AfricanMedia Development Initiativedownloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/pdf/AMDI/ETH_AMDI_Report.… · CATIA Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists

EthiopiaResearch findings and conclusionsDr Gebremedhin Simon Gebretsadik

African MediaDevelopmentInitiative

Dr Gebremedhin Simon Gebretsadik

Professor

Dr Gebremedhin Simon Gebretsadik is a Professor and Research Coordinator at Addis AbabaUniversity in the School of Journalism and Communications.

He has produced several teaching and training materials covering English-languageeducation, communication and media topics. He has also conducted a number of trainingworkshops for journalists and other media professionals in Ethiopia.

Acknowledgements

This report could not have been prepared without the generous contributions of manyindividuals and organisations.

The BBC World Service Trust is particularly grateful for the close collaboration with VivienMarles and Kathy Lines of the Fuse Group. Recognition also goes to the following editors andreviewers for their expertise and guidance: Stephen King, Julia Moffett, Chris Armstrong,Hendrik Bussiek, Linda Coffey, Diane Cross, Steve Godfrey, Yvonne Kramer, Susannah Lear,Sam Mallac, Sheri Margolis, John McCormick, Mary McEntegart, Sina Odugbemi, LelaniPrevost, and Linda Stratmann. The team at Red Stone design also played an important role inthis project.

A note of thanks goes to those individuals who provided additional background research andsupport to the project: Valeria Camia, Vivek Chandra, Alice Dashwood, Tim Dubois, WanyanaLule, Leila Makki, Lisa Nuch Venbrux, Dominic Rustam and Simon Jackson.

Credits

BBC World Service Trust

Research Director: Dr Gerry Power, Director, Research and Learning

Research Team: Debbie Glen (Project Manager), Nathalie Goad, Patrick McCurdy, Reena Nakrani, Thane Ryland, Kate Saunders

Administration and Finance: Hatul Hindocha, Pareena Khairdin, Laura McQuillan, Alice Mercanti, Helena Merriman, Nitu Panesar, Kevin Wilson

Research Officers: Barnaby Smith, Sonia Whitehead

Published by the BBC World Service Trust, 2006BBC World Service TrustRoom 310 NEBush HousePO Box 76StrandLondonWC2B 4PHUK

ISBN 1-906086-05-2


EthiopiaAbout this report

In March 2005, the UK Government’s Commission for Africa delivered a report entitled “OurCommon Interest”, which represented a significant attempt to understand and recommendan action programme for Africa’s social and economic development. A key component of thereport focused on the importance of a strong media sector to support governance anddevelopment in Africa, and called for greater attention to, and resources for, media sectordevelopment as a result. The BBC World Service Trust and a number of international andAfrican partners have subsequently set out to help develop ideas for future Africa mediadevelopment initiatives.

In order to inform these efforts, the BBC World Service Trust – in collaboration with RhodesUniversity (South Africa) and Ahmadu Bello University (Nigeria) – has undertaken anextensive, pan-African research effort in 17 African countries, of which Ethiopia is one. Datapresented in this report is based on both secondary research gathered by local researchers inEthiopia and on extensive interviews conducted locally among key media practitioners andleaders. It is presented here in three parts:

Media Sector Developments: an examination of developments in the media sector inEthiopia over the past five years;

Challenges for Future Media Development Activities: an analysis of the perspectives of arange of key informants on media development challenges in Ethiopia;

Case Study: a case study from Ethiopia illustrating good practice in media development.

The research was funded by a generous grant from the UK Government’s Department forInternational Development. The research was conducted by Dr Gebremedhin SimonGebretsadik in association with the BBC World Service Trust Research and Learning Group.

The BBC World Service Trust is the independent international charity set up by the BBC,which uses media to advance development. The Trust works to: raise awareness ofdevelopment issues among mass audiences and opinion formers; influence attitudes,awareness and behaviour among poorer communities through a wide range of educationalprogramming on poverty-related topics; and, build capacity in the media sector in developingand transitional countries.

Ahmandu Bello University,Zaria, Nigeria

African Media Development Initiative © BBC World Service Trust

Acronyms

AFP Agence France-Presse

AMDP African Media Development Programme

AU African Union

BBC British Broadcasting Corporation

BPR Business Process Reengineering

CATIA Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa

CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists

CRDA Christian Relief and Development Agency

CSA Central Statistical Agency

CSO Civil Society Organisations

DfID Department for International Development (UK)

EBA Ethiopian Broadcast Authority

ECA Economic Commission of Africa

EFJA Ethiopian Free Journalists’ Association

EJA Ethiopian Journalists’ Association

EMMA Education Mass Media Agency

EMMTI Ethiopian Mass Media Training Institute

ENA Ethiopian News Agency

EPA Ethiopian Press Agency

EPRDF Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front

ER Ethiopian Radio

ERTA Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency

ETC Ethiopia Telecommunications Corporation

ETV Ethiopia Television

EU European Union

GDP Gross Domestic Product


HAPI Horn of Africa Press Institute

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IDRC International Development Research Centre

IPI International Press Institute

MCC Media and Communications Centre

MDG Millennium Development Goals

MGG Media and Good Governance

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

OAU Organisation of African Unity

OSSREA Organisation for Social Science Research in East Africa

PMC Population Media Centre

NORAD Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation

RIA Research ICT Africa

SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

SJC Graduate School of Journalism and Communication, Addis Ababa University

UN United Nations

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund

WPE Workers’ Party of Ethiopia

ContentsCountry Report Context

1. Introduction 2

2. Country Overview 4

Key findings 7

3. Media Health 8

3.1 Status of the laws regarding rights and access to information 8

3.2 Status of the laws regarding criminal defamation and insult 9

3.3 Status of the laws that exist to enable media regulatory bodies to function independently 9

3.4 Current provisions that aim to secure the independence of publicly-owned media 10

3.5 Current provisions to support community or alternative media 10

3.6 Regulatory obligations for public or state broadcasters to fulfil a public-servicebroadcasting remit 10

3.7 Regulatory obligations for private broadcasters to fulfil a public-service broadcasting remit 10

3.8 Journalism 10

Key findings 11

4. State of the Media – Literature Review 12

4.1 Adam & Woldekidan (2005) 12

4.2 Amogne (2005) 13

4.3 Bekele et al. (2005) 13

4.4 Demeke & Biru (2002) 14

4.5 Warnock (2005) 14

4.6 Bibliography 14

Key findings 15




5. Radio 16

5.1 Key changes and developments in the radio marketplace in the past five years 16

5.2 Investment and growth in the radio sector in the past five years 18

5.3 Plurality, ownership and control 18

5.4 Diversity 19

5.5 Quality of radio output and programming 19

5.6 Specific challenges 19

Key findings 19

6. Television 20

6.1 Key changes and developments in the television marketplace in the past five years 21

6.2 Investment and growth in the television sector in the past five years 21


6.4 Diversity 23

6.5 Quality of television output and programming 23


Key findings 23

7. Newspapers 24

7.1 Key changes and developments in the newspaper marketplace in the past five years 24

7.2 Investment and growth in newspapers in the past five years 25


7.4 Diversity 27

7.5 Quality of newspaper reporting 27


Key findings 27

8. Media Support 28

8.1 Key changes and developments in new media technologies in the past five years 28

8.2 Key changes in media support in the past five years 29

8.3 Audience and readership research data 29

8.4 Media support, ISPs and ownership 29

Key findings 29


9. NGO Activity 30

9.1 Key changes and developments in NGO activity in the past five years 30

9.2 Key NGOs involved in media development activities 30

9.3 Climate of opportunity for media development activities 30

Key findings 30

10. Conclusions 31

10.1 Media statistical data 31

10.2 Media law and regulation 31

10.3 Investment and growth 31


10.5 Diversity 32

10.6 Media support 32

10.7 NGO activity 32

Key findings 32

11. Appendices 33

Appendix 1: Bibliography 33

Appendix 2: Individuals/organisations consulted during the research 36

Country Report Way Forward 12. Introduction 38

13. Media Development: an organisational context 40

13.1 Key organisations 40

13.2 Impact of media development initiatives 40

14. Media Development Initiatives 46

14.1 Review 46

14.2 Success and impact 48

14.3 Lessons learned 50


15. Developing the Environment for Success 53

15.1 Key factors 53

15.2 Political and economic Influences 54

15.3 Donor communities’ role 57

15.4 Other issues 61

16. Future Strategies 62

16.1 Strategic priorities 62

16.2 Focus for support 64

16.3 Media sector 65

16.4 Type of support most needed/useful 65

16.5 Appropriate organisational framework 66

16.6 Pan-regional versus country-specific initiatives 67

16.7 Initiatives relating to developmental content 67

16.8 Initiatives to develop independent media 68

16.9 The role of media development in the country’s democratisation process 68

17. Summary and Conclusions 69

17.1 Media development: an organisational perspective 69

17.2 Lessons learned 69

17.3 Developing the environment for success 70

17.4 Strategic priorities 70

18. Appendices 71

Appendix 1: Interviewees 71

Appendix 2: Media development projects/activities described in Section 14 72

Country Report Case Study 19. Case Study 74

FM Addis 97.1 75

1 African Media Development Initiative © BBC World Service Trust


EthiopiaCountry ReportContext

1. IntroductionThe researcher sought the necessary statistics from many sources, including the EthiopianCentral Statistical Agency (CSA), relevant Ethiopian government ministries, the CIA WorldFactbook entry on Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Broadcast Authority (EBA), the Ethiopian PressAgency (EPA), the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency (ERTA) and the Ethiopian NewsAgency (ENA).

Other potential sources of information identified by the researcher included the publicationsof international organisations, especially those operating within the country, such as the UNEconomic Commission for Africa (UNECA), UNESCO, the African Union (AU), the EuropeanUnion (EU), embassies of different countries, cultural organisations such as the BritishCouncil, research institutions such as the Organisation for Social Science Research in EastAfrica (OSSREA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and various non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

However, despite the anticipated availability of multiple sources for the required data, itproved very difficult to find the necessary information. In some cases, the data needed doesnot exist in written form, or the particular issue sought by this project does not exist in theEthiopian media scene. In other cases, the data is not organised in the manner needed by thisproject. Sometimes, the information provided is based on guesses or mere estimates. Inother cases, there are different figures for the same item for the same year. A case in point ispopulation size. The figures available for this item are different in two major and crediblesources of information: the CSA and the CIA World Factbook. A reason for this disparity isthat the CSA has not carried out the census that was supposed to have carried out two yearsago. The last population census was in 19941.

The following is a summary of the challenges and problems faced in data collection for thisreport:

most of the identified organisations do not have organised documents or publicationsdeposited in a systematic manner for easy reference;

some data is unavailable, such as household income brackets;

the last national census was held 12 years ago, making recent accurate information onpopulation, literacy, the economy and the like, hard to find;

there is no audience/readership research done by EBA, ERTA or other media institutions;

2 African Media Development Initiative: Ethiopia Context © BBC World Service Trust

EthiopiaCountryReportContext

1 It has been announced that a national census will be conducted sometime in 2006 -07.


the EBA cannot provide relevant data on the various broadcast media and their activities,possibly because it is a young organisation;

the Ministry of Justice, which provides licences to NGOs to operate in the country, doesnot have a record of NGO activities;

some relevant organisations do not have their own websites, and those that havewebsites tend to provide figures that are outdated;

data from external publications are sometimes at variance with those available fromdocuments published in the country;

the researcher lacked time to locate as well as verify the authenticity of data;

the data was dispersed, found in bits and pieces here and there;

information was sometimes oral-only or second-hand in nature, such as information onHarar Community Radio2.

2 Recently, the researcher was informed that the station had stopped operation because it did not have the equipment it needed.

2. Country OverviewEthiopia, in northeast Africa, is extremely diverse ethnically and linguistically, with about 80different languages spoken in its territory. Its topography consists of both arid and semi-aridlowlands and highlands that are mostly dry. Only about 10% of its land mass is arable. Currentenvironmental issues affecting the country include deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion,desertification and water shortages (CIA, 2006).

Ethiopia became a landlocked country when Eritrea, which constituted the northern part ofthe country after World War II, became an independent country in 1993.

In 1974, a feudal system led by Emperor Haile Selassie was replaced by a junta underMengistu Haile Mariam, under whom thousands of opponents were purged or killed, andproperty was nationalised or confiscated. Under this regime, the media were entirely state-controlled, with no private or public service media. After the overthrow of the militarygovernment in 1991, the political and economic conditions of the country started to stabilise,under an EPRDF-led government. The current Constitution was ratified in 1994/5 to allow forpolitical pluralism in the country, with a number of legally registered and operating politicalparties. However, there has still been instability over the past decade, most notably duringthe war with Eritrea in the late 1990s and in the unrest that followed the May 2005 elections.Alleged irregularities at some polling stations during the 2005 elections sparked protests thatled to violence and deaths. Recently, a commission was appointed to establish the causes ofthe unrest and related issues.

The country has a parliamentary system with a House of People’s Representatives and anupper chamber called the House of Federation. Elections are held every five years. Thegovernment is divided into 11 self-administering regions: nine national regional states andtwo self-governing administrations in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa.

According to the CSA, the total population was 63 million in 2000 and will reach an estimated75 million in 2006 (CSA, 2005). The World Bank estimated the population to have reached 70million in 2004 (World Bank, 2006). The population is young, with an estimated 45% of thepopulation aged 14 and under (UNSTATS, 2005a). The CSA estimate of this age group isslightly lower at 43%. CSA also provides an estimate of 35% for the 15-34 age bracket (CSA,2005). The urban population is estimated at around 12 million, with the vast majority of people(around 63 million) living in rural areas (CSA, 2005). Figure 1 shows that around 84% of thepopulation is rural. It is also estimated that around 50% of the population live in ‘absolutepoverty’ and the GDP per capita was put at US$900 in 2005 (CIA, 2006).




Figure 1: Urban vs Rural Population

Source: CSA, 2005

It is estimated, based on 2003 calculations, that 43% of the adult population (aged 15 or over)is literate: 50% of males and 35% of females (CIA, 2006) (see Figure 2). This adult literacy rateof 42.7% is an improvement over the year 2000 estimate of 35.5% (CIA, 2006). At the time ofwriting this report, the author was unable to source data on urban versus rural literacy rates.

Figure 2: Literacy Levels Age 15+

Literacy Levels Age 15+

Source: 2003 estimate, cited from CIA, 2006

Total

Male

Female

43

50

350 10 20 30 40 50

Percentage

Urban population 16%

Rural population 84%


Figure 3: Widely Spoken Languages

Languages

Source: Hudson, 1999

The most widely spoken language (see Figure 3) in the country (by both mother-tongue andsecond-language speakers) is Amharic, with 41% of people being able to speak this languageat the time of the last census, in 1994 (Hudson, 1999). Amharic is also the country’s officiallanguage. English, as a foreign language, is used as a medium of instruction in higherinstitutions of learning and used to some extent in primary schools in many parts of thecountry. It is also a language for international relations, both political and commercial3. As wellas Amharic, Oromiffa and English, other main languages spoken are Tigrinya, Guaragigna,Somali and Arabic (CIA, 2006).

As Figure 4 below shows, the main ethnic groups in Ethiopia, according to the 1994 census,are the Oromo (32%), Amhara (30%), Tigrai (6%), Somali (6%), Guraghe (4%), Sidama (4%),and Wolayita (2%) (Population and Housing Census Commission, 1998).

Figure 4: Percentage of Population Belonging to Main Ethnic Groups

Ethnic Group

Source: Population and Housing Census Commission, 1998

Oromo

Amhara

Tigrai

Somali

Guraghe

Sidama

Wolayita0 10 20 30

Percentage

2

4

4

6

6

30

32

Amharic

Oromiffa 36

41

0 10 20 30 40

Percentage

3 Author’s personal observation.


The population in the country is broken up into the following 11 regions, as outlined in Table 1below.

Table 1: Regional Population

Source: data estimate for 1 July 2006 in CSA, 20054

The majority of Ethiopians identify themselves as either Christians (Ethiopian Orthodox,Protestant, Catholic) or Muslims. The CIA estimates that 45-50% of people are Muslims,followed by 35-40% who are Coptic Ethiopian Orthodox, 12% who are animists and 3-8% ofother faiths (CIA, 2006).

Key findings

Ethiopia has been relatively stable since 1991, with the exception of the war with Eritreain the late 1990s and violence following alleged irregularities in the May 2005 elections.

85% of the population is rural.

The adult literacy rate, although improving, is still low, at an estimated 43%.

The country is both multi-cultural and multi-lingual, with more than 70 indigenouslanguages, including the official language Amharic.

Region Population in Millions Percentage of Total Population

Oromiya 26.553 35.4

Amhara 19.120 25.5

South Nations and Nationalities and Peoples 14.902 19.8

Tigrai 4.335 5.8

Somali 4.329 5.8

Addis Ababa 2.973 4.0

Afar 1.389 1.9

Benishangul 0.625 0.8

Dire Dawa 0.398 0.5

Gambella 0.247 0.3

Harari 0.196 0.3

4 These CSA population figures were estimated by projecting from the 1994 census. The CSA’s total population estimate for 1 July 2006 was 75 million.

3. Media Health3.1 Status of the laws regarding rights and access to information

Article 29 of the 1995 Constitution protects:

the right to hold opinions without interference;

freedom of expression without interference, including the freedom to seek, receive andimpart information;

freedom of the press and mass media as well as freedom of artistic creation;

access to information in the public interest;

institutional independence and legal protection for the press, enabling it to accommodatedifferent opinions and ensure the free flow of information, ideas and opinions; and,

accommodation of differences in opinion by media financed or controlled by thegovernment (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 1995).

