The Gambia Press Union (GPU) was established on April 20, 1979, as the umbrella organisation for media professionals in The Gambia. With trade union and professional pursuits, the Union is mandated to safeguard the welfare of media professionals and promote press freedom.

The registration is a culmination of a number of attempts that were frustrated. The first attempt to register an association of journalists was made in the 1940s following the enactment of the Newspaper Registration Act, 1934. The efforts led by Edward Francis Small curtailed by the colonial government, who would block another attempt in 1956. Following the attainment of independence in 1965, another attempt was made but it was again rejected. A breakthrough was eventually made in 1979. The founding fathers include William Dixon-Colley, Deyda Hydara, Baa Tarawale, M.B. Jones, Ngange Thomas and Pap Saine.

In over four decades of its existence, the Union has evolved from an organisation whose members used to gather under a veranda, to a prominent national labour and media rights organisation of international repute. The GPU now boasts of a rapidly increasing membership base of more than five hundred regular and freelance media professionals from print, radio, TV and online. The Union has a functioning Executive Committee that provides strategic leadership and effective oversight; a highly motivated and qualified staff that run its day-to-day affairs; and an expanding network of national and international partners that provide platform for opportunities of funding and contributing to the promotion of shared values and interests.

The GPU is one of most democratic and resilient organisations in the country. The Union has since its inception been holding periodic congress and change of leadership seven times since.