"After the state collapse in 1991, Somalia fell into an orgy of violence, terrorism, piracy and a recent devastating drought. The country us politically fragmented. Press circulation is limited because of the conflict and the fact that the country has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. Somali only became a written language in 1972, and because of the civil war very few books or newspapers are published in it. Televised news is also not widely available. Though Internet usage has increased in recent years it remains more of an urban phenomenon, and while it is popular with young people and diaspora returnees, it is not widely used by those who are illiterate or lack access to the necessary technology and Internet-services.
Somalia’s media landscape is currently characterized by the dominant role played by radio, mainly because of the strength of the oral culture in the country, its high illiteracy rates and because the medium is relatively inexpensive. The TV and print media-sectors are weak and radio is by a long distance the dominant medium. There are at least 56 radio-stations, though there is no national or domestic broadcaster. Though Internet penetration remains paltry, the increase of Somali digital news outlets has massively grown in recent years. This growth has largely been driven outside Somalia’s borders from its large and influential diaspora.
Another important factor to consider is how conflict has shaped the media environment and created a fragmented political map. Somalia has suffered from political violence and weak central government. According to Transparency International, Somalia remains for the 10th year in a row the most corrupt country in the world. The media system has often reflected the major political divisions in society. The media reflect the deep schism that clannism has created in the society – which in part has fuelled the conflict in the country, which is a difficult country to govern. The state has always struggled to create a unified nation on a non-clan-defined basis. Clan affiliations become important where media outlets only report on their clan elders or report about attacks on their own clans – giving audiences an eschewed view of the news. Another problem is the perceived, or lack of, clan affiliations – journalists are routinely accused of either siding too much or too little with their own clans.
There is also a good deal of rumors and spread of unsubstantiated news stories that find their way onto the news. Journalists are offered money to cover certain stories, and because most lack reliable salaries, some will take advantage of this opportunity. In some other cases the issue is not that journalists take payments, but that they are not able to confirm the news that they hear, due to security concerns or lack of available corroborators, so they may release stories that turn out not to be true. Finally, there is also the problem that some journalists lack adequate training so some of what they broadcast may not have been researched and reported using proper journalistic methods.
Freedom House considers Somalia as one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist and a country with no freedom of press. In 2011 Freedom House issued a report entitled Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies, to complement its annual survey on the state of global political rights and civil liberties. They included nine countries designated as the Worst of the Worst, Somalia being one of them. On the other hand, in the same report Somaliland is considered as partially free." (Overview)