Press freedom is also supported in the 1992 Press Proclamation No. 34/1992, by which themedia are supposed to “operate freely and responsibly without censorship” (FederalDemocratic Republic of Ethiopia, 1992). The right of access for journalists to governmentinformation is supported in Article 8(1) of the Press Proclamation. Article 19 of theProclamation states that government officials must cooperate with the press in ensuring thepublic have knowledge about government operations, thus apparently making governmentofficials accountable.

However, some writers assert that the right of access to information, and the mediafreedoms provided in the 1995 Constitution and the 1992 Press Proclamation have been castin doubt by the processes around the 2003 Draft Press Law. The draft law is still in thedevelopment stage. The government has hired professionals in the field, and has forwardedtheir recommendations among stakeholders.




3.2 Status of the laws regarding criminal defamation and insult

The 1992 Press Proclamation, Article 10 (Ensuring the Lawfulness of the Contents of PressProducts), states that:

“every press outlet has the duty to ensure that any press product it circulates is free fromany content that can give rise to criminal and civil liability;

without prejudices to the generality of the above point, any press shall have the duty toensure that any press product it issues or circulates is free from:

• any criminal offence against the safety of the State or of the Administration establishedin accordance with the Charter or of the national defence force;

• any defamation or false accusation against any individual nation/nationality, people ororganisation;

• any criminal instigation of one nationality against another or incitement of conflictbetween peoples; and,

• any agitation for war” (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 1992).

Although Article 29 of the Ethiopian Constitution assures freedom of the press, thegovernment frequently restricts this right by using Article 10 of the Press Proclamation in orderto justify detaining and arresting journalists. It is common for journalists to have multiplecharges against them, and court cases can last many years (Freedom House, 2005)5.

3.3 Status of the laws that exist to enable media regulatory bodies tofunction independently

The 1999 Broadcasting Proclamation No. 178/1999 provided for the establishment of aregulatory body, the Ethiopian Broadcast Authority (EBA), in order to ensure, according to theProclamation’s Article 6, “the expansion of high standard, prompt and reliable broadcastingservices which can contribute to the political, social and economic development” of thecountry (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 1999). The law also gave the EBA theresponsibility of issuing, suspending and revoking licences.

The international information freedom group, Article 19, has expressed concerns about theEBA, saying that while the 1999 Proclamation calls for the EBA to be an “autonomousFederal Administrative Agency”, the Proclamation also provides for the Agency to beaccountable to the Prime Minister and for the members of its Board and its General Managerto be appointed by the government. According to a 2003 Article 19 report, “The Proclamationfails to provide any structural guarantees for the autonomy, independence or professionalismof the Agency” (Article 19, 2003).

It is imperative to mention here the current draft media law, which should be considered asongoing and it is intended to generate discussion on the subject among stakeholders. In otherwords, the current draft media law is considered by some circles as something that wouldhelp trigger discussion on the issue of media regulation and generate the sense of ownershipamong the stakeholders. The ongoing discussions among different political parties ondifferent issues, including the media, is becoming a trend.

5 It is the firm belief of the government that a new Press Law – which some journalists believe to be the most democratic – willbe announced that will involve the reviewing of laws regarding criminal defamation and insult.


3.4 Current provisions that aim to secure the independence of publicly-owned media

The 1999 Broadcasting Proclamation, in Article 27, states that broadcasting should be basedon the principles of plurality of viewpoints, balanced information, accuracy and impartiality.Article 29 of the Constitution calls for media financed or controlled by the government to beorganised in a manner that accommodates differences in opinion. The Ethiopian state-ownedmedia system aims to model itself on the British and South African public broadcastingsystems. The state-owned media are accountable to boards of management appointed bythe House of Representatives, and they have their own editorial policies independent fromthe state. However, as these stations are financed by, or under the control of thegovernment, there is still a question about how independent they really are, as they are statebroadcasters rather than public-service broadcasters.

3.5 Current provisions to support community or alternative media

In terms of the Proclamation that established the EBA, there are provisions for theestablishment of community or alternative media. It is based on these provisions that theEBA has started issuing licences for private and community radio stations.

3.6 Regulatory obligations for public or state broadcasters to fulfil apublic-service broadcasting remit

As mentioned above, Article 27 of the 1999 Broadcasting Proclamation says thatbroadcasting should be based on the principles of plurality of viewpoints and the accuracy andimpartiality of news. According to the EBA, public-service broadcasting is understood tomean state-funded broadcasting with public-service duties, similar to those of the BBC.

The national channel Ethiopia Radio has a weekly programme on women’s issues and sells air-time to NGOs which work on development issues, especially on children’s andwomen’s issues.

3.7 Regulatory obligations for private broadcasters to fulfil a public-servicebroadcasting remit

Until recently, there were no non-state broadcast outlets on air in Ethiopia. However, twonew community radio stations have been set up in Dire Dawa and in Yirgalem. These stationsare not linked to the state. The EBA has also granted two private radio stations with licencesin 2005, but these stations are not yet operational. These radio stations will have to followArticle 27 mentioned above, but as of yet there are no specific obligations for privatebroadcasters to fulfil a public-service broadcasting remit.

3.8 Journalism

A major constraint on the Ethiopian media, according to stakeholders interviewed by theauthor of this report, is the lack of competent journalists. The profession is not well paid, andjournalists tend to be very young. The average monthly salary for a journalist in governmentmedia is estimated at US$80, and for those who work in the private press it is slightly lower ataround US$50-60 (K. Mulat, private communication, 1 September 2006). As a comparison, anewly-qualified teacher earns approximately US$90 a month (Addis Tribune, 2004).


There are thought to be around 700 practising journalists in the country, including privatepress (K. Mulat, private communication, 1 September 2006). At present, they are not requiredto have licences or to be registered with the government, and are free to affiliate with anyprofessional association or trade union. Data regarding how many journalists are members oftrade unions is not available.

However, the government has created a new draft Press Law that includes such changes asgovernment-controlled licensing and registration, and restrictions on who can practicejournalism (Freedom House International, 2005b). This proposed law has yet to be passed asof September 2006, and has met with strong opposition from Article 19 and the EthiopianFree Journalists Association (EFJA) since it was initially drafted.

The current press law, while not requiring journalists to register, does require registration ofany press activity, including organisations with small print runs. The penalty for a registrationviolation is imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 10,000 Ethiopian Birr (aroundUS$1,150) (Article 19, 2003).

The School of Journalism and Communication at Addis Ababa University provides bothundergraduate and graduate courses in journalism and communication6, and on-the-jobtraining to practising journalists. Recently, departments of journalism have been opened atfour universities – Bahr Dar University, Mekelle University, Arbaminch University, and UnityUniversity College. Some NGOs also provide on-the-job training to journalists.

Key findings

The Constitution of the country provides for freedom of the press and freedom of accessto government information, and the legal framework for these rights is to some extent inplace. However, there have been concerns that the 2003 Draft Press Law, in the processof being finalised, may be limiting to the sector.

There is a chronic shortage of professional journalists, and journalism is not a well-paidprofession.

At present, journalists in Ethiopia are not required to be licensed or registered, or tobelong to a trade union.

6 The School of Journalism and Communication, Addis Ababa University, graduated its first 14 MA students in 2005.

4. State of the Media –Literature ReviewThere are no formal and exhaustive studies of the Ethiopian media. The necessity forresearch in this area has been felt only recently, with some Masters thesis work on Ethiopianmedia beginning to emerge from local universities. The summaries below cover some of themore recent and relevant studies made on media and information and communicationtechnologies (ICTs) in the country.

4.1 Adam & Woldekidan (2005)

This article by Adam and Woldekidan, done for the Research ICT Africa (RIA) Networkheadquartered at the Wits University LINK Centre in Johannesburg, provides the firstcomprehensive supply- and demand-side analysis of telecommunications in Ethiopia. Thepaper consists of an initial analysis of the Ethiopian telecommunications sector’sperformance, measured against national policy objectives, followed by findings from RIANetwork primary quantitative and qualitative demand-side surveys of Ethiopian telephony andInternet users in 2004 and 2005. These surveys, aimed at developing what the RIA Networkrefers to as an “e-Index”, explore ICT usage and access patterns in Ethiopia from theperspectives of both users and those marginalised from communications.

The first primary survey on which the article is based consisted of a quantitative survey ofurban and rural households, looking at their usage of and demand for communicationsservices – private telephony, public access telephony, email and the Internet. A total of 1,790households and 1,826 individuals were involved in the survey. The second, qualitative studyused focus group interviews to develop a deeper understanding of e-usage. A total of eightfocus groups, involving 63 people (33 male, 30 female), were conducted.

Both surveys showed that telecommunications penetration and usage are inadequate inEthiopia, due to limited availability and affordability. Respondents said they regardedcommunication as an important component of day-to-day life, and users travelled longdistances or used different ingenious strategies to access communication services.However, ICT policies and roll-out strategies did not appear to have met the demands andusage patterns of the people.




4.2 Amogne (2005)

This study, an MA thesis at Addis Ababa University, assesses public access to governmentinformation in Ethiopia. The research aims to test the realisation of the 1995 EthiopianConstitution’s call for citizens to receive, seek and impart information freely and for theconduct of government affairs to be transparent. The 1992 Press Proclamation, which statesthat government officials should cooperate with the press, also forms part of the startingpoint for this research. The findings consist of an analysis of the Ethiopian legal framework inrelation to information access, as well as data gathered from stakeholders operating in thepublic information sector. Questionnaires and interviews were administered on three sets ofrespondents:

journalists;

civil society organisations (CSOs), academic institutions, research institutions; and,

public relations/information officers.

The study concluded that there were several factors impeding public access to governmentinformation, including:

the absence of specific legislation governing public access to government information;

a lack of institutionalisation of government information access;

a lack of awareness and training on the part of public relations/information officers abouttheir duty to inform the public; and,

a culture of secrecy.

4.3 Bekele et al. (2005)

This examination of the Addis Ababa city government’s ICT project implementation wasconducted by researchers from the Addis Ababa University Computer Science Department.The study found several problems with the city’s ICT project implementation, including:

a lack of guidelines for data sharing;

a lack of consideration of data security;

the use of incompatible technologies that hampered information interchange; and,

limited language localisation into Amharic, the working language of the city.


4.4 Demeke & Biru (2002)

This unpublished study for the SCAN-ICT Project at Addis Ababa University attempted to:

track the status of ICT infrastructure related to telephony, Internet, computers, televisionand radio;

assess ICT penetration and, usage in the education, health and public sectors; and,

review the status of the ICT industry.

Both secondary data and primary survey data were used. The survey focused on institutionsand firms in Addis Ababa, Nazareth, Bahir Dar, Mekelle and Awassa, with a total of 62 privatefirms contacted. Respondents identified problems related to taxes, copyright and customs asthe three most important ICT barriers. Nearly 70% of the sample firms believed that tax rateson ICT goods are too high. The industry was also said to be affected by weak legal systems,too many contraband goods in the market and inadequate enforcement capacity.

4.5 Warnock (2005)

This Panos London report aimed to clarify opportunities for the Catalysing Access to ICTs inAfrica (CATIA) programme to support the process of broadcasting law reform in Ethiopia7.The report recommended that CATIA implementing partners should support Ethiopia’semerging community radio movement in collaboration with Oxfam Canada, which has beenactive in the sector since 1998.

4.6 Bibliography

Adam, L., & Woldekidan, K. (2005) Chapter 5: Ethiopia. In Gillwald, A., (Ed.) Towards anAfrican e-index: Household and individual ICT access and usage across 10 Africancountries. Johannesburg: Research ICT Africa (RIA) Network. Retrieved January 2006,from http://link.wits.ac.za/papers/gillwald-etal-2005-final-e-index.pdf

Amogne, G. (2005) Public access to government information in Ethiopia: An assessment ofpublic information practice in selected government institutions. MA thesis (unpublished),School of Journalism and Communication, Addis Ababa University

Bekele, D., Atnafu, S., & Mequanint, D. (2005) ICT for local governance: Needs analysis andresearch priorities for Addis Ababa city government. From LOG-IN Africa Pre-ProjectWorkshop, August. Retrieved January 2006, fromhttp://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/CAFRAD/UNPAN021407.pdf

Demeke, M., & Biru, T. (2002) ICT penetration and usage in Ethiopia: Baseline study. SCAN-ICT Project, Addis Ababa University, October. Retrieved August 2006, fromhttp://www.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/10850603191scan-ethiopia-report_edited.doc

Warnock, K. (2005) Broadcasting pluralism in Ethiopia: Opportunities for support through theCATIA programme. Unpublished. London: Panos

7 CATIA is a programme of the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) and other donors, aimed at promoting ICT-related activities and policy reforms that will enable poor people to benefit from the opportunities offered by ICTs. One of theelements of the programme, CATIA project 1d, is called Pro-poor Broadcasting Policy. This element is implemented by the PanosInstitutes in Africa, with coordination Panos London. For more information on CATIA, see http://www.catia.ws


Key findings

Demand for communications services is not being met by an affordable, accessiblesupply.

Public access to government information is hampered by a lack of awareness amonginformation officers and a culture of secrecy.

ICT projects in the capital Addis Ababa suffer from a lack of appropriate policies on datause, limited consideration of data security, use of incompatible technologies and limitedAmharic language localisation.

Some firms identify high taxation, heavy customs duties and copyright violations as keybarriers to effective ICT use8.

Ethiopia is thought to represent fertile ground for the establishment of community radiostations.

8 However, these factors are not seen as significant barriers to effective ICT by others interviewed. One interviewee said that alocally assembled personal computer usually costs only Birr. 5,000.

5. RadioThe 1999 Broadcasting Proclamation set out a legal basis for establishment of privatecommercial radio (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 1999) but, to date, no commercialradio stations have been established. State-owned Ethiopia Radio is the dominant radioplayer in the country. International broadcasters such as Voice of America, Deutsche Welle,BBC World Service, Radio Cairo and Radio Vatican also have listeners in Ethiopia.

5.1 Key changes and developments in the radio marketplace in the pastfive years

Some key developments occurred in 2005, when the Ethiopian Broadcast Authority (EBA)awarded two FM licences to private commercial operators and invited interested community-based initiatives to apply. As of September 2006 the two private radio stations – Zami PublicConnections (FM 90.7) and Adei Promotions & Tinsaye Kinetbebat (FM102.1) – have yet tobecome operational.

The new radio services that have started broadcasting since 2000 include some of theregional state radios and some new community radio stations.

The national state-run radio broadcaster is Radio Ethiopia. It broadcasts in Amharic, Oromiffa,Tigrigna, Afar, Somali, Arabic, English and French. Radio Ethiopia claims its signal covers over80% of Ethiopian territory (although the EBA thinks it is lower than this).

Another national station is Radio Fana, which claims 80% coverage. It is owned by the rulinggovernment party, Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Thistechnically makes it a private station but, for the purposes of Figure 5, it will be categorised asa state station as it is under the ruling party’s control.

At regional level, there are now 20 state-owned services:

1. FM Addis 97.1, established by the national state broadcaster Radio Ethiopia, servesthe people of the capital city and its surroundings and broadcasts for 18 hours a day. Itis controlled by the federal government;

2. Addis Ababa Region Radio Station (FM 96.3), which is controlled by the transitionalgovernment of Addis Ababa;

3. Amhara FM, established by the Amhara Media Agency, controlled by the Amhararegional government;




4. Amhara Regional FM, broadcast in medium wave, is also run by the Amhara regionalgovernment;

5. Harrar Station, a sub-station of Radio Ethiopia, and therefore controlled by the federalgovernment;

6. Metu Station, a sub-station of Radio Ethiopia, and therefore controlled by the federalgovernment;

7. Voice of Weyanie (Tigriga), established by Tigrai Media which is linked to the coregroup of the ruling party EPRDF;

8. Debub radio station FM, established by Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’sMedia Agency in Awassa, is controlled by the Southern Nations, Nationalities andPeople’s Government;

9. Dire Dawa FM station, owned by the Dire Dawa regional government;

10-20. Education Mass Media Agency (EMMA) has 11 radio stations in different regions.EMMA is linked to the federal government, but its main purpose is to broadcasteducation – related programmes to students in different regions of the country.

Between 2000 and 2006, five regional radio stations were established by regional and federalgovernments. These include: Addis Ababa FM 96.3; Amhara FM; Debub radio station FM,Dire Dawa FM, and, Voice of Weyanie.

A community radio station was established, but also stopped broadcasting during this time;called Radio Harar, it had a small broadcasting footprint and is no longer functioning becauseof lack of resources to replace malfunctioning equipment. It is not represented in Figure 5below. However, two new community radio stations have been set up recently in Dire Dawaand Yirgalem. These community radio stations appear not to be linked to the government.

Figure 5: Broadcasting and Ownership Status of Radio Stations9

Radio Station

2000 2006Source: Ministry of Information, personal communication, August 2006.

State-owned broadcasting nationally

Private broadcasting nationally

State-owned broadcasting to regions/provinces/states/urban centres

Private broadcasting to regions/provinces/states/urban centres

Community currently broadcasting in the country

22

00

1520

00

02

0 5 10 15 20

Percentage

9 All radio stations that are controlled by federal or regional government have been listed as state-owned, including stations thatare owned by government parties, such as Voice of Weyanie radio station.


5.2 Investment and growth in the radio sector in the past five years

A number of potential local investors have come forward wanting to invest in privatecommercial radio stations, and recently two such investors have received FM licences. ZamiPublic Connections and Adei Promotions & Tinsaye Kinetbebat have been allotted FM90.7and FM102.1 respectively by the EBA, but both are yet to become operational. As they arenot currently broadcasting, they have not been included in Figure 5.

