The article is devoted to the fi nal period of the history of colonial press in British East Africa. The publication is based on the materials of newspapers published in 1940-1950s in Kenya, Tanganyika and Nyasaland. These newspapers are kept at the Library of Congress (Washington, DC, USA). The authors prove that the press is an important historical source regarding the processes of political, economic and socio-cultural modernization of Tropical Africa.