The Samoa Observer is the largest newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 group in Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

 published in both English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Samoan

Samoan language

Samoan Samoan Samoan (Gagana Sāmoa, is the language of the Samoan Islands, comprising the independent country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language—alongside English—in both jurisdictions. Samoan, a Polynesian language, is the first language for most...

. The Samoa Observer is published Monday to Friday, the Weekend Observer on Saturdays and the Sunday Samoan on Sundays with all editions available online. Coverage includes local and international news, editorial opinion, sports and investigative journalism. The Samoa Observer was founded in 1979 by Editor in Chief, Savea Sano Malifa

Savea Sano Malifa

Savea Sano Malifa is a Samoan poet, journalist, newspaper editor, and publisher. He is the founder and Editor in Chief of the Samoa Observer, the main newspaper in Samoa...

, a poet and leading Pacific

Pacific Islands

The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....

 journalist who was awarded the prestigious Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 Astor Award for press freedom in 1998.

The independent paper has received other awards for investigative journalism and press freedom.It has faced lawsuits from government officials and business leaders following the publication of stories about corruption and abuse of public office in Samoa. The main offices are located in Apia, the country's capital.

In 1994, the paper's offices were destroyed in a fire after the official corruption stories.