A recent comparative study between 2003 and 2004/5 undertaken by InterMedia found radiolistening had increased nationally from 59.5% to 74.7% of the population during that period10.This finding is also supported by anecdotal evidence, such as the increase in the number ofelectronics shops in several towns and the requests tabled by people wanting to invest in theestablishment of radio stations. However, InterMedia found that the frequency of listeningwas not particularly high, with many people surveyed not having listened in the past sevendays. The percentage of the population who had listened to the radio in the past seven dayswas found to be 38.2% in 2003 and 45.4% in 2004/5 (InterMedia, 2003; InterMedia, 2005).

Figure 6 below shows the percentages of the population that listen to the main stations.

Figure 6: Percentage Listening to Main Radio Stations in Past 12 Months

Radio Station

2003 2004/5Source: InterMedia, 2005

5.3 Plurality, ownership and control

Article 19 of the 1995 Ethiopian Constitution, as well as the 1992 Press Proclamation and the1999 Broadcasting Proclamation, all allow for private ownership of media. However, unlike inthe print media, progress towards private-sector involvement in the broadcast sector hasbeen sluggish. The radio sector, with the exception of two community stations, is currently alllinked to federal or regional government. The EBA has recently granted licences to twoprivate broadcasters, but these stations are yet to be operational.

Ethiopia Radio

Radio Fana

6955

3725

0 20 40 60 80

Percentage

10 The radio listening percentage is defined as the percentage of the population which has listened to the radio on at least oneoccasion.


In terms of community radio, there are a number of people and organisations interested inseeing the establishment of such stations. The Panos London report (Warnock, 2005)confirms this interest. Recently, the government has invited people seeking community radiolicences to apply. There have been two new community radios set up, one in Dire Dawa andone in Yirgalem. There was also another community radio, in Harar, but recently the authorheard reports that this station stopped functioning because of lack of new equipment toreplace malfunctioning infrastructure.

5.4 Diversity

As mentioned earlier, all radio stations, with the exception of the two community stations, areunder federal or regional government. These state stations focus on broadcasting activitiesthat promote government policies on development – especially on fighting poverty andmobilising towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). While pro-governmentmessages dominate radio, a study of coverage of the 2005 elections by Addis AbabaUniversity (School of Journalism and Communication, 2005) found some diversity ofviewpoints, with stations allowing different views expressed by the contending parties.

The national station, Ethiopia Radio, has a weekly programme on women’s issue. Moreover,Ethiopia Radio sells air-time to NGOs which work on development issues, especially onchildren’s and women’s issues. FM Addis 97.1 also sells air-time to NGOs for such purposes.

5.5 Quality of radio output and programming

It is widely felt that the quality of radio programming is compromised in Ethiopia by lack oftraining and poor media management.

5.6 Specific challenges

A relatively small advertising market has made it difficult for investors to come forward tostart up stations. In addition to this, the number of people with radio receivers is still relativelysmall. According to the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey in 2000, only 20.7% ofhouseholds owned a radio: 61.3% of urban households and 12.8% of rural ones (CSA, 2000).A more recent survey found that around half (48.3%) of the population own a radio set(InterMedia, 2005).

Some observers say the uncertain legal-regulatory environment presents a challenge, withthe continued lack of guiding legislation for the radio sector. Other challenges are the lack oftrained professional journalists and the lack of firms producing media content.

Key findings

The state (federal and regional governments) and the ruling party are the dominantplayers in radio broadcasting.

The only non-state/party stations are the two new community radio stations in Dire Dawaand Yirgalem.

A dispensation is beginning to emerge for more community radios and for privatecommercial stations.

There is ongoing uncertainty around the policy-legal-regulatory framework for radio.

6. TelevisionAccording to the law, TV users are supposed to register their sets with the state-ownedbroadcaster Ethiopian Television (ETV). However, many users do not register their sets.According to the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey in 2000, only around 2% ofhouseholds owned a television (CSA, 2000). The distribution of TV sets is concentrated inmajor urban centres, where relatively more people can afford the cost (the average price of aTV set is US$421) and where electrical power is more available. According to InterMediasurveys, 33% of the population had watched television by 2003 and by 2005 this had risen to51%11 (InterMedia, 2003; InterMedia, 2005).

Ethiopian Television (ETV) was established in 1964, during the time of Emperor HaileSelassie, with the technical help of the British firm, Thomson. ETV was initially established tohighlight the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) founding heads of state meeting in AddisAbaba in that same year. Colour television was introduced in 1982 by the military governmentin order to commemorate the founding of the Workers’ Party of Ethiopia (WPE). Since itsestablishment, ETV has remained in the hands of government, with its operations andcontent regulated by government. These days the common complaint about ETV is of agradual decline in the quality of its programmes (Simon, 2005). Some viewers, especially inAddis Ababa, subscribe to the South African-based MultiChoice Africa DStv satellite pay-TVservice and the ArabSat satellite service.



11 Percentages based on the number of people who have watched TV as least once.


Figure 7: Broadcasting and Ownership Status of Television Stations

Television Channel

2000 2005Source: Author personal research, 2006

6.1 Key changes and developments in the television marketplace in thepast five years

There have been few significant changes in the television marketplace in the past five years,with the state-owned broadcaster ETV retaining its monopoly on domestic free-to-air TV. ASouth African private TV company signed an agreement with ETV to broadcast itsprogrammes on ETV Channel 2, but this programming eventually stopped due to problemswithin the company. ETV Channel 1, which broadcasts in Tigrigna, Oromiffa, Amharic andEnglish for around eight hours each day except Saturdays and Sundays. On weekends, thebroadcast hours increase to a total of more than 16 hours.

The only regional/local free-to-air channel is ETV Channel 2, which broadcasts to the capitalcity Addis Ababa in Amharic for about four hours per day. This is owned by the Addis Ababaregional government.

No new free-to-air TV services have been launched in the past five years. One service, TVAfrica, which was contracted from a South African company, has gone off-air.

6.2 Investment and growth in the television sector in the past five years

As mentioned above, InterMedia studies have found a gradual increase in television viewing,from 33% of the population in 2003 to 51% in 2005 (InterMedia, 2003; InterMedia, 2005).However, the percentage of viewers who had watched television in the past seven daysremained almost unchanged between 2003 and 2005, going from a figure of 13.5% in 2003to 13.8% in 2004/5.

State-owned broadcasting nationally

State-owned broadcasting to regions/provinces/states/urban centres

Private broadcasting nationally

Private broadcasting to regions/provinces/states/urban centres

Foreign or international broadcastingto the country, including satellite

11

11

00

00

20 1 2 3 4

Number

3


InterMedia (2005) found that ETV was watched by around 25% of the population in 2004/5,up from 18.9% in 2003 (see Table 2 below).

Table 2: Television Audience Share

Sources: InterMedia, 2003; InterMedia, 2005

Subscriptions to international pay-TV services – such as DStv, operated by South Africa’sMultiChoice Africa – are expensive for the ordinary Ethiopian. One has to be able to afford asatellite receiver dish and decoder as well as the monthly subscription fee of about US$750.DStv provides channels such as CNN, BBC World, Sky and MTV. These services are not re-broadcast on ETV, and are only available on subscription packages. Little information isavailable on subscription numbers to international TV services, because people acquirereception through various means, including illegal means.

There has been no significant investment in television over the past five years. Someorganisations, such as those working on development issues and entertainment, havestarted programmes by buying air-time on the state ETV channels. Most of these are NGOsworking on development and advocacy issues. Others, such as Fassil Dan Communication,work in conjunction with ETV to prepare talk shows and similar programmes. The incomefrom such endeavours is not, however, significant for ETV, and such organisations complainabout the lack of studios and necessary equipment made available by ETV for theirprogrammes.


There is no non-state free-to-air TV in Ethiopia. ETV is owned and controlled by thegovernment, as is the second ETV channel, known as ETV Channel 2, serving Addis Ababa.TV Africa, which was contracted from a South African company, used to appear on thechannel now used by ETV Channel 2, but TV Africa has discontinued its services. ETVChannel 2 is primarily used by the Addis Ababa City government.

The only significant private stake in the Ethiopian TV sector is the local agent for SouthAfrican-based MultiChoice Africa’s international DStv satellite TV service.

Television channel 2003 (%) 2004/5 (%)

ETV 18.9 25.4

CNN 0.7 0.6

BBC World 0.6 0.5

SABC 0.0 0.2

Sky 0.1 0.2

MTV 0.1 0.2

TV Africa 3.3 0.0


6.4 Diversity

ETV broadcasts in three Ethiopian languages (Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna) and in English.The station has one regular and standing programme on women, youth and children. Someacademic studies indicate that government elites get privileged access to express their ideason ETV. Religious issues do not have permanent programmes on ETV, as it is a national policythat religion is a private matter.

As mentioned above, some organisations buy air-time on ETV to broadcast talk shows onsocial and cultural issues. Some of these talk shows have become popular and it seems thereis a growth in popular participation in these programmes. These talk shows, such as TeaCoffee (Shay Buna) or Fifty Lemons (Amsa Lomi) and the like, are believed to give ordinarypeople the chance to express their views. These shows focus on social issues, includingHIV/AIDS.

6.5 Quality of television output and programming

Quality can be seen from two angles. The first has to do with picture quality and logistics. Inthis regard, ETV has shown an improvement. Pictures are clearer, as the cameras and otherediting machines are of the latest technology. The second aspect of quality is that of contentand journalistic practice. Most of the programmes are made to promote the government’spolicies, and the quality of journalism is often weak.


All the challenges cited for radio also apply to the television sector. The fact that establishinga television station is expensive and the advertising market is small may discourageinvestment, and there is a chronic shortage of TV professionals.

Key findings

The state-owned/controlled ETV remains the only Ethiopian free-to-air TV broadcaster.

ETV has a national channel, Channel 1, and a regional channel, Channel 2, which targetsthe capital city Addis Ababa.

Possible inhibiting factors for private investment in the TV sector include the high cost ofsetting up a TV station and a small advertising market.

ETV channels are dominated by content promoting the views and actions of government,with the exception of some current affairs shows sponsored and produced by NGOs andother social organisations.

The main satellite pay-TV service is the South African-based MultiChoice Africa DStvbouquet of channels, which is expensive and consumed only by the elite.

7. Newspapers7.1 Key changes and developments in the newspaper marketplace in the

past five years

According to the Ministry of Information, there were 68 newspapers and magazinespublished and distributed in July 2006. This is an increase from five years ago (though figuresfor 2000 could not be found). There are 56 newspapers and 12 magazines. Most papers areweeklies, bi-weeklies and monthlies, with only three dailies, all national, in existence. Manyof the new papers in recent years have been tabloid weeklies responding to news events,such as the 2005 elections. However, some of these papers disappear when there are nostrong news events to cover.

Figure 8: Total Number of Newspapers

Newspaper

Source: Ministry of Information, personal communication, August 2006

The newspaper sector is limited by the country’s low literacy rates, and most titles are said tohave small print runs of only about 3,000 copies. At the time of writing this report, no datacould be sourced on the percentage of the adult population that reads a newspaper.

At national level, there are three daily newspapers (see Figure 8). The three national dailiesare Addis Zemen (Amharic), The Ethiopian Herald (English) and the Monitor (English). TheMonitor is the only private-owned daily. There is no information available to distinguishwhether the remaining 53 newspapers are national or regional papers.

Daily

Twice a week

Weekly

Every two weeks

Monthly0 5 10 15 20 25

Number

18

6

26

3

3




There are 12 national magazines; 10 published monthly, two published every two months,and two published quarterly. Ten of these magazines are in the Amharic language, and twoare published in English, a monthly and a bi-monthly (Ministry of Information, personalcommunication, August 2006).

7.2 Investment and growth in newspapers in the past five years

There has been a significant increase in the number of papers in the past five years, with newprivately-owned papers leading this growth.

However it is difficult to comment on the exact size of the newspaper market, as there is noresearch available in this area. Anecdotally, however, there was evidence of high demand forprivate papers during the May 2005 election period, but with a contraction in the number ofprivate papers after the election.

Only a few of the newspapers, such as The Reporter (with Amharic and English editions,owned by the Media Communication Centre) and Addis Admass (in Amharic) are backed bystrong private investment. Some papers have folded after not being strong enough towithstand challenges pertaining to legal or other matters. Some complain about delays ingetting permits due to delay in finalisation of the provisions of the new Press Law. Anotherbarrier to newspaper sector growth, according to the International Press Institute (IPI, 2005),has been the banning of some newspapers and the detention of journalists following theunrest after the May 2005 elections.

There is a state-owned news agency, Ethiopian News Agency, and a private local one, WaltaInformation Centre, both of which mainly serve the state media. Walta Information Centre isowned by the ruling party (EPRDF), so is categorised as state-owned in Figure 9. The privatemedia do not have arrangements with these news agencies to provide them with the contentthey require, and this remains a major challenge for the private media. The other five newsagencies operating in the country, such as Reuters and AFP, are all international.

Figure 9: Ownership of Newspaper Agencies

Agency

Source: Author personal research, 2006

Independent

State or government-owned/backed

6

10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Number



The private newspaper sector in Ethiopia is still very young and, because of lack oftransparency around ownership, it is not known whether ownership is diverse orconcentrated in a few hands. However, Kifle Mulat, president of the EFJA, states that allnewspapers are under censorship and all are pro-government and controlled by thegovernment (directly or indirectly) (K. Mulat, private communication, 1 September 2006).There is strong opposition to this view, however, from one Ethiopian editor and publisher, MrAmare Aregawi, who argues that there is no censorship in the country because it isunconstitutional and illegal for the government to practice it.

The Minister of Information states that of the 56 newspapers currently being published, sixare government-owned and 32 are privately-owned. The remaining papers are owned byReligious Organisations (8), Associations (6), Political Parties (3) and NGOs (1).

Of the 12 magazines published, 11 are privately-owned, while one is owned by a religiousorganisation (Ministry of Information, personal communication, August 2006).

Figure 10 below lists the 10 most-read newspapers. These papers can be classified intostate, private and party papers. Addis Zemen is a daily state paper. Netsanet, Addis Admas,Ethiop, Askual, Minilik and Ethiosport are private weeklies. Party weekly papers includeOromiya, Abyotawi Dimkrasi and Woyin.

The number of newspaper readers is generally thought to be quite low, and there could beseveral reasons for this. First, it is possible that the culture of reading has not been properlycultivated, despite the fact that literacy has been increasing over the past few years. Anotherpossible reason is that, in the case of the private newspapers, they cannot afford to distributebeyond the capital Addis Ababa, due to both financial and infrastructural constraints.

Figure 10: Newspaper Readership

Newspaper

Source: Ministry of Information, personal communication, August 2006

Netsanet

Oromiya

Abiotawi Democracy

Addis Admas

Ethiop

Asmat

Minilik

Addis Zemen

Woyin

Ethiosport0 1 2

Percentage

0.98

0.91

0.85

1.08

1.14

1.4

1.72

2.3

2.4

2.5


7.4 Diversity

The past five years has seen an increase in the plurality of ideas found in newspapers. Forinstance, there is frequent newspaper coverage of women’s and religious issues, with somepapers even published by religious institutions. Private newspapers provide moreentertainment coverage than the government ones do.

The majority of the newspapers are in the Amharic language (33), and the second mostcommon language is English (14). There are also several bi-lingual newspapers, publishing inboth Amharic and English (5), and there is one newspaper that publishes in Amharic, Englishand French. There are also newspapers written in Oromifa (2), Tigrinya (1) and Arabic (1).(Ministry of Information, personal communication, August 2006). One interviewee expressedthe need for further objective research to obtain more accurate data on readership.

7.5 Quality of newspaper reporting

With the great increase in the number of papers, there has also been an increase injournalistic work. The quality of journalism is highly uneven. Whilst some commentatorsdescribe work as lacking in ethics, independence and professionalism, others assert thatconcerted efforts are being made by journalists to improve standards in the sector.


Challenges faced by newspapers in Ethiopia include low reading levels, the high cost ofdistribution outside the capital Addis Ababa, and a lack of professional journalists.

Key findings

The past five years have seen increased private sector participation in the press sector,but many of the private papers are not financially strong.

The largest group of publications is the national weeklies.

Circulation of privately-owned papers is small and usually limited to Addis Ababa.

Readership numbers are low.

A number of newspapers are now available online.

8. Media Support8.1 Key changes and developments in new media technologies in the

past five years

There has been pressure in recent years towards the liberalisation of the telecommunicationssector, with one small result being the opening up of the mobile SIM card market to playersother than the state Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC). However, ETCcontinues to have a monopoly on the provision of fixed-line and mobile telephony Internetservice (Adam & Woldekidan, 2005). There were an estimated 484,000 telephone fixed-linesand around 250,000 mobile subscribers in 2004, but it was predicted that the number ofmobile cellular subscribers would finally surpass fixed-lines sometime in 2005 (Adam &Woldekidan, 2005). Growth in mobile telephony user numbers has been much slower than inother parts of Africa, hampered by waiting lists of potential subscribers to join the network. Itwas estimated that around 160,000 registered mobile subscribers were waiting to receivetheir phones from ETC in 2004 (Adam & Woldekidan, 2005).

The number of Internet users in the country is estimated to have gone from around 10,000users in 2000 to around 100,000 in 2004. Those figures are based on several users accessingeach subscription, with ETC’s estimated number of Internet subscriptions being just over12,000 in 2004 (Adam & Woldekidan, 2005). Low ETC connection speeds have underminedthe benefit of Internet connections in Ethiopia, with long waiting times for connection anduploading/downloading, especially during peak hours. National fixed-line teledensity (lines per100 people) was estimated at 0.68% in 2004, with the teledensity being much higher in urbanareas. The teledensity in the capital Addis Ababa was estimated at 9.4% in 2004 (Adam &Woldekidan, 2005).

