Media of Ethiopia

Radio and television remain under the control of the Ethiopian government. Nine radio broadcast stations, eight AM and one shortwave, are licensed to operate. [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Ethiopia.pdf Ethiopia country profile] . Library of Congress Federal Research Division (April 2005). "This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain."] The major radio broadcasting stations (all AM) are Radio Ethiopia, Radio Torch (private), Radio Voice of One Free Ethiopia, and the Voice of the Revolution of Tigray. The single television broadcast network is Ethiopian Television. In keeping with government policy, radio broadcasts occur in a variety of languages. Print media, because of high poverty levels, low literacy rates, and poor distribution outside of the capital, serve only a small portion of the population. The paucity of distribution is mirrored by a scarcity of diversity in the official press. Since 1991 private newspapers and magazines have started to appear, and this sector of the media market, despite heavy-handed regulation, continues to grow. The Ethiopian government has a history of restricting the freedom of the press, and during the last few years has imprisoned a number of independent journalists. In 2003 the government suspended the only independent media organization in the nation, the Ethiopian Free Journalists Association, charging it with failure to comply with the state’s onerous bureaucratic regulations. Major daily newspapers include Addis Zemen, the Daily Monitor, and the Ethiopian Herald.

ee also

*Communications in Ethiopia

References