"[...] The press situation in the country is deeply disconcerting. The reason for this is that the media landscape is as polarized as never before, and that parts of the media are being blamed for playing a pivotal role in the turbulence which have erupted in various parts of the country since 2019. The suspicion of many people is that the media are being exploited to propagate an ethnic agenda. Towards this backdrop, the intention of the study is to examine the role of the media in ethnic tensions in contemporary Ethiopia. The methodology is twofold, combining in-depth interviews with framing analysis. For the interview part, we have met approximately 25 persons with key positions in all major parts of the media in the country. For the framing analysis, we have scrutinized the media coverage of eight crucial incidents of 2019 in ten different media outlets. We argue that the tendencies we’re observing in the media can be described as an intensified ethnification process. By this we mean that ethnic belonging and identity politics are gaining significance as central frames of reference in the current Ethiopian media discourse. Ethnicity is being employed as a key to interpret media messages, and it outlines a frame for classifying media channels and personalities. We identify two major frames, annihilation and othering, which are indicative of the tendency of journalists to align with their ethnic background ..." (Executive summary)
Media and ethnicity in Ethiopia in historical perspective / Terje Skjerdal, 9
Media and ethnicity during the current Ethiopian leadership / Terje Skjerdal, 14
A framing analysis of stories in selected media channels / Mulatu Alemayehu, 35