The total number of local websites increased from 68 in 2000/1 to 88 in 2001/2, and thisnumber was projected to rise to 100 in 2002/3 (UNECA, 2003). The number of Internet caféshas dramatically increased, from none to a few hundred over the past five years, especially inAddis Ababa. A few of the Ethiopian newspapers currently have a web presence, but ingeneral the Internet is not being strongly-utilised by Ethiopian media.




8.2 Key changes in media support in the past five years

There are indications that media support industries have increased in the past five years, witha gradual increase in the number of advertising agencies and TV/film production units.Although some of these units work in cooperation with outside firms, such as firms fromSouth Africa, all of them are locally-based and their productions are for local consumption.Precise data on the number of television/film companies and advertising agencies could notbe sourced at the time of writing this report.

8.3 Audience and readership research data

There are still no media monitoring, media auditing or market research companies in Ethiopia.

Some media institutions, such as ETV and Ethiopia Radio, claim they carry out audienceresearch but most of the outputs of such research are not made publicly available, and whatis released is of poor quality due to lack of research expertise.

Internet usage data and mobile telephony are measured annually by the EthiopianTelecommunications Agency.

8.4 Media support, ISPs and ownership

The main Internet service provider (ISP) in Ethiopia is the state-owned EthiopianTelecommunications Corporation (ETC).

Key findings

Mobile telephony growth has been slow compared to other African countries, due in partto long waiting lists to join the state monopoly ETC’s mobile network.

Advertising and film/TV production firms are starting to emerge.

There are no dedicated media monitoring, audience research or market research firms.

9. NGO Activity9.1 Key changes and developments in NGO activity in the past five years

It is estimated that there were around 1,500 NGOs – local and international – operating in thecountry in 2005 (Ministry of Justice, personal communication, April 2006). Though a precisenumber for NGOs involved in media could not be ascertained, there would appear to beincreased NGO engagement with media development.

9.2 Key NGOs involved in media development activities

The most prominent NGOs involved in media development are Panos, UNESCO Ethiopia, theChristian Relief and Development Agency and the Population Media Centre. Detailedinformation about each NGO and its specific contributions to media development could notbe established during the period of this research.

NGOs have supported various awareness-raising seminars and workshops – events whichhave not only helped media practitioners but have also helped create awareness amonggovernment officials. NGOs have financed discussion workshops on the Draft Press Law, aDraft Broadcast Law, the rule of law, freedom of the press, professionalism, media fordevelopment and other issues aimed at enhancing the media sector. However, there is noevaluation material available to determine the true degree of influence these efforts havehad.

9.3 Climate of opportunity for media development activities

Despite the difficulties media faced in the aftermath of the May 2005 elections, there are alsoencouraging signs for media development in the country. There are now a number ofjournalism schools, which will soon turn out competent journalists who will be available onthe market. It can also be expected that the gradual liberalisation of the economy, andeconomic growth, will encourage the media to expand and operate more successfully.

Key findings

NGOs have supported workshops on the Draft Press Law, a Draft Broadcast Law, therule of law and freedom of the press.

Other workshops have focused on professionalism and media for development.

One encouraging sign for media development is the growth in the number of journalismschools.



10. Conclusions10.1 Media Statistical data

Analysing the media situation in Ethiopia is made difficult by the absence of statistics. Forinstance, the population census due to be carried out two years ago was not conducted, andthus many current figures are based on speculation. In terms of the media specifically, thereis a paucity of statistical information, with little research data available.

10.2 Media law and regulation

Although the Ethiopian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and media freedom,the relevant laws regulating media operation are still in the process of finalisation, leavingmuch uncertainty about the broadcast and newspaper environments. The health of the mediasector is also hampered by a lack of trained journalists.

10.3 Investment and growth

The legal uncertainties cited above, as well as high poverty levels and a small advertisingbase, have not produced a climate conducive to investment and growth in the media over thepast five years. The one exception has been the proliferation in weekly tabloid newspaperspublished by private investors, but these papers have an uncertain existence, rising innumber during times of crisis (such as the May 2005 elections) and diminishing when there isless news. These private press operations are also undermined by poorly-trained journalistsand lack of distribution beyond the capital city Addis Ababa.


With the exception of Harar Community Radio (currently not in operation), all domesticbroadcast outlets, both radio and TV, are state- or party-owned and controlled. The otherbroadcast services available in the country are foreign, via international radio services andsatellite pay-TV. Only recently has the EBA granted licences to private investors to operatecommercial radio stations. The Agency has also announced that it is ready to provide licencesto new community radio stations.

Private-sector involvement has also been slow in coming to the telecommunications sector,with the state Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) still the monopoly ordominant player in most elements of telephony and related ICT service delivery.




10.5 Diversity

The private tabloid newspapers have started to introduce more content diversity into the printsector but, in the broadcast sectors, radio and TV, pro-government messages predominatebecause of state/party ownership and control. Pluralism of views is developing and wasevident during the May 2005 elections, particularly in the print sector. However, there was anoticeable partisan tendency in newspapers, with private papers promoting oppositiongroups and state papers predictably supporting the government. Another small element ofcontent diversity is being provided by private organisations and groups which rent air-timefrom ETV and Ethiopia Radio and broadcast content on social issues.

10.6 Media support

The telecommunications sector lacks dynamism and is dominated by the state-owned ETC.Some papers are accessible on the Internet, but there is a pronounced gap in the area of newmedia usage in Ethiopia. There is also no dedicated media monitoring, audience research andmarket research.

10.7 NGO activity

NGOs have played an important role in facilitating workshops around policy and legal reform.

Key findings

Reliable statistics are difficult to obtain for Ethiopia.

The legal environment for media continues to be uncertain due to delays in the DraftPress Law and Draft Broadcast Law processes.

There is a lack of well-trained journalists.

Private-sector ownership and control has risen in the print sector in recent years, but theradio and TV sectors are still state/party-dominated.

The EBA has granted two private commercial radio licences and has called for potentialcommunity licensees to come forward.

Content diversity is lacking, particularly in radio and TV where state interests dominate.Better content diversity is found in the print sector, where there is a mix of private, partyand state papers.

The telecommunications sector is dominated by the state-owned ETC, and has beenslow to open up to private sector participation.

The main role being played by NGOs is in supporting advocacy processes around thepolicy-legal environment.

11. AppendicesAppendix 1: Bibliography

Aberra, D. (2003) Media in Ethiopia. University of Oslo. Retrieved June 2006, fromhttp://www.media.uio.no/personer/marikal/iss2003/ethiopia/ethiopiamedia.html

Adam, L., & Woldekidan, K. (2005) Chapter 5: Ethiopia. In Gillwald, A., (Ed.) Towards anAfrican e-index: Household and individual ICT access and usage across 10 Africancountries. Research ICT Africa (RIA) Network, LINK Centre. Johannesburg: RetrievedJanuary 2006, from http://link.wits.ac.za/papers/gillwald-etal-2005-final-e-index.pdf

Addis Tribune (2004) School teachers in dispute with government over pay. 17 August 2004.Retrieved 4 August 2006, from http://www.addistribune.com/Archives/2004/09/17-09-04/School.htm

Amogne, G. (2005) Public access to government information in Ethiopia: An assessment ofpublic information practice in selected government institutions. MA thesis (unpublished),School of Journalism and Communication, Addis Ababa University

Article 19 (2003) The legal framework for freedom of expression in Ethiopia. RetrievedAugust 2006, from http://www.article19.org/pdfs/publications/ethiopia-legal-framework-for-foe.pdf

Basso, S., Casacchia, O., Cassata, L., Reynaud, C., & Said, M. (2002) Chapter 2: Thegeographical distribution of urban and rural population. In In-depth analysis of data from the1994 population and housing census of Ethiopia. Istituto di Ricerche sulla Popolazione.Retrieved June 2006, from http://www.irpps.cnr.it/etiopia/pdf/MigrationChap2.PDF

BBC (2006) Ethiopia country profile. Retrieved May 2006, fromhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1072164.stm

Bekele, D. (2003) Development and Dissemination of Ethiopic Standards and Softwarelocalisation for Ethiopia. Retrieved January 2006, fromhttp://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=16572&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Bekele, D., Atnafu, S., & Mequanint, D. (2005) ICT for local governance: Needs analysis andresearch priorities for Addis Ababa city government. Presented at the LOG-IN Africa Pre-Project Workshop, August. Retrieved January 2006, fromhttp://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/CAFRAD/UNPAN021407.pdf




Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2006) The World Factbook – Ethiopia. Retrieved May2006, from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/et.html#Econ

Central Statistical Authority (CSA) (2000) Ethiopia: 2000 demographic and health survey: Keyfindings. Addis Ababa: Central Statistical Authority. Retrieved August 2006, fromhttp://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/FR118/00FrontMatter.pdf

Central Statistical Agency (CSA) (2005) Ethiopia national statistics. Retrieved June 2006,from http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/national_statistics.htm

Commission for Africa (2005) Our Common Interest: Report of the Commission for Africa.March. Retrieved March 2006, from http://www.commissionforafrica.org/english/report/thereport/english/11-03-05_cr_report.pdf

Demeke, M., & Biru, T. (2002) ICT penetration and usage in Ethiopia: Baseline study. SCAN-ICT Project, Addis Ababa University, October. Retrieved August 2006, fromhttp://www.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/10850603191scan-ethiopia-report_edited.doc

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1955) Constitution. Addis Ababa.

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1987) Constitution, Proclamation No. 1/1987. AddisAbaba: Government Printers

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1990) Transitional Charter. Addis Ababa:Government Printers

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1992) Ethiopia: A Proclamation to Provide for theFreedom of the Press, Proclamation No. 34/1992. Addis Ababa: Government Printers.Retrieved August 2006, from http://www.transparency.org.ru/INTER/DOC/ETH/procl-freeinfo-eth.doc

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1995) Constitution of the Federal DemocraticRepublic of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa: Government Printers. Retrieved August 2006, fromhttp://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.html?tbl=RSDLEGAL&id=3ae6b5a84&count=0

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1999) Broadcasting Proclamation No 178/1999.Addis Ababa: Government Printers

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2003a) Draft Freedom of Information Act. AddisAbaba: Government Printers

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2003b) Draft Press Law. Addis Ababa: Government Printers

Freedom House International (2005) Map of Press Freedom. Retrieved June 2006, fromhttp://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=251&year=2005

Global Edge (2006) Ethiopia economy. Retrieved June 2006, from http://globaledge.msu.edu/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=11715

Hudson, G. (1999) Linguistic analysis of the 1994 Ethiopian Census.Northeast African Studies, Vol. 6 (3) p.89-107. Michigan: University Press

Human Rights Watch (2006) Human rights watch world report 1996 – Ethiopia. RetrievedAugust 2006, from http://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/WR96/Africa-03.htm


Industry Canada (2006) Ethiopia country commercial guide FY 2004: Economic trends.Retrieved August, from http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inimr-ri.nsf/en/gr121223e.html

International Press Institute (2005) IPI watch list: Ethiopia. Retrieved March 2006, fromhttp://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/watchlist_detail.html?country=KW0155

InterMedia (2003) Ethiopia: Media and opinion survey data for developing countries.Washington, DC: InterMedia

InterMedia (2005) Ethiopia: Media and opinion survey data for developing countries,2004/05. Washington, DC: InterMedia

Phrasebase (2006) Ethiopia information: Detailed facts and statistics about Ethiopia. Retrieved May 2006, fromhttp://www.phrasebase.com/countries/index.php?cat=100application/phpMumued.pdf

Population and Housing Census Commission (1998) 1994 Population and housing Census ofEthiopia, results at country level. Vol. 1, statistical report. Addis Ababa: Central StatisticalOffice

Radio Fana (2006) About us. Retrieved August 2006, fromhttp://www.radiofana.com/aboutus.aspx

Rahmato, D., & Ayenew, M. (2004) Democracy assistance to post-conflict Ethiopia. Buildinglocal institutions? Democratic Transition in Post-Conflict Societies Project, Working Paper2, July. Addis Ababa: Netherlands Institute of International Relations and Forum for SocialStudies (FSS)

Reporters Without Borders (2004) Third annual worldwide press freedom index. RetrievedApril 2006, from http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/Af_index_Eng_2004.pdf

School of Journalism and Communication (2005) Monitoring the media coverage of the 2005parliamentary and regional council elections in Ethiopia. Unpublished report. Addis AbabaUniversity

Simon, G. (2005) Mass media management in Ethiopia: An enabling environment or a barrier– An overview. Unpublished research. Sponsored by the Population and Media Centre,Addis Ababa

Simon, G. (2006) Media coverage of the 2005 Ethiopian elections. Unpublished paperpresented at a workshop on Media and Good Governance. Addis Ababa: School ofJournalism and Communication, Addis Ababa University and UNESCO

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2006) Human Development Reports –Country Sheet – Ethiopia. Retrieved July 2006, fromhttp://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/countries.cfm?c=ETH

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) (2003) SCAN-ICT indicators ofinformation and communications technologies: The impact of information andcommunications technology at the country level. Retrieved August 2006, fromhttp://www.uneca.org/eca_resources/publications/disd/scanict.pdf


UNESCO (2006) Initiative B@bel. Retrieved March 2006, fromhttp://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=16540&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

UNICEF (2006) Ethiopia statistics. Retrieved May 2006, fromhttp://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia_statistics.html

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSTATS) (2005a) Social indicators. Indicators on youthand elderly populations. Retrieved June 2006, fromhttp://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/socind/youth.htm

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSTATS) (2005b) Population by age, sex and urban/ruralresidence: latest available year, 1994 – 2003. Retrieved June 2006, fromhttp://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/DYB2003/Table07.pdf

Warnock, K. (2005) Broadcasting pluralism in Ethiopia: Opportunities for support through theCATIA programme. Unpublished report, March 2005. London: Panos

World Bank (2000) Civil society, NGOs, and development in Ethiopia: A snapshot view.Retrieved August 2006, fromhttp://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTRANETSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/873204-1111663470099/20489508/CSandDevEthiopiaSnapshotView.pdf

World Bank (2006) Key development data & statistics – Country profile – Ethiopia dataprofile. Retrieved 28 July 2006, fromhttp://devdata.worldbank.org/external/CPProfile.asp?PTYPE=CP&CCODE=ETH

Appendix 2: Individuals/organisations consulted during the research

Kifle Mulat12, President, Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association, personalcommunication, 1 September 2006

Ethiopian Media Women’s Association, personal communication, April 2006

Ministry of Information, personal communication, August 2006

Ministry of Justice, personal communication, April 2006

12 Kifle Mulat is currently under amnesty protection in exile.



EthiopiaCountry ReportWay Forward

12. IntroductionThe African Media Development Initiative supplied the list of criteria for selectinginterviewees such that the voices of all media stakeholders would be represented. In theselection process, attention was given to junior and senior journalists, women, intervieweesfrom religious institutions and those working in the new media. According to the guidelines,the following demographic mix was considered essential among the 15 selectedinterviewees: four women; one person under 25 years of age; one person representing a faithgroup; one person from new media; one person from community media; and, one from printmedia.

Using the guidelines, a number of interviewees were identified. In Ethiopia, it was difficult tofind non-government organisations (NGOs) that met the specifications. Most NGOs inEthiopia are engaged in development activities. Media development is likely to be asecondary concern, although a number of these NGOs provide various training programmesfor journalists, organise and sponsor seminars and workshops for media stakeholders, or areengaged in transmitting development – related programmes on available media. Panos-Ethiopia and the Population Media Centre (PMC) fall into this category, for example. Theselected NGOs are the most appropriate in terms of their engagement with the media sectorin the country. Another difficulty was the conspicuous absence of interviewees from newmedia in Ethiopia. With the exception of a few small-scale Internet cafés located in AddisAbaba, the capital city, there are no private new media operators. The available informationindicates mainly an increase in telephone services, including the dramatic increase in thenumber of cell phones and Internet use.

Selecting interviewees was not as difficult as contacting them. Some were too busy to beinterviewed, while others were not willing to be interviewed. Substitutes for unavailableinterviewees had to be identified and contacted. This process took a long time. Oncemeetings with the interviewees were scheduled, there were no significant constraints. Noone refused to be audio-recorded. However, the numerous interview questions requiredrather exhaustive responses, especially by those who addressed the issues in Section 2 ofthe interview. Consequently, it was not possible to adhere strictly to the suggested timebreakdown for these parts in the interview.

38 African Media Development Initiative: Ethiopia Way Forward © BBC World Service Trust

EthiopiaCountryReportWay Forward


In general, most of the interviewees were frank in expressing their views. Only aninsignificant number did not agree to have certain attributed quotes to them in the report, andonly one wanted to remain anonymous.

Before interviews were conducted, interviewees were given a proper explanation of theobjectives of the interview and the importance of their voices being represented in the study.What came out quite prominently was the disparity in knowledge of the media among theinterviewees. Some had almost expert knowledge about the issues while others were, itseemed, at a distance. Some were knowledgeable and expressive, while a limited numberdid not have the essential information about the issues.

The interviews were conducted primarily during April and May 2006. However, a few wereconducted in June 2006. All interviews were conducted in Addis Ababa and did not involvetravel outside the city.

13. Media Development:an organisationalcontext

13.1 Key organisations

The organisations interviewed comprised of four NGO, three government press institutions,three journalists (state, private and media entrepreneur), two analysts (writers and critics),two trainers (state and private) and one media association were approached and selected. Allbut one of the NGOs were represented by the heads of their particular institutions. Seniorofficials represented government institutions. The media analysts, educators andpractitioners were considered to be knowledgeable about media development activities inEthiopia.

