remember that journalism is a public trust,” he said.
He encouraged them to work toward RAL membership, which under Article 4 of the association’s constitution includes full, associate and honorary categories. Full membership generally requires prescribed journalism training and newsroom experience, while associate membership is open to journalists who do not yet qualify.
“So, get trained, enter the newsroom, gain experience, practice ethically and become part of the RAL family,” he said.
Toe said RAL’s partnerships are already producing international opportunities. He said Clayeh is in China with 109 journalists from 105 countries for the second session of the China International Press Communication Center, which Toe called China’s largest international press gathering, and that a delegation of 25 Liberian journalists, many of them RAL members, is set to leave in early October for a two-week media seminar in China.
“We commend the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Liberia for its immense contribution and growing partnership with RAL in creating professional opportunities for Liberian journalists,” Toe said.
He said RAL intends to build similar partnerships with civil society groups, government institutions, diplomatic missions and development partners.
“RAL believes in this vision, RAL believes in young journalists, and RAL stands with institutions working to strengthen Liberian media landscape,” he said.
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