The Daily Talk

The Daily Talk is an unusual Liberian news medium published by writing daily headlines and short reports on a large public blackboard on Tubman Boulevard in central Monrovia. Founded by inventor Alfred J. Sirleaf on May 14, 2000, it was created around the idea that access to reliable information could help Liberia rebuild after years of civil war and political instability. Rather than operating as a conventional newspaper, radio station, or website, it presents news directly in a busy public space where passersby can read it without paying, owning a radio or television, or having dependable access to electricity. The medium became particularly relevant in post-war Liberia, where conventional media access was constrained by poverty, infrastructure limitations, and low household electricity availability. It has been described as one of Monrovia's most widely read sources of reported information because its content is visible to large numbers of pedestrians and does not depend on personal media equipment. The Daily Talk's street-level format also gives it a distinctive role: it translates national and international developments into concise, locally understandable reports for an urban public. Sirleaf is the publication's founder, managing editor, writer, and sole regular employee. Without a personal computer, he gathers international and other news reports through internet cafés, then selects and writes material for the board in Liberian English. The board is approximately 10 by 15 feet and is attached to a small wooden shed that serves as the newsroom. The operation has been supported informally by members of the public, including occasional gifts of taxi rides and prepaid mobile-phone cards. At one point, Sirleaf said that he relied on reports from approximately 200 volunteers around Liberia. The Daily Talk's visual language is central to its accessibility. Alongside words, Sirleaf uses drawings and symbols to clarify stories for readers with limited literacy. Examples described in reference material include a bottle of dirty water for oil-price stories, a blue helmet for United Nations peacekeeping, and a devil symbol for Ebola-related news. Colors also help distinguish information categories, with yellow used for numbers, prominent people, and leaders. This combination of short text, color, and pictorial cues makes the board a hybrid of newspaper, public noticeboard, and visual information service. The publication's history has also reflected Liberia's political tensions. Critical writing about President Charles Taylor led to Sirleaf's imprisonment for several months after the board was established, and government soldiers destroyed the original board. Sirleaf subsequently spent time in exile. He returned in 2005 and, with assistance from fellow Monrovians, rebuilt The Daily Talk approximately one week before Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's election as president. The two Sirleafs are not closely related. In 2018, a vehicle struck and damaged the board. It reopened two months later after reconstruction support from the United States Agency for International Development through the nonprofit Internews. U.S. Ambassador Christine A. Elder attended the reopening ceremony. The reconstruction illustrated the continuing public and institutional recognition of the board as a practical information resource, even though it remains a small, highly personal operation rather than a conventional media company. The Daily Talk's positioning rests on accessibility, immediacy, independence of format, and physical presence. Its free public display allows it to serve audiences excluded from paid or electricity-dependent media, while its use of Liberian English and symbols connects national and international news to everyday street life. The medium is best understood as a locally rooted public-information brand and news service, not as a mass-market newspaper publisher or a digital media platform.

The Daily Talk emerged from Liberia's post-war information environment. Alfred J. Sirleaf, an inventor who believed that an informed public was essential to national recovery, founded the medium in Monrovia on May 14, 2000. Its basic innovation was to replace the printed page with a large outdoor blackboard. News could therefore be read by anyone passing through central Monrovia without a subscription, newspaper purchase, household electricity, or personal media device. The publication quickly became politically sensitive. Sirleaf wrote critically about President Charles Taylor, and the authorities responded by imprisoning him for several months. Government soldiers also destroyed the original board. After a period in exile, Sirleaf returned to Liberia in 2005. With assistance from other Monrovians, he rebuilt the installation roughly a week before the presidential election that brought Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to office. The founder and the president were not closely related. The rebuilt Daily Talk continued as a highly personal operation. Sirleaf served as founder, managing editor, writer, and sole employee. A small wooden structure behind the approximately 10-by-15-foot board functioned as the newsroom. Since he did not own a computer, he used internet cafés to consult international reports and other information sources before adapting selected stories for the public display. The service remained free, with informal assistance from readers and supporters, including occasional taxi rides and prepaid mobile-phone cards. Reference material also describes a network of about 200 volunteers who supplied reports from around Liberia. The board's editorial method was designed for a broad audience. Sirleaf wrote in Liberian English, used short reports, and added drawings or symbols to make stories easier to understand for people with limited literacy. A dirty-water bottle could represent oil-price coverage, a blue helmet could signify United Nations peacekeeping, and a devil could represent the Ebola virus. Colors helped classify information, including the use of yellow for numbers, notable people, and leaders. The result was a visual public-news format combining text, illustration, and location-based distribution. The Daily Talk also gained attention outside Liberia as an example of inventive grassroots journalism. Its importance derived less from organizational scale than from its fit with Monrovia's infrastructure and social conditions. Because readers encountered the board in public, it could reach people who were excluded from conventional newspapers, broadcast ownership, or internet access. Its street-level perspective presented Liberia as an active society undergoing renewal rather than solely through the lens of civil-war devastation. In 2018, a vehicle drove into the board and caused significant damage. The installation was reconstructed and reopened two months later. Funding for the work came through USAID via Internews, and U.S. Ambassador Christine A. Elder attended the reopening ceremony. This episode demonstrated both the vulnerability of a physical, open-air medium and its continuing symbolic and practical value to the public. The Daily Talk's history is therefore defined by resourcefulness and continuity. It survived political repression, exile, destruction, and accidental physical damage while retaining its central model: one editor gathering information and converting it into free, visible, locally understandable news. Available reference material does not establish a conventional corporate structure, commercial ownership, formal website, or stock-market presence. The brand remains best characterized as an independent public newsboard rooted in Monrovia.