13.2 Impact of media development initiatives

The interviewees noted that there have been some changes in the Ethiopian media sectorover the past five years.

Enactment of media laws

The Press Law, the Broadcast Law and the establishment of the EBA are some of thepositivemedia initiatives mentioned by almost all interviewees. Those who come from privateorganisations assert that it is not enough. Dr Tamirie Teka, Amare Aregawi, Adey Abebe andTaddese Zenaye share this view. Others, especially those who come from governmentinstitutions, confirm that this is a significant achievement. Berhan Hailu, Tabor Gebremedhinand Mekonnen Birru express a similar view. According to those who come from privateorganisations, whilst the Press Law appeared in 1993, it has taken some time to put it intopractice.

All interviewees agree that the Press Law has encouraged private investment in media,specifically in the press, thus providing the general public with access to different views andperspectives. Tigist Kassa says that this new environment can be considered a large stepforward when compared to the situation of media during the former system.




From the perspectives of Professor Abiyi Ford:

“ The change has to be attributed to the media policy that opened up the opportunity forthe private sector to engage in full tilt activities of the media. There was a suddenproliferation of private papers, magazines... Restriction was in the broadcast media forthe most part. ”(Professor Abiyi Ford, Dean; Educator: School of Journalism and Communications,University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

According to Amare Aregawi, a prominent journalist, in the past five years there was thechance to see major change because, six years ago, there was the Broadcast Law; this wasnot put into practice. An opportunity for the development of the broadcast media wasmissed.

The state of affairs is seen from a different angle by interviewees coming from governmentorganisations. For instance, Berhan Hailu sees the environment as favourable to mediadevelopment. He states that in order to further enhance media development, the formerPress Law has been forwarded for discussion and improvement by the different sections ofsociety in the country and by international professionals, especially from South Africa. It isstated that the law is now ready to be referred to the cabinet of ministers.

Expansion of broadcast and print media

All interviewees mentioned that the appearance and proliferation of private newspapers asthe most significant transformation in the media environment. According to Dr Tamirie Teka:

“ As to me, the appearance and the work of print media, particularly the privatenewspapers, are the most significant changes. This allowed different perspectives todevelop and it has become an outlet for various sectors to reflect their views on issuesof development. And then there were certain initiatives, legislative initiatives, althoughthey were not finalised. The broadcasting authority has been established. Differentmechanisms were initiated. Although it is lagging, the initiative by itself is veryimportant. ”(Dr Tamirie Teka, Country Representative; NGO: Panos, Ethiopia)

Berhan Hailu asserts that the government is engaged in the expansion of media work.Ethiopia Radio broadcasts in eight languages and Ethiopian Television in three local languagesand one foreign language. It is argued that attempts are being made to strengthen theseactivities and improve the quality of radio broadcasting by installing new equipment,expanding coverage, and by training journalists. This idea is shared by all those who comefrom government organisations. Despite the fact that this is generally admitted by those whocome from private organisations, it is often stated that the quality of government mediaoutput is low, and this is attributed to, according to Tigist Kassa, poor media managementquality and lack of journalistic skills, for instance.


On the positive side, Amare Aregawi says that in the past five years some clear definition ofwhat media should be and should not be has been in the making. In other words, he states that:

“ Some newspapers, such as Capital, Fortune and The Reporter, have identified theirconstituencies and have adopted a more mature purpose. These newspapers arebeing reshaped. In contrast, press hooliganism, a disregard for ethics and thejournalism profession, has also increased during this period. The last five years hastaught us what real press should and should not be. This lesson is mainly due to thechange of attitudes on the parts of the editors and readers. ”(Amare Aregawi, Editor and Publisher; Media Practitioner, Private Sector: The Reporter, Media Communication Centre, Ethiopia)

Regional and community media

Interviewees, such as Tabor Gebremedhin, Paul Hector, Dr Negussie Tefera, mention theestablishment of regional broadcast and community media. Berhan Hailu believes that anevident increase in the variety of programmes in the broadcast media has encouraged widerparticipation, such as various talk shows and programmes on FM stations.

Training

In addition, the establishment of schools of journalism has helped in the training ofprofessional journalists. These schools include the following:

Ethiopian Mass Media Training Institute;

Graduate School of Journalism and Communications (SJC), Addis Ababa University;

Department of Journalism and Communications, Unity University College; and,

journalism and communication departments have been opened at other universities outsideAddis Ababa, such as Bahir Dar University, Arbaminch University and Mekelle University.

Interviewees such as Berhan Hailu, Tabor Gebremedhin, Tigist Kassa and others also notethat audience demand for media output seems to have increased significantly, not only in thecapital but also in the regions. Regional states have gradually changed their attitudestowards, and involvement in, the development of media. Berhan Hailu argues that this role ishistorically taken as the sole responsibility of the Federal Government.

Tigist Kassa, a young female journalist who is familiar with both state and private media,states that the changes in the media environment can be seen from two angles: 1) changes inhuman resources – there are now institutions looking after the training of the workforceneeded by the media; and, 2) changes in media institutions – that is, there are now state,private, federal, regional and even community media. She further states that:

“ Some FM programmes and regional media would like to concentrate on theirrespective regions. Regarding human resources, the establishment of the EMMTI is abreakthrough; the opening of the Graduate School of Journalism andCommunications; the establishment of different associations for media professionals;the proliferation of mini-media in different schools. There is now a new trend towardsbecoming a journalist. There is also an evident move towards diversity where thegovernment, NGOs, private individuals and the like are able to participate. ”(Tigist Kassa, Private Media Consultant; Media Entrepreneur: Ethiopia)


Licences for broadcast media

Berhan Hailu states that the issuing of new licences in the broadcast media is considered asuccess. Two private investors have been given licences. The interviewees see suchdevelopments from different perspectives, however. Despite the fact that they acknowledgethe existence of such a development, those interviewees who come from privateorganisations argue that this number is not enough and the process of licensing is not clear.This idea is especially supported by Amare Aregawi.

In general terms, the licences given to private organisations have increased over the years,especially in the area of the print media.

Paul Hector says that there seems to be some changes in the print media. The issuing oflicences for the broadcast media is a change to be noted. He hopes that community radiolicensing will continue. This process is supported by the general political system, which hascome to encourage media development. In fact, he asserts that:

“ There is a tendency to decentralise the political situation at the grass-root levels. Thereis also the global belief that community radio supports good governance,transparency; this can be seen as the government’s efforts to increase access toinformation. There is also the external push whereby the government would be helpedin this endeavour of opening up for democratic operations. ”(Paul Hector, Communication Expert; NGO: United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organisation, Ethiopia)

In sum, as indicated above by Tigist Kassa and shared by most of the interviewees, thechanges are apparent in two areas: changes in media institutions and changes in humanresources. Some FM programmes and regional media concentrate on their respectiveregions. The establishment of the EMMTI and SJC in combination with the rise in the numberof associations for media professionals are breakthroughs in the training and developmentprogrammes for journalists. Consequently, there is now a new trend towards becoming ajournalist. Also evident is a move towards diversity where the government, NGOs and privateindividuals are able to participate.

13.2.1 Strategic changes within the interviewee’s own area of work

Most of the interviewees state that there have been some strategic changes and enhancedactivities in their respective organisations. They have been able to develop more programmesto broadcast and have had more chance for access to airtime, although they mention thatthere are still constraints. Dr Tamirie Kassa says that although his organisation is able to runseveral programmes, he is forced to select out of the limited choices. Although he agreeswith Dr Tamirie Kassa, Dr Negussie Tefera states the successes of his programmes and theincrease in access to media1.

The interviewees from training institutes claim that due to the increasing demands forprofessional journalists, they have been persuaded to upgrade their programmes forjournalism education. They have reviewed their syllabus, the qualification of their instructorsand the number of years of training.

1 Yeken Kignit a radio drama serial mentioned under the case study, is run by the Population Media Centre.


Likewise, the interviewees from media institutions claim that there have been efforts to setup the legal framework for the operation of state media. Within the state media thedevelopment of editorial policy is quite conspicuous. In addition, in order to guide thedevelopment of the state media, there are efforts exerted at cultivating strategic plans. Theyhave also noticed efforts to upgrade the competence of journalists through a series of trainingprogrammes offered both in-house and organised in cooperation with NGOs and otherorganisations. According to Tabor Gebremedhin, an attempt to establish an in-house trainingsection for Amhara FM broadcasting summarily failed possibly due to differences instakeholder interests and other related problems.

Some media house interviewees mention that their plans for expansion are motivated by thedrive to improve the quality of media and media practitioners. Amare Aregawi asserts thatthis impetus comes from the awareness of a gap not only in the trade, but also in itsmanagement and leadership. This applies to both government and private media institutions.Training has been envisaged as important because responsible journalism is only meaningfulin the context of professionalism. In relation to problems in the practice of journalism, AmareAregawi says:

“ At the moment, it is difficult to determine which one is due to lack of professionalismand which one is an abuse. ”(Amare Aregawi, Editor and Publisher; Media Practitioner Private Sector: The Reporter, Media Communication Centre, Ethiopia)

Pertaining to the strategic changes within and without the Ministry of Information, BerhanHailu indicates that the establishment of various institutions – such as the EthiopianBroadcast Authority, the Ethiopian Press Agency, the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agencyand similar institutions – are under boards of management that are accountable to theParliament (with the exception of the board of management of the Ethiopian BroadcastAuthority, which is accountable to the Ministry). Apparently, the Ministry of Information is astakeholder.

As indicated above, the interviewees who come from government institutions, and partlyshared by some who came from private organisations, assert that the media sector hasstarted to entertain a diversity of ideas. There has been a gradual development of the privatemedia, including successful attempts to establish regional media. The state media have beenreorganised under semi- or quasi-autonomous agencies or organisations. Berhan Hailuargues that these media institutions now operate more independently on the basis of theirapproved editorial policies. Obvious changes in the quality of journalistic work, especially inthe area of content, have been noted2.

2 Interviewees who come from government organisations and those who come from private organisations sometimes showdichotomous perspectives: while both admit the presence of an issue, their interpretations of the particular issue are based ontheir background. For instance, all agree that there is the Media Law. While the first group asserts that this is a significant changein the media scene, the second group will show its reservation by indicating that it does not work under the circumstances or itis not enough.


According to Berhan Hailu, the major actor in this changed environment is the state media. Thegovernment has introduced a Press Law, Broadcast Law and other supportive procedures formedia development. Besides creating the legal framework, the government intervieweestates that it has invited stakeholders to participate in the process. Despite the contributionsand support from some NGOs and other organisations, Berhan Hailu argues that governmentcontributions have remained substantial. In other words, it has supported the purchase ofmodern equipment and attempted to reach people in remote areas. Radio coverage has nowbeen enhanced by 82% and television by 50%. The number of languages used by media hasincreased. There are currently attempts to extend both national and international broadcastingservices. The attempts to enhance national broadcasting services revolve around the choice ofcost effective technology so that there is 100% nationwide coverage. Similarly, theinternational broadcasting attempts focus on making arrangements to use ArabSat.

He also argues that despite the interest, NGO contributions have not been satisfactory andthey are mainly scanty. This idea is shared by Amare Aregawi. He complains that NGOcontributions to media development in the country are not enough, and they have remainedinsignificant. The beneficiaries of NGO help are just a few individuals, some of whom may nothave anything to do with media development.

On the other hand, Dr Negussie Tefera feels that the activities of NGOs are of paramountimportance. His organisation, which is exclusively funded by other NGOs, has successfullyconducted and expanded useful programmes in the areas of health communication pertainingto HIV/AIDS. This view is also shared by Berhan Hailu.

Despite such changes, there has been a conspicuous lack of an adequate number ofprofessional journalists. Taddese Zenaye, Head of the School of Journalism andCommunication, Undergraduate Division (former Ethiopian Mass Media Training Institute),confirms that training institutions have been obliged to revise their curricula, assess thequality of their teaching staff and look at the size of their intake. However, there are evidentproblems in this area. Some interviewees believe that the discrepancies can be attributed to alack of development and a lack of support in that area. According to Dr Tamirie Teka, furtherliberalisation and creation of a favourable environment for development is essential.However, Amare Aregawi believes that the SJC has brought about significant improvementsin the profession. Yet, he says that the EMMTI could have done more. Meanwhile, he says,the Horn of Africa Press Institute (HAPI) is also working towards the development ofjournalistic professionalism in the country.

14. Media DevelopmentInitiatives

14.1 Review

One of the most significant key media projects mentioned by Tabor Gebremedhin, who wasan active participant in the project initiation and execution, is the initiative to establish radiobroadcasting in the Amhara region. Initially, the group explored material sources and financialsupport from both the regional government and other organisations. Besides, the group hadplans to acquire technical support, such as training journalists and support staff. SwedishInternational Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) promised to provide support in thisdimension. Cooperation was also sought from the Office of Rural Development in the region.

FM radio station

Despite various constraints, the efforts to establish radio broadcasting succeeded, and thereis now in operation a medium wave and a 60km FM radio station. Each broadcasts for sixhours. Tabor Gebremedhin states that such an achievement was not easy to attain. He saysthe guiding principle for the establishment of the radio station was to keep it free from anyform of interference or imposition from the government, NGO or other interest groups.Attempts were made to hold the media establishment accountable to the regionalparliament.

The other media project is the one mentioned by Professor Abiyi Ford. A joint effort betweenAddis Ababa University and the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD)resulted in the founding of the School of Journalism and Communications (SJC). The SJCconsists of an academic unit for graduate studies in journalism and communications and acentre for journalism and communications that includes a research unit, training, continuingeducation and ICT. This 10-year project is intended to be a centre of excellence andcompletely adapted to the Ethiopian context by the end of the ten-year period. A biannualprogress report is presented to the donors. Now in its third year, the first class graduated atthe end of 2005 and the second group in the middle of 2006.




Panos projects

Dr Tamirie Teka points out the following regarding projects run by Panos:

“ There were two areas; the first one is aimed at initiating debates – debates thatsupport the process – organise workshops, conferences, forum wherebyprofessionals, policy-makers discuss issues… The other one is we have to supportother institutions that are working for pluralistic media like those people who areworking for the development of community radio, for instance. We support them…There are certain initiatives in this area. There are certain people who are workingtowards promoting community radio. We support their initiatives resource-wise andtechnically through creating an environment where they can discuss together they canacquire experiences from different areas. ”(Dr Tamirie Teka, Country Representative; NGO: Panos, Ethiopia)

Ministry of Information projects

Berhan Hailu, the Minister of Information, believes that there are some basic problems withmedia development projects. These projects suffer particularly from a lack of collaborationwith others in designing, funding and executing. One constraint is related to a lack ofexperience and awareness as well as an inability to look for alternatives.

He says that his Ministry has participated in the following media development initiatives overthe past five years:

enhancing Ethiopian Radio (ER) coverage;

Ethiopian Television (ETV) coverage;

extending the reach of ER and ETV internationally;

creating an online service (website) for ER and ETV (in its infancy stage);

digitalising the audio and video archive materials in ER and ETV;

joint projects with UNESCO;

short-term training for ER with the BBC and Population Media Centre; and,

short-term projects involving and sensitising stakeholders about the Press Law.

UNESCO training projects

Paul Hector states that UNESCO has been involved in two training projects. One is aprogramme for radio journalists and the other is on how to use equipment. The latter projectdid not get off the ground for a couple of reasons. First, a broadcast licence was not issued atthe anticipated time. Second, the Ethiopian Mass Media Training Institute was in the processof merging with Addis Ababa University. No one was clear about how these factors wouldimpact the project. Consequently, the project was not pursued.

The interviewee mentioned the following additional activities with UNESCO involvement:

Addis Ababa University on Media and Good Governance targets journalists and mediaprofessionals from the private and public sectors. This was a workshop for practisingjournalists and it was conducted as planned.


Another area that UNESCO was engaged in was a conference held in Nairobi, Kenya,during the World Press Freedom Day. It was a project funded by the regional office ofUNESCO and its main objectives included the regional sharing of experiences amongmedia professionals. The theme of the conference was media and governance withemphasis on meeting the millennium development objectives (MDGs). The conferencewas attended by media practitioners, government officials, heads of training institutions,and other relevant bodies. This was also executed as planned in the project.

UNESCO also worked for securing the rights for the BBC to broadcast about 20 episodesof the science series Horizons on ETV, in which the programmes were dubbed andsubtitled in Amharic and other Ethiopian languages. The project was aimed at raisingawareness on development.

UNESCO also assisted projects related to HIV/AIDS prevention and control programmesin the country.

14.1.1 Funding of media development

Almost all interviewees mention the paucity of funds for media development activities in thecountry. According to Amare Aregawi, whatever funds are available are not properly utilised.Berhan Hailu confirms that government funding for media development is also limited andrarely increases. Apparently, an exception to this is the NORAD fund establishing the Schoolof Journalism and Communications, Addis Ababa University. It is described as the largestmedia fund of the NORAD in Africa.

Paul Hector indicates that UNESCO serves the role of a coordinator or partner with otheragencies rather than acting as the sole funding agency. However, they offer two types offunding: a regular programme, which is allocated or budgeted; and, an extra budgetaryprogramme, which is from other sources of funding activity. For instance, the projects withthe International Press Institute (IPI), the cooperation of the BBC and ETV on HIV/AIDS arepart of the regular funding programme. Paul Hector says, percentage-wise, funding for mediaprojects has increased. However, since operational funding has decreased, the actual moneyhas also decreased.

