In a big studio at the Liberia Broadcasting System, Vasta Tarlue sits before a microphone, her voice steady as she delivers the day's headlines. Nine years ago, she was a high school intern at Smart FM.
Today, she is a senior reporter covering Liberia’s executive mansion, part of a growing cohort of women journalists transforming Liberia's media landscape.
"I was pushed into a corner," Tarlue recalls of her early days in Monrovia's largest newsroom. "But I challenged myself, telling myself that if they can do it, I can also challenge myself."
For many women journalists, simply claiming their rightful place required extraordinary determination. Tarlue describes approaching her news director after six months of being sidelined: "I told him, 'I'm on the verge of graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. And I just can't be doing correspondence stories. I need to break the barrier.'"
As Liberia observes International Women's Day, The Stage Media-Liberia highlights ten trailblazing women journalists who are changing narratives, holding the powerful accountable, and giving a new face to the country's media ecosystem.
Fighting for Space in the Newsroom
Historically, journalism in Liberia has been dominated by men, with women journalists often relegated to covering "soft" stories or kept from high-profile assignments entirely. Fabine Kwiah, now Deputy Director for New Media, at the Liberia Broadcasting System, remembers being the only woman in a "tough, male-dominant newsroom" when she started at Capital Broad Radio in 2010.
"As the only female there, I competed," says Kwiah, who reported for New Narratives and even worked under contract with the BBC during the Ebola crisis. "A lot of people wonder how I made it through."
Breaking Technical Barriers
Perhaps no one exemplifies breaking barriers more literally than Rachel Kollie, one of the few women demographers in the country.
Working at Liberia National Television as a camera operator assigned to the Executive Mansion, Kollie represents a rare technical presence in a field where women are typically pushed toward on-air roles.
"We used to be two," Kollie says, referring to her colleague Charlesetta Miller, who died two years ago. "Other women prefer going for the phone, but for the real traditional camera operation, I am currently the only female at LBS."
Her journey began unexpectedly in 2010 during International Women's Day celebrations when the television director missed the golden opportunity to provide courage for the International Women's Day celebration due to the lack of a female camera operator.
Desperate for female camera operators, the director asked if she wanted to learn about an opportunity Rachel quickly accepted to take advantage of.
"He held my hand and took me to the television department. It was just a department of males," she recalls.
Now, Kollie is focused on passing on her knowledge. "I am always willing to train because, currently, I'm the only one. I don't want to brag about that, but I always feel embarrassed to notice that a lot of females go for the phone... do the Facebook Live."
Investigative Impact
These women are not just breaking berries into newsrooms — they are reshaping journalism itself through impactful reporting.
Laymah Kollie, a multimedia journalist with five years of experience, recently produced an investigation into the Whein town landfill that is driving change.
"That story captured the harsh reality that people in that area faced," she said. "There have been some minor interventions in the meantime by relevant authorities."
Her work has not come without risks. "As journalists, one thing we come to live with is threats to our lives," Kollie says. "When you report the positive one in the interest of someone, they take you to be a good reporter. But when you report a story that is not favorable to them, they take you to be the worst reporter."
Despite these challenges, she remains committed: "The entire vision is to impact the community; where policymakers cannot see, we go there, raise the issues, and bring them to their attention for them to take action."
Rising to Leadership
For Winnie Saywah Jimmy, Managing Editor of the Inquirer Newspaper, breaking barriers has meant reaching unprecedented heights.
"My greatest reward as a woman journalist is that I have risen from being a cub reporter to becoming a managing editor of one of the best papers in the country," she says with pride. "Since the Inquirer was founded in 1991, I am the third managing editor."
Similarly, Jenneh Kemokai has reached a leadership position as station manager at Radio Cape Mount, where she works to ensure women's issues receive appropriate coverage.
"Today, our male counterparts think that our issues only the females need to talk about," Kemokai observes. "Sometimes in some of the newsrooms, anything that has to do with gender is assigned to women."
A New Generation of Voices
The impact of these journalists extends beyond their work. As fact-checker Aria Deemie of Local Voices Liberia puts it: "Beyond the work, our presence itself is a statement. It's the silent assurance to a young girl watching that if she can see me here, she can be here too."
The impact of these journalists extends beyond their work. As fact-checker Aria Deemie of Local Voices Liberia puts it: "Beyond the work, our presence itself is a statement. It's the silent assurance to a young girl watching that if she can see me here, she can be here too."
Augusta S. Lafalay, a fact-checker at The Stage Media-Liberia, echoes this sentiment: "Women journalists illuminate corners of society that remain in shadow, uncovering perspectives and truths that often escape the notice of their male colleagues."
For Tina S. Mehnpaine, an investigative journalist at the Liberian Daily Observer, the landscape is changing rapidly. "Gone are the days when women were less visible in the media; now, we see more women who are not just reporters but are taking on some of the hardest stories to report."
What makes their achievements more remarkable is that they have occurred in a media landscape that offers little financial reward. "In Liberia, we say there is no money in it," said Rachel Kollie, a rare female camera operator at the Liberia National Television. "Many people are using it as a stepping stone to jump into another career."
The Road Ahead
Despite their success, these women agree that significant challenges remain. Low pay drives many journalists to use the profession as "a stepping stone" to other careers, as Kollie notes. And the expectation that women should cover only "women's issues" persists.
Despite their success, these women agree that significant challenges remain. Low pay drives many journalists to use the profession as "a stepping stone" to other careers, as Kollie notes. And the expectation that women should cover only "women's issues" persists.
But as Grace D. Moleyeaze, a newscaster at Liberia Broadcasting System, asserts, "For women, journalism is a powerful tool to amplify our voices, break barriers, foster inclusivity, and challenge stereotypes in this male-dominated profession."
As International Women's Day is observed, these ten journalists stand as a testament to what determination and resilience can achieve. Their stories — of breaking into male-dominated spaces, mastering technical roles, conducting investigations in the face of threats, and rising to leadership positions — offer a roadmap for the next generation of women entering Liberian journalism.
"We can make it with our actions," says Saywah Jimmy. "What we want to do, we should do it as far as our knowledge can carry us because there will be no limitations again once we know."