• 2018

  The newsboard is rebuilt after a vehicle collision

  [1]The Daily Talken.wikipedia.org

  A vehicle damages the physical installation; reconstruction support is provided through USAID and Internews.

• 2018

  The Daily Talk reopens

  [1]The Daily Talken.wikipedia.org

  The board reopens two months after the collision, with U.S. Ambassador Christine A. Elder present at the ceremony.

• 2005

  Publication resumes after exile

  [1]The Daily Talken.wikipedia.org

  Sirleaf returns, rebuilds the board with community assistance, and resumes publication shortly before Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's presidential election.

• 2000

  The Daily Talk is founded

  [1]The Daily Talken.wikipedia.org

  Alfred J. Sirleaf launches the daily blackboard news medium in Monrovia on May 14.

• 2000

  The original board is destroyed

  [1]The Daily Talken.wikipedia.org

  Following Sirleaf's critical reporting about President Charles Taylor and his imprisonment, government soldiers destroy the publication's board.

A free, highly accessible public news service that uses a large illustrated blackboard to reach Monrovia residents who may lack the money, electricity, or equipment required for conventional media.

• News medium · 2000

  Daily public newsboard

  The core offering is a large outdoor blackboard displaying daily headlines and short reports at a central Monrovia location. It is free to read and is designed to reach pedestrians who may not have access to newspapers, electricity-dependent broadcasts, or digital media.

• Public information service · 2000

  Illustrated news explanations

  The Daily Talk supplements Liberian English text with drawings, symbols, and color conventions. These visual devices help communicate subjects such as oil prices, United Nations peacekeeping, Ebola, numerical data, and political leadership to readers with varied literacy levels.

• 2000

  Political repression of The Daily Talk

  Critical reporting about President Charles Taylor reportedly led to Alfred J. Sirleaf's imprisonment for several months, and government soldiers destroyed the publication's original board.

  Source

Read more

• 2018

  Reconstruct the board after vehicle damageOther

  Background

  A vehicle struck and damaged the public newsboard, interrupting the physical platform on which the service depended.

  Action taken

  The Daily Talk was rebuilt with funding provided through USAID via Internews and reopened two months later.

  Aftermath

  The reopening preserved the publication's public location and operating model.

  Source

• 2000

  Adopt a free public blackboard formatStrategy

  Background

  Liberia's post-war population faced limited access to conventional media because of poverty, inadequate electricity, and limited ownership of media equipment.

  Action taken

  Alfred J. Sirleaf established a daily, street-facing news service on a large blackboard rather than launching a conventional printed or broadcast outlet.

  Aftermath

  The format enabled passersby in central Monrovia to read news without payment and became the defining feature of the brand.

  Source

• 2018

  Vehicle damages the Monrovia newsboard[1]The Daily Talken.wikipedia.org

  Other

  A vehicle struck and damaged The Daily Talk's physical board, temporarily interrupting its public display.

• 2018

  The Daily Talk reopens after USAID and Internews-supported reconstruction[1]The Daily Talken.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The board reopened two months after the accident following reconstruction support provided through USAID and Internews; U.S. Ambassador Christine A. Elder attended the ceremony.

• 2005

  The Daily Talk resumes after reconstruction before the 2005 presidential election[1]The Daily Talken.wikipedia.org

  Other

  After returning from exile, Sirleaf rebuilt the board with help from Monrovians and restarted publication shortly before Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's election as president.

• 2000

  The Daily Talk is established in Monrovia[1]The Daily Talken.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Alfred J. Sirleaf founded the blackboard news medium on May 14, creating a free public source of information in post-war Liberia.

1. 1The Daily Talken.wikipedia.org