14.2 Success and impact

14.2.1 Evaluating the success of media development projects

Dr Tamirie Teka believes success can be measured in terms of attracting the attention of theconcerned sectors of the society, including the government, so that they can focus on theissues and make them their talking points. Dr Tamirie Teka states that:

“ For instance, now the issue of ‘End Violence against Women’… has become aninterest for donors. It has become an interest for NGOs. It is [due to] our effort in theradio programmes on this… [that] it has become a very serious issue whichgovernment structures, policy-makers are focusing on, and, different NGOs arecoming to operate on this. ”(Dr Tamirie Teka, Country Representative; NGO: Panos, Ethiopia)

Paul Hector outlines several criteria for evaluating the success of their projects. Their effortsshould be measured by how they meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Changesin people’s’ behaviour and an increase in the number of people benefiting from HIV/AIDS


programmes are also anticipated. He exemplifies this by adding that more female studentsattending schools, core regional initiatives being developed, bringing professional institutionsfrom different countries to share experiences, or a measurable improvement in the quality ofjournalism would be other indicators of progress.

With regards to donor involvement in the evaluation of projects, Dr Tamirie Teka and DrNegussie Tefera, for instance, state that the beneficiary organisation usually producesprogress reports of their projects and submits the reports to the donors. Donors do notusually release a new budget without these progress reports. Dr Tamirie Teka confirms thatdonor organisations can also withhold funding if they are not satisfied with the performanceof beneficiaries.

Dr Tamirie Teka reports that they assess their media development activities through aninternal review and by commissioning external evaluators. A similar idea is also expressed byDr Negussie Tefera. Dr Tamirie Teka says that feedback from different sources is also soughtto establish the success or failure of projects. He adds that the process of evaluation hasbecome so crucial that now government structures, policy-makers and NGOs recommendthe frequent use of evaluation.

Berhan Hailu confirms that formal physical and budgetary evaluations are carried out.However, a major gap in this process is the lack of impact evaluation has on these projects.

Paul Hector states that they assess their projects, but this practice does not include an impactevaluation. Instead, it pays attention to the timing, number of people involved, coverage inthe media and awareness. Such evaluations are mostly for internal purposes but the publicpart is required for the report provided to the governing body.

Dr Negussie Tefera asserts that they start from research before launching any project andprovide timely reports to their donors. The SJC holds biannual meetings with their donor todiscuss the progress of the project measured against the set targets. Both human andmaterial resources are considered for this assessment.

14.2.2 Factors contributing to the success of media development projects

Dr Tamirie Teka states that the success of projects run by Panos is attributable to the fact thatmost are initiated based on a specific or crucial issue. These types of issues reflect the timelydemands of the people. These projects are designed in such a way that they guarantee theparticipation of different sections of society by including them as human resources.Participation is considered pivotal when projects are designed, executed and evaluated.

According to Berhan Hailu, the basis for their success is government commitment topromote media development. Their projects are based on demand or an identified need onthe part of the society. Groups that execute the projects demonstrate commitment forobtaining a successful outcome. For example, ER and ETV realised their project objectivespertaining to expansion of coverage. There is increased demand for radio and televisioncoverage, especially in the rural areas. Thus, the efforts exerted to enhance coverage aremotivated by the popular demand for coverage.

Paul Hector confirms that the success of their projects is based on addressing crucial areas ofpopular concern, for instance, women’s issues.


14.2.3 Factors undermining the success of media development projects

Since projects are not running in full swing, Dr Tamirie Teka feels that Panos cannot say it hasfailed in any of the media activities. However, he asserts that

“ Government policy is decisive in this respect. If the government policy is against theproject, the project is likely to fail. ”(Dr Tamirie Teka, Country Representative; NGO: Panos, Ethiopia)

Dr Tamirie Teka feels that a recurrent challenge is the lack of awareness about who cancontribute to media development. There is a misunderstanding about which media actors canbring about fundamental changes. Besides, there is an apparent lack of human and materialresources. The help provided by donor organisations may be decisive in bringing about alasting solution to the problems of media development. However, donor support for mediadevelopment is not as much as is needed. In fact, according to Amare Aregawi, most of thedonor funding is usually not available to those who need it. Apparently, there is a conspicuousgap between supply (the donor help made available) and demand (the donor help needed) inthe media services.

Paul Hector mentions an instance of a project that failed because it did not consider initiallyextraneous factors that might affect it. The project aimed at training students on radiojournalism and was based on the assumptions that a number of students from EMMTI wouldbe admitted to Addis Ababa University3. However, the students were not admitted, and thebroadcast licence was not issued as there was a delay in integrating these organisations.Because of these reasons the project failed. He adds that a delay or change in governmentpolicy will constrain the progress or even the success of a project as evidenced in thisparticular example. This idea is shared by Dr Tamirie Teka, as indicated above.

14.3 Lessons learned

The interviewees who have had some engagement in planning, designing, executing andassessing projects run by their respective organisations, include: Dr Tamirie Teka of Panos; Dr Negussie Tefera of the Population Media Centre; Paul Hector of UNESCO; Professor Abiyi Fordof the SJC; Amare Aregawi of the Media Communication Centre; Berhan Hailu of the Ministry ofInformation; Tabor Gebremedhin of the Ethiopian Radio and Television Organisation; and, AbebechWolde of the Ethiopian Media Women’s Association. Not all of them were engaged in the planning,designing, executing and assessing of projects. Some were stakeholders of donor-initiatedprojects either unilaterally or in collaboration with the beneficiaries. So their experiences vary.

3 EMMTI is now the undergraduate section of the School of Journalism and Communications, Addis Ababa University.


Table: Summary of Lessons Learned and Recommendations4

Name Organisation Lessons learned

Dr Tamirie Teka Panos Ethiopia � Government holds a significant place in executing projects.� Projects should address major interests and be participatory.� Lack of coordination of media development initiatives by donors,

beneficiaries and other stakeholders.

Paul Hector UNESCO � Project success should involve the development of particular skillsthat were not there before running the project; this is usuallyoverlooked.

� The government is a decisive stakeholder in media development inEthiopia.

Dr Negussie Tefera Population MediaCentre (PMC)

� PMC projects are successful because they are based on research,clear objectives and specific targets.

Berhan Hailu Ministry of Information

� There is a conspicuous lack of experience in running projects.� Projects should involve all stakeholders to be successful.� Projects should reflect both the interests of the beneficiaries and the

government.� Project ideas should evolve not only from the interests of a particular

stakeholder; they should embrace all sectors of the society.� Projects should not be isolated and fragmented; they should be seen

as integral parts of the major media development in Ethiopia. Thus,they should be guided by a common vision and objectives.

Tabor Gebremedhin ETV and EROrganisation

� The success of projects depends upon the consensus of thebeneficiaries, the government and the donor. A case in point is theradio broadcast project in Amhara region. The station, the regionalgovernment and SIDA, where the project was not executed asplanned because of lack of consensus among the actors.

Professor Abiyi Ford SJC & AAU � The project actors have to have equal say if projects are to succeed.Donors should not impose their visions or interests on thebeneficiaries. All stakeholders should participate in the mutualenterprise.

� Continuous assessments, discussions and work progress of theprojects by the stakeholders should be carried out.

� The visions, strategies, objectives underlying the projects should beshared at the initial stages by the stakeholders.

Amare Aregawi Media Communication Centre

� Donors should be able to identify where they should exerciseinterventions that bring about fundamental changes in mediadevelopment in the country. So far, most of the donor money has notbeen expended in areas that bring about the desired changes.

Abebech Wolde Ethiopian MediaWomen’s Association

� Most of the projects are designed by donors that may not necessarilybe aware of the concrete reality in the country, including the cultureof the people.

� Local beneficiary organisations should be enabled and helped todesign and execute plans relevant to them.

4 It should be noted that the summary is based on the author’s understanding of the interviewees’ speech and the implicationsof their speeches; and this may not represent the very words of the interviewees.


14.3.1 The Importance of the cultural context in planning and designing initiatives

In general terms, Professor Abiyi Ford contends that the cultural setting is very important inplanning projects. Donors should understand the cultural context. Several projects failbecause the cultural context is not given the proper attention and consideration in the projectplanning.Paul Hector feels that there is a dependence on external resources for training journalists;there is a need for concerted efforts such as case studies, African research – nationally,regionally, comparative research, in training journalists. In other words, he says that:

“ There is also the issue of identifying the crucial agenda. One of the key issues is… stilla reliance on people outside the continent to tell what these issues are and how theyshould be responded to. It has indicated that creating better contacts and confidenceof journalists in terms of relying on their instincts and developing a cadre of researchand journalists having confidence in research done by regional institutions is veryessential. ”(Paul Hector, Communication Expert; NGO: United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organisation, Ethiopia)

15. Developing theEnvironment forSuccess

15.1 Key factors

Most of the interviewees confirm that government commitment to creating a favourableenvironment is a key factor for the success of media development (Dr Tamirie Teka, AmareAregawi, Tigist Kassa, Berhan Hailu and others). Their differences lie in their acknowledgmentof its presence or absence. Both Dr Tamirie Kassa and Amare Aregawi assert that it is notenough. More can be done by the government in the area. Berhan Hailu confirms thepresence of the commitment of the government to the development of the media in Ethiopiaby providing instances. All express the view that there is a chance for Ethiopian media todevelop at the moment. An instance of the facilitating environment for media development,according to Dr Tamirie Teka, includes the series of activities undertaken by the governmentto liberalise the economy of the country.

Amare Aregawi says there are promising changes in the area of media in East Africa. Heasserts that:

“ Tanzania, for instance, is not so much different from Ethiopia. But there are manyattitudes that need to be changed. First of all, policy matters. There should a change ofattitude towards the private media. If there is change in this, there is a tremendouspotential. Ethiopia is not less capable than others in East Africa. There has to begovernment attitude that takes the private media as investment. Likewise, the privatemedia’s attitude has to be to inform the public. The legal framework is in place – bothin the constitution and the law. Article 29, Article 19 and the like provide forprofessional journalism to prosper. ”(Amara Aregawi, Editor and Publisher; Media Practitioner, Private Sector: TheReporter, Media Communication Centre, Ethiopia)




Tigist Kassa views the issue from a different perspective. She says she wants to look at itfrom two angles:

“ Media (state) are designed in such a way that they give more attention todevelopment; this is encouraging. However…due to problems in capacity, the lack ofalternative media institutions, such an effort is likely to be weak. The availability ofthese training institutions would not imply that we have the adequate manpower inthe area. The majority of the available manpower does not update themselvesregularly. For instance, some of the media managers are political appointees. Theymay have no knowledge related to media management. And some of the othersbelow the management, may have not developed the aspect of citizenship, that is,they have not internally accepted whatever they are supposed to do. ”(Tigist Kassa, Private Media Consultant; Media Entrepreneur: Ethiopia)

In other words, Tigist Kassa argues that the current development programmes on media are notsuccessful because of constraints in journalistic skills and media leadership and management.

15.2 Political and economic influences

In general terms, all interviewees indicate that there is a relatively favourable political andeconomic situation in Ethiopia for media development. As indicated above, despitedifferences in perspectives and interpretations of government moves, government activitiespertaining to the liberalisation of the economy are understood to favour the growth of privateinvestment in media in the country.

Berhan Hailu asserts that there is a favourable political and economic situation for successfulmedia development.

The government is committed to working towards fighting poverty and backwardness.As a result, it has set up the proper legal framework for media development. Mediadevelopment is taken as a component of the efforts to fight poverty and backwardness.

The government has facilitated the participation of different stakeholders in mediadevelopment in the country.

The government has been working towards guaranteeing citizens’ access to information,such as the efforts being made to enable individuals to have access to Internet,broadband, V-Sat (satellite type) and school Internet services.

The government has also encouraged the private sector in broadcasting.

In the economic sector, it is apparent that there is a fast rate of economic development.

However, Berhan Hailu feels that the following challenges should be met with for successfulmedia development in the country.

There is a general but constraining view that takes media development as the majorconcern of the government. Media development cannot be taken as the concern of thegovernment only. All stakeholders should give attention to media development.

Journalist associations should further be encouraged to develop.

There is also the problem of capacity – among journalists, media leaders and other staffinvolved in media operation in the country.

There is lack of financial and material resources.


Paul Hector mentions the progress of the liberalisation process evident in the country thatmay help in the development of media. In fact, he confirms that the following are signspointing towards positive impact in the development of media:

the liberalisation process in the country;

the large size of the population (possibly, the third largest in Africa);

the diversity of the country (linguistic and physical – animals, plant life, landscape, etc);

the growing interest in tourism;

the expansion in education (both state and private);

the growth and variety of markets in the country; and,

the attempts to establish press councils; and,

the way in which the elections were held last May.

However, he argues that there are challenges:

the culture of independent media is new and there is an urgent need for more efforts tobe exerted to establish and strengthen independent media;

the economic situation is a constraining factor – the per capita income is very low;

the infrastructure is still not yet developed;

literacy is not high enough;

people’s access to receivers (ie, television sets) is constrained by the high cost, whichmany may not be able to afford.

In terms of the media practitioners, there is:

a lack of ongoing continuous professional development;

a lack of credit facilities; and

too many complicated administrative procedures (imports and exports) in sending money.

15.2.2 State support for media development initiatives

Although all the interviewees do not take this as state support (they would rather see it asstate responsibility – Amare Aregawi and Dr Tamirie Teka), they recognise governmentsupport is establishing training institutions for journalists. In addition, the intervieweesmention the various activities pertaining to the reinstatement of the regulatory framework(the Press Law and the Broadcast Law). Even though these laws have been reported as notfinalised, they are taken as positive signs of commitment on the side of the government.

Dr Tamirie Teka says that although there are appreciable efforts from the government tosupport media development activities, a lot remain. Moreover, given the historicalbackground, it is proper to recognise the commitment that the various media display by wayof enhancing the process of establishing independent and pluralistic media.


Amare Aregawi argues that there is no state support for private media.

“ Of course all media organisations cannot totally be taken as a group working towardsthe realisation of pluralistic media. There is an attitude by the government that the realmedia is the government media. There is no major problem among mediaprofessionals. ”(Amare Aregawi, Editor and Publisher; Media Practitioner, Private Sector: TheReporter, Media Communication Centre, Ethiopia)

Tigist Kassa, Taddese Zenaye, Tigist Hiruy, Professor Abiyi Ford and all intervieweesrepresenting government offices confirm that there is government support. This is reflectedin the establishment of organisations such as the EBA and the journalist training institutions.Berhan Hailu argues that the government’s acknowledgment of the survival of the privatemedia by itself is support. He also says that the government has invited others to use themedia under its control. However, one can argue that this help is not enough. Amare Aregawiargues that the number of licences given to broadcast firms is not satisfactory.

Many of the interviewees assert that more needs to be done to support independent andpluralistic media. Berhan Hailu argues that the state has demonstrated its commitment bygiving the following examples:

The government is working towards reforming state media. There are significant movestowards that end. As part of the efforts to implement the civil service reform, there is thecommitment to affect ‘business process re-engineering’ (BPR) in the state media sectorin order to bring about a radical shift in media leadership, management and workermotivation.

Another point is the current draft Press Law. Even though it is in its completion stage, thebelief is that all stakeholders, including external professionals, will contribute to itsdevelopment. And, this is being done.

The government has also financed the opening and running of journalism schools in thecountry. There are now a number of schools of journalism and communication in differentuniversities in the country.

Berhan Hailu demonstrates state support for more general media development in thecountry. He notes the following:

The press law was out at a time when the country was at a critical period in its history.Based on this, there are significant activities in media development. What was ratherevident was the attempt by some to operate illegally and not based on journalistic ethics.One may criticise the government for not giving appropriate training to journalists and fornot taking appropriate measures against those who preferred to operate illegally. Thegovernment has decided to involve all stakeholders, including journalists, journalistassociations, international organisations that claim to represent journalists, NGOs andpolitical parties, in the process of drafting a new Press Law.


The government has actively participated in discussion forums involving stakeholders,such as the ones held 13-15 January 2003 (a forum for Ethiopian Free JournalistsAssociation and Ethiopian Journalists Association) and 21-23 June 2003 (a symposiumheld in the Ghion Hotel with East Africa media, West Africa media and IPIrepresentatives). On 21-23 October 2003, local publishers and journalist associationsparticipated in Economic Commission for Africa Hall. IPI and journalist associationrepresentatives from South Africa met for the second time and other similar meetingswere held to promote the ownership of the Press Law by all stakeholders.

Regarding the delay in providing FM licences to the private sector, the government hasconsidered the establishment of all frameworks, including legal aspects. The experiencesof other countries indicate that licences for private media are issued only when there is aguarantee for the presence of the legal framework and the capacity for operating theframework.

Media diversity has been enhanced by the diversity of languages used in the media, theestablishment of media institutions in regions, community radio institutions, educationalmedia coverage and enhanced telephone penetration to rural areas. Attempts are alsobeing made to expand Internet and plasma TV services in schools, the latter being a rareservice elsewhere.

Regarding liberalisation, the government has seen the task from its own perspectives. In Ethiopia, the focus has been geared towards establishing infrastructure in the form ofhardware, unlike in Kenya where more emphasis seems to be given to softwaredevelopment. The Ethiopian government, by investing in infrastructure expansion,believes that the rural population – which constitutes 85% of the whole population – canbe reached, and can be beneficiaries of media activities. The private sector is notfinancially strong enough to be a major player in the sector. In other words, the major actorremains the government. Incidentally, steps are being taken to liberalise certain aspects oftelecommunications services.

15.3 Donor communities’ role

It is an undeniable fact that the donor community has extended its help both materially andfinancially for media development initiatives and activities in Ethiopia. Most of the help goesto training journalists. Some help has been extended to purchase media equipment in placessuch as the Amhara region, Harar and the South.

