Ethiopia in Transition: Hope amid Challenges

"[T]here is the potential and need to support the process of change in Ethiopia based on the opening of the political space and growing citizen participation in the socio-political transition in Ethiopia."

This report presents the findings of a media landscape assessment in Ethiopia led by International Media Support (IMS) in the context of socio-political developments in the country. The assessment covers both the private and public media sector, centring on the restrictions and enabling factors for strengthening free, independent, and professional media in Ethiopia. It also delves into specific areas related to communication and community engagement in order to identify possible avenues for future media development activities by IMS.

IMS carried out two missions, to Addis Ababa and Adama, in the period June 3-8 2018 and August 25-31 2018, engaging with a wide section of the media, government, and international community in Ethiopia. The missions took place in the wake of signs of change and the promise of potential media reform brought forth by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed - changes that could allow for an opening space to work with Ethiopian media to identify their needs and strengthen their capacity. In an opening section of the report reviewing these developments, IMS notes that while there is an interest in reforming Ethiopia in many sectors, the process needs a broad national framework and an inclusive approach to enable citizens to participate more actively. Specifically, there is a need to support the information and communication needs of the refugee and internally displaced communities to ensure that their voices are heard and relationships with host communities are positively influenced.

The report provides an overview of the Ethiopian media environment. At the time of the assessment, Ethiopia had 25 publicly owned radio stations, 10 private radio stations, and 31 community radio stations. Ethiopia had 4 public newspapers and several other state-owned regional newspapers, as well as 19 privately owned newspapers. The Ethiopian government has control over all telecommunication services in the country, enabled by the support of the international community keen to combat the terrorism threat emanating from Somalia.

The results of the IMS assessment of the media context in Ethiopia are presented in accordance with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s Media Development Indicators (MDIs). Selected findings:

• Ethiopia has a plethora of laws that violate media freedom, such as a criminal defamation law passed in 2008.
• Ethiopia's independent media self-censor and steer clear of controversial political issues out of fear of harassment.
• Journalists from both private and public media have shown an interest in building capacity on public interest journalism. Media analysts suggest that this capacity be built not only among mainstream media but among bloggers as well.
• Lack of media professionalism extends to a lack of gender equality in media - both in the newsroom and in editorial content.
• Ethiopia's media infrastructure remains poor, with restrictions on private investment in the printing press as well as telecommunications.

Recommendations:

• Media development
  • Identify and support pathways and platforms towards positive change, both within government and from a citizen perspective. (Media advocacy groups, which tend to be influenced by the government, require strengthening to better influence the process of change.)
  • Locate media reform within international principles that include UNESCO's MDIs.
  • Consider more transparent and broader representation and ownership of the media reform agenda by the media sector and civil society, including public awareness on media and freedom of expression policy reforms.
  • Build capacity of regional or community-based media not only in a professional editorial capacity, but also with equipment.
  • Support the Ethiopian media in developing business models that enhance financial sustainability and hence more editorial independence. (This includes integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) in newsroom work.)
• Governance and developmental agenda in Ethiopia
  • Galvanise on opportunities and potential to support citizen access to information through public interest journalism and broaden social media activism using social-media-based information sharing platforms designed for youth, which could provide platforms for dialogue on key governance and developmental issues.
  • Anchor the Ethiopian media scene and media developmental support in a set of international principles, so that objectives and actions are more strategic and take note of all elements that inform media policy reforms and media capacity building.
  • Bolster the presence, capacities, and role of the community, private, and state media on areas such as public interest journalism so they can provide quality information to citizens and push the boundaries of public accountability and governance issues.
  • Strengthen existing media and information platforms so as to engage the media sector on the processes of media reforms (e.g., broadcasting reforms and capacity building of broadcasters).
  • Amplify community media voices by supporting community radios to enhance their relevance and professionalism in tackling complex conflict, developmental, and social challenges.
• Humanitarian communication and community engagement: Provide support for: refugee and internally displaced persons (IDPs) information platforms, citizen journalism, and strategies that connect mainstream media with refugee and IDP communities.