The Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda provides for freedom of the press and free speech, and the government of Prime Minister Lester B. Bird, whose Antigua Labor Party (ALP) has controlled the government since 1976, generally respects these provisions.

Nevertheless, the government wields enormous influence over news coverage through its active presence in the electronic media: It owns the country's only television station and one of its two radio stations. According to the U.S. State Department's human rights assessment of Antigua and Barbuda, government domination of the electronic media "effectively denies equal coverage to opposition parties."

The only daily newspaper, the Daily Observer, does provide critical coverage of the government, over which it has clashed with officials.

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