15.3.1 Donor agendas

For obvious reasons, the donor community has its contacts from which it gets informationabout its help. Sometimes it gets information formally from the annual or biannual reportsthat may be required from the beneficiary. It also gets information informally from varioussources, including human rights groups and journalist associations (both local andinternational). This information, along with other criteria, is thought to be the guideline forcontinuing or discontinuing help. For the purposes of this study, the interviewees have giventheir opinions about the role of the donor community in the media development initiatives inEthiopia.

5 This is the project funded by NORAD for the founding and running of a graduate school of journalism and communications atthe University of Addis Ababa.


Most of the interviewees acknowledge the help provided by the donor community. In light ofhis experience with the NORAD project and role of the donor5, Professor Abiyi Fordcommends the support given:

“ The donor community in some instances is doing the right thing. By way of example, Iwill cite this project. They hold us answerable, accountable [for the] operation of thefunds that have been given to us. But, [they] have given us the necessary freedom toimplement and operate as we see fit. ”(Professor Abiyi Ford, Dean; Educator: School of Journalism and Communications,University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

Dr Tamirie Teka expresses the indispensability of donor help. However, he laments that:

“ For various reasons, mainly because they have to attend to several issues in differentplaces, the donors seem not to give equal prominence to areas that local organisationsare taking as important. In other words, we see the lack of anonymity in securing thefocus we require. ” (Dr Tamirie Teka, Country Representative; NGO: Panos, Ethiopia)

Amare Aregawi agrees with the idea that there should be donor help. However, he mentionsthat the donor community seem to have a one-sided view of the media environment inEthiopia:

“ The donor community is aware of the low level in ethics and skills in the media. Whatthey don’t see, when they address the private press, is that they see it from one side;they only see the problems caused by officials; they don’t see the problems caused bythe journalists. That is where they don’t help. They help, for example, some ‘well-known’ individuals despite the fact that they are engaged in activities that harm thedevelopment of independent and pluralistic media. Sometimes the reports by CPJ andIPI may not be convincing. They don’t have a full perspective of the context, includingthe politics. ”(Amare Aregawi, Editor and Publisher; Media Practitioner, Private Sector: TheReporter, Media Communication Centre, Ethiopia)

Tigist Kassa, Abebech Wolde, Professor Abiyi Ford and Amare Aregawi indicate that donorsdictate project priorities and perspectives.

Dr Tamirie Teka claims that the main purpose of their projects is creating pluralistic media –public, private, state. He stresses that:

“ Panos focuses on the neglected sector of the community – to reflect their views sothat they could be heard by policy-makers, by government organisations, servicegiving bodies. ”(Dr Tamirie Teka, Country Representative; NGO: Panos, Ethiopia)

Berhan Hailu states that the fundamental problem in all these activities is that they are notbased on research; they are usually scanty and isolated. They are not holistic and only embarkon tackling a particular problem or addressing a specific issue. There is no attempt to employ alead strategist who will guarantee a fundamental change in the media environment and elevatethe media in a comprehensive way. Besides, when public money is used to develop the media,the major goal is to enable citizens to have media coverage in all languages and localities.However, government resources are limited. With primarily government-funded budgets, the


projects do not have enough resources to operate at a desirable pace. He recommends that asynergy of efforts among stakeholders is fundamental for these projects to be successful.

Another interviewee, Tigist Kassa, like most of the interviewees, consents with the relevanceof the help from the donor community. She mentions the money they expend in the trainingof journalists, in the creation of forums for discussions among media stakeholders and thehelp they render to establish community radio, such as the Harar community radio. On theother hand, she argues that:

“ The donor community does not know how media in Ethiopia operate. They usuallydictate, and want journalists to work on what they want them to; there is usually aproblem to work on donors’ weaknesses. They don’t know even this. The basicproblem is that the journalist herself does not know this. She does not even know thatwhat the NGO brings could be edited or corrected or that it could have errors and soon. Since they pay for it, they cannot think they can be criticised for this. They don’tallow the journalist to act independently. The NGOs may have budgets for activities;however, they don’t have any professionals to run and follow this up. Someone wouldbe employed, but this person may have no knowledge about journalism,communication, advocacy, etc. He does not know about media character andoperation. ”(Tigist Kassa, Private Media Consultant; Media Entrepreneur: Ethiopia)

Tigist Kassa also mentions some donor-backed media activities and admits that there areNGO activities in promoting media development in the country. She says that commendablework has been done by some NGOs, like Panos and PMC. However, she expresses herreservations regarding donor preferences regarding which initiatives they prefer to support.

Paul Hector mentions that they are not so involved in learning about the activities of the donorcommunity; but they are definitely sure that the NGOs are working towards the developmentof an independent media.

15.3.2 Donor understanding of cultural and economic realities

If the above comments and other possible criticisms of the donor community are to be takenseriously, then donors have gaps in their understanding of the cultural and economic realitiesof the country. It is assumed that such a limited perspective guides donor involvement inmedia development initiatives. Professor Abiyi Ford extends the idea by saying:

“ In particular, the help they render to efforts to train journalists is right and commendable.This may indicate not only their understanding that successful journalism can besustained through forms of professionalism and that this country needs to focus on thisarea, but also the urgency of the matter. However, there are certain gaps in theirunderstanding of the cultural context of the country. It is often stated that they don’tseem to recognize that the country can progress in ways that may be inconsistant withthe predominant western context; they seem to impose their own perspectives ofmodels in journalistic activities7. In other words, the donor community do not really andcannot know and understand thoroughly the nature of the country they are helpingbecause they are not here; [they are] culturally, socially, politically distant. They don’tknow the language; they don’t know the intricacies of all of that. ”(Professor Abiyi Ford, Dean; Educator: School of Journalism and Communications,University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)


Dr Tamirie Teka agrees with the idea that the donor community do not have the properperspectives of the cultural and economic realities of the country and says that:

“ If there are lapses in this respect, it is the local organisations to be blamed for notproperly pronouncing the local needs and priorities. ”(Dr Tamirie Teka, Country Representative; NGO: Panos, Ethiopia)

Tabor Gebremedhin acknowledges the help provided but disagrees with the donor’s activitiesthat seem to “force you to according to what they think is right instead of according to whatyou think is right.”

Berhan Hailu has some reservations about donors and their criteria for help. He argues that:

“ They know the legal framework which is useful for media development and they willalso acknowledge the government’s commitment because they can observe what iswritten, what is being done and so on. However, NGOs may feel that the space givenin state media to the opposition is not enough. On the contrary, the government feelsthat it has appropriated enough space for the opposition. The government would notallow subversive literature that would go contrary to the country’s constitution. Theconsensus is that state media is supposed to serve the people, the government, theopposition and so on. Another point they may not have taken into consideration is thegap in capacity and resources. There seems to be lack of consensus on how to helpthe media develop. ”(Berhan Hailu, Minister of Information; Government: Ministry of Information, Ethiopia)

Dr Negussie Tefera, country representative of the Population Media Centre (PMC), confirmsthat there is no problem regarding the issue, and the donors for PMC projects do not have anyillusions about the projects they fund. In other words, there is no problem ofmisunderstanding in this regard.

15.3.3 A different donor approach

If the above opinions about the donor community are to be taken as characteristic of themajor criticisms of donor help and involvement, it is imperative to seek a new approach sothat the donor community helps to facilitate the development of independent and pluralisticmedia in Ethiopia. The interviewees have given their recommendations for a new approach.The general consensus is that the donor community, according to Professor Abiyi Ford,“should focus on helping us to empower ourselves and should not insist on imposing theirmodel of the practice of journalism”. Most interviewees recommend a change of perspectiveand understanding on the part of the donor community.

Tigist Kassa says that the donor community must incorporate all levels of input from the localcommunity. Meanwhile, Berhan Hailu sees the need for project sustainability once donorfunding recedes. He also points out the need for solid project planning:

“ In the future, it is necessary to sit together in planning projects, selecting trainees,formulating follow-ups, etc. The usual donor intervention seems to be scattered, moreor less not producing significant impact, not helping to enhance capacity; and the helpseems not to satisfy media, donors and the government. Donors have not given asmuch attention in Ethiopia as they do elsewhere in Africa. ”(Berhan Hailu, Minister of Information; Government: Ministry of Information, Ethiopia)

7 Abebech Wolde, the then president of Ethiopian Media Women’s Association, shares the same opinion. She also mentions thedisparity of regional or international training sponsored and conducted by organizations operating outside the country. Thereseems to be a gap in their understanding of the Ethiopian context.


15.4 Other issues

Many interviewees believe that the condition of the country will pose certain challenges forthe success of media development initiatives. Fundamentally, the alleviation of poverty andthe development of education are pivotal for the success of media development. Another isimprovement in the judiciary. According to Professor Abiyi Ford, developing the judiciarysystem is the major challenge ahead for the development of independent and pluralisticmedia. He feels this is usually overlooked.

Amare Aregawi raises another issue related to perspectives:

“ The private media has achieved major advances and the government hasacknowledged the presence of the private media. This is encouraging. However, theinternational community does not have the proper perspective about the state ofmedia in the country. They assert that the government is putting into prison anybodythat criticises it. But there is a room for criticism. There is a good ground now formedia development in the country. Interested journalists have agreed to establish apress council, press clubs, journalist associations, a code of conduct, etc. ”(Amare Aregawi, Editor and Publisher; The Reporter, Media Communication Centre;Media Practitioner Private Sector; Ethiopia)

Tigist Kassa mentions that coordination among professional journalists, media institutionsand NGOs is a challenge. Paul Hector at UNESCO thinks the challenge the private media faceat the moment is a lack of funds or access to loans for investment and growth.

Besides those mentioned above, other challenges include ensuring linguistic and culturaldiversity. On the one hand, it can be taken as a positive, but, given the conditions and lack ofresources, could be debilitating for media development. It is important to access all sectionsof the society and ensure they can understand the messages. There are more than 70languages. Besides, as pointed out above by Paul Hector, the level of literacy in the country isnot high enough to sustain the flourishing of print media. One has to think in terms ofaddressing the society in ways they can follow.

16. Future Strategies16.1 Strategic priorities

New donor-backed initiatives should, as a priority, take into account Ethiopa’s context whenplanning initiatives. These initiatives should focus on the following:

creating a conducive environment for people to access the media so that the voices ofdifferent sections of society are heard, instead of just predominantly urban middle-classmen;

enhancing the affordability of television sets;

promoting the awareness of the facilitative role of media in the democratisation process– people should be helped to recognise their right of access to the media. They have tobe helped to hear themselves in the media, thus creating a sense of ownership;

educating journalists in all spheres and aspects of the profession (an urgent need andshould be considered as a priority);

supporting and improving the legal framework;

bringing journalists together – forming press councils, recognition, obtaining office space,creating a database, a library; opportunities for continuous training, exchangingexperiences with similar associations and press councils, and developing a code ofconduct.

16.1.1 Training

Professor Abiyi Ford recommend training for journalists in the following:

writing skills;

communication theory;

political science (what constitutes a nation, a nation state, democracy);

using existing methods and technology to meet actual needs in Ethiopia (broadcasting in public squares);

generating public ownership of the media (re-broadcasting debates and discussions).




He further elaborates this latter point as follows:

“ When people hear themselves think through the broadcast system, a differentchemistry takes place that helps to create a bond between them based on the sharedexperience. Over a period of time the people will become selective in hearing thethings that interest them. This will encourage secondary and tertiary discussions totake place at local gathering places, thus permitting the people to give vent to issuesof concern to them. A strategy of re-broadcasting elements of such open discussionswill, in effect, create the phenomenon of ‘hearing themselves think’ via the mediaapparatus, and give them a sense of ownership, if not of the technical apparatus of theinformation exchange process. This in itself would constitute a quantum leap forwardin this area where close to 80% of the people do not have direct access to the massmedia. Of course, topics for this communications scheme may be constructed aroundwhat I call alpha information in politics, economics, health, culture, national andinternational relations, inter and intra ethnic communication, and so forth. Thisproposition, in my opinion, is quite do-able with the strategic re-deployment of existingcommunications technology. ”(Professor Abiyi Ford, Dean; Educator: School of Journalism and Communications,University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

16.1.2 Independent media

Tigist Assefa states that a priority should be given to the establishment and strengthening ofindependent media. This could be achieved by encouraging the establishing of communitymedia. She says community media can reach the grass roots.

16.1.3 Capacity building

Paul Hector recommends that capacity building of media personnel and media institutions is apriority. Besides, he feels attention should be given to the working conditions of thejournalists – specifically their economic situation, salaries, terms of contracts and protections(libel suits, etc). He also believes that addressing economic development and encouraginggood governance are strategic priorities as well. He says it is not easy to rank these in someorder because they are interconnected, for instance the legal framework and professionalismare linked to each other; they are equally important.

Berhan Hailu argues capacity building should take priority:

“ This includes, short- and long-term training, experience sharing, awareness raisingworkshops and symposiums. Capacity building should mean developing capacity inthe areas of developing content, ethics in journalistic work… The main task of thejournalist is related with content – content has to be developed qualitatively. Thejournalist should develop quality content that properly informs the public. In fact, evenif there is infrastructure, lack of competence may affect the proper journalistic work.This competence refers not only to the journalist but also to media management andleadership. They can also contribute to developing the journalist’s awareness on howthe processes function. Besides, access to information on the broadcast mediaespecially for the marginalised sections of the society – is an area where NGOs canparticipate and audience research and the like. ”(Berhan Hailu, Minister of Information; Government: Ministry of Information, Ethiopia)


16.2 Focus for support

Most interviewees seem not to be sure about how to rate the relative importance of the areas offocus. In general, one area of focus is media leadership and management. This has been mentionedas an area of focus by interviewees who come from state and private media. Berhan Hailu and TigistKassa confirm that this is essential. Regarding content, there is some consensus. While some claimthat this takes care of itself once appropriate training is in place, others say it is a difficult area tohandle as, content is a sensitive issue that involves recognising culture and other social variables.

16.2.1 Media frameworks

The majority of the interviewees felt that this is essential and deserves attention. It isparticularly important in alleviating problems related to media management and leadership,which is taken as one of the fundamental challenges of media in Ethiopia. The developmentof media frameworks is believed to facilitate access to information, access to channels forexpression. So, most interviewees suggest that this should be an area of focus for support.

16.2.2 Developing local content

Although essential, interviewees such as Professor Abiyi, Tigist Kassa and Dr Tamirie Tika saythat this is not at all. Some interviewees felt that this is not a problem. The priority isaccurately informing the global audience of what is going on in Ethiopia.

Those interviewees who support this as a priority feel that it facilitates knowledge orinformation as a matter of right; denying one access to information is tantamount to denyingone one’s own right. Thus, the focus on developing local content may address some of thedisparities apparent in the media environment.

More over, it has been indicated that content is inclusive; developing content in one’s ownlanguage is difficult but there is a need. Berhan Hailu feels there is a gap in this aspect but theissue cannot be left for NGOs to address mainly because they may not know what to fill thegap with. Professor Abiyi Ford warns that developing content is a sensitive issue that shouldbe addressed carefully. Paul Hector says it is a challenge – one has to use one’s language todevelop content; language and content are likely to pose challenges.

16.2.3 Supporting the growth of independent media

The interviewees indicate some differences on this area as a priority. Tigist Kassa says that thefocus should be on helping all types of media – state, private, public and community – develop.Professor Abiyi Ford indicates that the support of independent media should be understood tomean to help develop a good judicial system that will address issues regarding the freedom ofpress, and educating the practitioners on the rules and laws that they will work with. BerhanHailu qualifies the criterion for independent media to be a service to the community, and the roleof NGOs should be not to decide but to help in the process of the development of independentmedia. Paul Hector feels it is essential that there is independent media because free access toinformation cannot be thought of without this. A compromise could be, for instance, to establisha sort of partnership with the government to facilitate the development of independent media.

16.2.4 Raising standards of journalism

All interviewees consider that the current level of journalistic practice is poor. The majorityassert that the need for raising standards of journalism should be taken as a priority. However,Professor Abiyi Ford argues that this goal necessitates assisting training institutions to


project five to ten years down the line and to prepare for the demands of globalcommunication and technology. Just providing journalists with materials is not sufficient asthese materials may be obsolete within a short period of time.

Amare Aregawi says the proper time for training should be designed and conducted in orderto bring about a difference. Training design and execution should be participatory. Trainingusually takes the form of workshops. Attendance at training usually decreases from day today, possibly indicating the weaknesses in their planning and design. Paul Hector says inorder to bring about effective changes in the practice and to create professional practitioners,it is necessary to pay attention to the nature of training, mentoring and the conditions ofemployment (such as freelance or permanent). For most interviewees, the priority isproviding proper training and establishing professionalism in journalism in the country.

16.2.5 Any other areas

There are no other areas indicated except the ones mentioned above. Of course, there is theimportance of looking at the practice holistically, as indicated by Berhan Hailu. Professionaldevelopment is an index of several variables, most mentioned above, and thus, interventionsshould address the prominent variables in order for them to be effective.

16.3 Media sector focus

The interviewees express their individual preferences regarding where the emphasis shouldbe. Interviewees such as Tigist Kassa argue that there should not be any separation betweenstate and private media; they are equally poor and they deserve attention. Dr Tamire Tekamentions that television with local content can be taken as important. The interventions shouldnormally focus on public media to reflect public voice and not only government voice. Forprivate media, it should be helped to shoulder the social responsibility rather than commercialinterests. Paul Hector recommends promoting the free market process in the private media asfundamental for the development of an independent and pluralistic media in the country.

