Reporting in a health emergency: The roles of Sierra Leonean journalists during the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak.

The first months of the outbreak were marked by passive agenda-setting roles of Sierra Leonean journalists. It took several months before the outbreak became a core issue in local media. In health emergencies, efforts should be made to partner with local media to use their platforms for local, trusted journalists and leaders to disseminate public health messages. Whereas this might hamper journalists' credibility and can be challenging in areas with problematic press freedom, Sierra Leonean journalists experienced the outbreak as a driver of necessary change in their profession.