16.4 Type of support most needed/useful

The interviewees consider similar types of help sought for media development in Ethiopia. Asindicated above, Berhan Hailu sees the issue from its holistic perspectives. Any interventioncan only be successful if the entire media environment is researched and properly addressed.Professor Abiyi Ford looks at the issue extensively and gives a clue as to what to be able toaddress when help is available as follows:

“ A sustained series of discussions and debates on different areas – mass media anddemocracy, media and freedom of expression, media and economy, media andgovernance, etc – would be in order. The way such subjects were approached in otherparts of the world, and the vigorous debates they generated – for example, theAmerican, French, Indian, British, South African, and other national experiences in theseissues – would go a long way in informing Ethiopians about the difficult and complexprocess of media practice in a democracy. The material, of course, would have to betranslated and simplified for efficacious consumption by rank and file Ethiopians. Theidea here is to let the people see and hear that this kind of thinking actually took place inthe building of democracies, and that similar efforts are expected of Ethiopians. ”(Professor Abiyi Ford, Dean; Educator: School of Journalism and Communications,University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)


Amare Aregawi recommends that the current challenges media face should beassessed. Ethiopian professionals and businessmen should be involved and theprivate sector should be the focus for help. On the other hand, Paul Hector feelsgenerating dialogue among the stakeholders is fundamental; professionalassociations should be legally established and protected.

According to Berhan Hailu, some of the current demands include:

increasing the number of quality programmes;

expanding media coverage;

enhancing the number of languages used in media;

digitalising of equipment (coping with modern technology and handling of audio-videoarchives);

establishing the norms of the practice of journalism, such as a developing code ofconduct and code of ethics;

conducting audience research;

developing a long-term strategic plan for media development;

enhancing in-house training capacity; and,

developing awareness about the content and practice of the Press Law.

16.4.1 Contribution of business/commercial interests

Almost all interviewees see the importance of business and commercial interests for thedevelopment of independent and pluralistic media in Ethiopia. However, for obvious reasons,businesses do not currently play a significant role in the media development initiatives. This isa potential to be exploited. Very few business people show interest in investing in media inthe country for several reasons, such as the challenges mentioned above, low level of living,and constraints within the judiciary system.

16.5 Appropriate organisational framework

In general terms, the interviewees expressed that the organisational framework shouldinvolve all actors in the profession: private, state media, readers, professionals, society,media institutions, and press councils. In other words, there should be strong presence oflocal media. Also important are: government participation; people representing the interestsof the donor community; and, the private sector. The idea of reinstating an advisory grouprepresenting the interested partners would help develop consensus in the area that is veryuseful.

Berhan Hailu feels that the government is a major stakeholder. Telecommunications, theprivate sector and the various journalist associations should participate. Donors should alsohave a place here. Prominent figures in society, such as youth and women’s associations,representatives of civil societies and religious institutions, have a significant stake in thedevelopment of media. Their participation in organisational framework would facilitate theefforts to enhance media activities.


16.6 Pan-regional versus country-specific initiatives

The interviewees came up with various recommendations regarding pan-regional versuscountry-specific initiatives. Some interviewees focused mainly on country-specific initiatives,and they amplify country peculiarities. Other interviewees felt that pan-regional initiativesfacilitate an exchange of experiences and an effective use of resources. They argue thatcountry specifics could still be addressed under the banner of pan-regional initiatives.

One interviewee recommended the establishment of a regional centre for excellence injournalism that would help bring about a leap in the profession. Professor Abiyi Ford emulatesthe idea of establishing a regional centre for excellence in the profession. However, AmareAregawi mentions the idea of encouraging African radio to learn skills from others, and usethem in one’s own country. For example, Uganda is seen to have the best press council;Kenya has a strong business aspect in its media; and private television and radio have beenestablished in a short time in Tanzania. There are lessons to be learned from these examples.

Paul Hector believes pan-regional media initiatives, such as the African Media DevelopmentProgramme’s (AMDP) exchange between journalists across Africa, are commendable.Berhan Hailu pointed out that while country-specific initiatives cannot be replaced by otheroptions, globalisation tendencies will encourage pan-regional media initiatives. The latter canhelp promote media development by effectively using resources and sharing experiencesand cost.

16.7 Initiatives relating to developmental content

Most interviewees seem to take content as not as important as training and professionalism.However, most of them believe that all are related to each other. They all recommend that inorder to enhance the quality of content, the major challenges have to be addressed. PaulHector recommends the following:

training to improve skills (including on-the-job training);

supplying relevant equipment and facilities;

exploring market potentials;

raising funds; and,

disseminating the information on experiences gained and lessons learned from theconduct of projects to all who need the information.

Berhan Hailu says that the imperative here is researching what would promote contentdevelopment as it relates to development goals. Yet, he concurs that training andprofessionalism are key.

As it is indicated above, there is a necessity for media practitioners and owners to agree that‘development’ is an essential item on their agenda. Media work along this line would beuseful only when such consensus could be achieved. The significant role of media indevelopment work is not contested by any of the interviewees.


16.8 Initiatives to develop independent media

Regarding the development of an independent media through advertising and sponsorship,interviewees feel that advertising and sponsorship money is very small in Ethiopia and oneshould not count on this for significant progress in media development in the country at themoment. However, Paul Hector thinks that the help of advertising depends on the control itexerts and the laws developed to protect public interest.

Berhan Hailu states that the system to support this type of activity is not in place. But, givenan apparent lack of capacity, attention should be given to building capacity and solvingequipment and other facility problems.

16.9 The role of media development in the country’s democratisation process

The ideas aired on the role of media in the democratisation process by the interviewees arequite explicit in their responses to the other items in this work. Hence, when this questionwas raised, most of them felt they were repeating themselves. Given this fact, the followingis a synopsis of their responses.

Professor Abiyi Ford believes that the media are essential to hold the internal structuretogether. It is impossible to visualise media operation separated from democratic activities –whether it is about criticising the government, participating in political party debates, planningdevelopment activities. The media serve as the means for such a process.

Dr Tamirie Teka agrees with the main idea stated above and extends it as follows:

“ Democratisation intends serving different interests, accommodating differentinterests in terms of ideas perspectives and views. So you cannot envisage asuccessful democratisation process without having an independent media… The onlyway to guarantee democratisation process is allowing different ownership in terms ofmedia; this will enable you to reflect diverse views, which is an essential element fordemocracy; so without this, independent state media could be inadequate in terms ofreflecting diverse views – particularly the views of the poor, the marginalisedcommunity. So, we have to have this private media, community media and statemedia working side by side. Then, the people will have diverse views, diverseperspectives on development issues… A better policy could be designed; a betterchange could come as a result of this process. ”(Dr Tamirie Teka, Country Representative; NGO: Panos, Ethiopia)

In addition to this, Dr Tamire Teka asserts that a pluralistic media is essential for development.

Paul Hector asserts the importance of media in the democratisation process. He explains theprocess in the following words:

“ In terms of access to information, helping citizens to be aware of things that wouldbenefit them, enabling them to be aware of issues of national, regional, localimportance, and also mobilising them to take actions either to support, oppose;providing a channel for them to express their points of view. ”(Paul Hector, Communication Expert; NGO: United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organisation, Ethiopia)

17. Summary andConclusions

17.1 Media development: an organisational perspective

The following changes have taken place over the past five years.

Media laws have been enacted.

A legal framework is in place with the Press Law and Broadcast Law, and the creation ofa favourable environment for media development.

The Ethiopian Broadcast Authority has been established to issue licences for privatebroadcasters (though not enough).

Expansion of both state and private media – especially the increase in the number of papers, the opening of regional radio and community radio (though insignificant in number).

Expanded coverage of state media and an increase in the number of languages used.

Schools of journalism have opened in different universities.

Training institutes have been forced to upgrade their programmes, revise theirsyllabuses, and upgrade the quality of their teaching staff.

Some media institutions have begun to consider quality and diversity of content.

17.2 Lessons Learned

Government is a major stakeholder in media development.

Approaches to media development are donor-driven, not based on research and arefragmented.

Some projects lack coordination, commitment and financial resources.

Successful initiatives attract the attention and interest of stakeholders, have formalbudgetary evaluations and submit timely reports to their donor organisation.




Yardsticks for successful projects include addressing crucial issues, participation from allstakeholders and commitment from those stakeholders (government, donors, etc).

Challenges include a lack of awareness of who can contribute, and a lack of human andmaterial resources.

17.3 Developing the environment for success

There is the presence of a favourable political and economic environment for media todevelop, but this has yet to be cultivated.

Help from the donor community is essential for media development, but a lot has to bedone by way of creating a synergy among donors and government efforts – help seemsto be fragmentary.

The donor community will have to learn a lot about media operations in Ethiopia – itseems knowledge is lacking in this area.

Projects should include the development of particular skills.

Projects should be participatory (all concerned stakeholders, including the government),and should address crucial issues as perceived by recipients and beneficiaries.

Projects should be research-based with clear objectives and specific targets.

Projects should be holistic, not fragmented.

Relevance of continuous assessments, discussions and work progress are considered tobe imperative.

Donors should identify where their interventions can be effective before they embarkupon launching a particular project assumed to be useful.

17.4 Strategic priorities

More attention should be given to donor-backed initiatives involving all stakeholders.

Donor help is sought in areas of equipment and other necessary resource materials.

A concerted effort on capacity building is needed, not just in the training of journalists,but in comprehensively helping media to be up to the standard in terms of operation,resources and manpower.

Both pan-regional and country-specific issues are equally relevant for media developmentin Ethiopia.

18. AppendicesAppendix 1: Interviewees

Adey Abebe, Communication Expert; NGO: Christian Relief and Development Agency,Ethiopia

Amare Aregawi, Editor and Publisher; Media Practitioner, Private Sector: The Reporter,Media Communication Centre, Ethiopia

Mekonnen Birru, Deputy Editor-in-Chief; Addis Zemen; Veteran state press journalist,Ethiopia

Professor Abiyi Ford, Dean; Educator: School of Journalism and Communications, Universityof Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tabor Gebremedhin, Deputy Manager; Government: Ethiopia Radio and Ethiopian Television;Government: Board of Broadcast Media and Management, Ethiopia

Berhan Hailu, Minister of Information; Government: Ministry of Information, Ethiopia

Paul Hector, Communication Expert; NGO: United Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organisation, Ethiopia

Tigist Hiruy, Head; Educator: Department of Journalism and Communication at UnityUniversity College, Ethiopia

Tigist Kassa, Private Media Consultant; Media Entrepreneur, Ethiopia

Teferi Mekonnen, Journalist; Media Practitioner, Private Sector: formerly an editor of EftinNewspaper, Ethiopia

Dr Tamirie Teka, Country Representative; NGO: Panos, Ethiopia

Dr Negussie Tefera, Country Representative; NGO: Population Media Centre, Ethiopia

Abebech Wolde, Executive Directress; Media Support: Ethiopia Media Women’sAssociation, Ethiopia

Taddese Zenaye, Director; Educator: School of Journalism and Communications (formerlyEthiopian Mass Media Training Institute), University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Note that one interviewee asked to remain anonymous




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EthiopiaCountry ReportCase Study

19. Case StudyFM Addis 97.1

FM Addis 97.1 is an innovative, and very popular radio broadcasting station in the country. Itprovides the people of Addis Ababa, and the surrounding area, with an alternative mediaoutlet. It is a young radio broadcasting institution, established in 2000 by the government toaddress urban-related social and economic issues affecting the people of Addis Ababa. It wasmainly established to focus on the day-to-day social issues of the people, but has alsobroadcasts music and entertainment, live local and international news, and has enhanced theawareness of people’s awareness of relevant issues.

Figure 1: Founders of FM Addis 97.1

(L to R: Kitaw Negussie,Yared Belayneh, Gorfneh Yimer, Fessaha Tegegn,Selome Desta, Dagmawi Tariku, Martha Tsegaw)

75 African Media Development Initiative: Ethiopia Case Study © BBC World Service Trust

EthiopiaCountryReportCase Study


FM Addis 97.1 started operating with three women and four men as permanent, motivatedjournalists. Now there are an additional five workers, one of which is a woman. Out of the 12workers, only three have degrees. The remaining nine have diplomas and certificates. Thestation started with seven permanent, motivated staff members.

Figure 2: FM Addis 97.1 journalists

Figure 3: Veteran, as well as new journalists working for FM Addis 97.1


When it started, a staff member was supposed to work continuously on four programmeswithout any break. Because it was not planned and it started abruptly, there was no structureto the station. The final structure proposed was approved only in late 2005. This is thought tohave affected the morale and motivation of journalists working for the station. There was achronic shortage of manpower. There were also constraints regarding facilities, such astelephone access. It was conceived to operate mainly on live transmissions, but this was nota simple obstacle to overcome because of the lack of equipment.

Figure 4: Family members listening to a popular FM Addis 97.1 radio serial entitledYeken Kignit 9

FM Addis 97.1 was basically designed to be different from the format employed by thenational service, although both shared the same administration and all the staff of the new FMAddis 97.1 station came from the national service. In other words, FM Addis 97.1 was a part ofEthiopian Radio. There was no fundamental difference in their editorial policies. The FM Addisstaff were not given any special training. However, FM Addis 97.1 was on air for longer hoursthan the national service. It also focused on urban issues while the national radio focused onrural areas and development activities being undertaken in these areas. Of course, the nationalservice would include urban issues believed to be relevant on a national scale.

9 The Effect of Radio Serial Dramas on Reproductive Health Behavior: Key Findings from the Evaluation conducted by PopulationMedia Centre, 2005, splendidly explains the effect of FM Addis 97.1 radio drama serials on listeners, such as the ones indicatedhere.


Figure 5: FM Addis 97.1 – members of the Engineering Department in discussion

FM Addis 97.1 is currently on air for 18 hours daily, and 126 hours weekly. It has a specific listof items categorised under morning (6am to 12pm), day (12pm to 6pm) and evening (6pm toabout 12am) to broadcast on a daily basis.

Figure 6: FM Addis 97.1 – prominent journalists

(L to R: Gorfneh Yimer, Elizabeth Samuel, Abebe Feleke, Yiftusira Tuji)


There are specific programmes that broadcast on specific days. On Mondays, health issues,specifically on HIV/AIDS and programmes for the youth are broadcast. On Tuesdays, socialissues, specifically family issues, press review and local development issues, are presented.On Wednesdays, programmes focusing on women and children and health are broadcast. On Thursdays, programmes on women and general knowledge are highlighted. On Fridays,science and technology, state revenues and highlights of the week are presented. On Saturdays, programmes focusing on the city, children, youth, food and health arebroadcast. On Sundays, a variety of issues dealing with health, general knowledge and thelike are presented.

Figure 7: FM Addis 97.1 listeners

In addition to its own programmes, FM Addis 97.1 engages itself in outsourcing. Majorpartners include Panos – Ethiopia, the Population Media Centre, Propride, Adey Ababa andTensae Promotions, among others.


Figure 8: FM Addis 97.1 technician with her mentor

What makes this broadcasting attractive is not their topics, as these topics are quite familiarwith the listeners of the national radio, but their presentation and formatting. Most of theprogrammes are participatory. People are invited to call in live and their voices are broadcastlive without any editorial cuttings or modifications. People appreciate using this outletbecause it enables them to share their experiences and voices. The outlet is shaped in such away that it facilitates this process. The national radio broadcasting channel is often criticisedfor its use of only traditional formats. FM Addis. 97.1 however, shuttles between theconventional and formal and the innovative and informal formats.


Figure 9: A busy FM Addis 97.1 technician

Regarding listener participation, FM Addis 97.1 is very popular and is participatory. A significantsection of the people of Addis Ababa participate in the programmes, although no research hasbeen conducted to establish their number.

Figure 10: FM Addis 97.1 in action

(Abebe Feleke, FM Addis 97.1 journalist, interviewing a guest)


At the moment, other FM stations have learned lessons from the successes of this station,especially in enhancing listener participation through phone-ins. The fact that it isgovernment-run has helped it not to worry about costs, because it is entirely subsidised bythe government. In fact, some claim that it has been able to generate as much money asrequired to run its programmes. Its constraint is usually attributed to the fact that it has toshare the management established to run the national radio, and it has no separatemanagement structure. It has no specific strategic guidelines for its running of programmesor for expansion. At the moment, it has to promote programmes as per the editorial policy ofEthiopian Radio national service.

The fact that the station has been able to address social issues and involve people indiscussing these issues without any constraints has helped enhance the station’s popularityas well as the degree of popular participation. The station has played an exemplary role for allother FM stations in transmitting live programmes and enhancing listener participation. Amajor lapse is the absence of audience research to help as a base line for initiating newprogrammes and phasing out unnecessary ones.

Figure 11: FM Addis 97.1 female technician in action

Case Study Interviewees

Selome Taddese, former Head, Ethiopian Radio and Ethiopia Television

Kitaw Negussie, former Journalist and Founder of FM Addis 97.1

Other members of FM Addis 97.1

For information on this report,contact:

Dr Gebremedhin Simon GebretsadikInstitute of Language StudiesAddis Ababa UniversityPO Box 1176Addis AbabaEthiopia

For other queries:

www.bbcworldservicetrust.org [email protected]

African Media Development Initiative ResearchThis report is one of 18 produced as part of the African MediaDevelopment Initiative Research Project, completed in 2006. To obtain a copy of any of the following reports, please visit:www.bbcworldservicetrust.org/amdi

African Media Development Initiative Research Summary ReportAngola Botswana Cameroon Democratic Republic of CongoEthiopiaGhana Kenya Mozambique Nigeria Senegal Somalia South Africa Sierra Leone Tanzania UgandaZambia Zimbabwe

Further information

Documents

AfricanMedia Development Initiativedownloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/pdf/AMDI/ETH_AMDI_Report.… · CATIA Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists