"This paper explores the factors constraining public service and commercial television channels in constituting the public sphere in Ethiopia. It focuses on three television stations and their respective programs, such as the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation’s Ethiopian television (ETV)’s Medr
...
ek, Fana Broadcasting Corporation’s Zuria Meles, and LTV’s Sefiw Mehidar. The data was collected starting from 2019 to 2020 in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, where the three TV stations are located. These programs were designed to entertain different views, including ideologies, policies, and strategies to be deliberated and critiqued. They have created opportunities for debate and discussion as the Ethiopian media did not have new program formats for public deliberation-related shows previously. However, results showed that these platforms remained ineffective to entertain a diversity of views. One of the major challenges for this is that the production process encounters multiple obstructions from the media, the guests, and the government authorities. Guests fear to deliberate their views openly and prefer to remain abstinent. Also, the hosts lacked the courage, professionalism, and basic knowledge about the topics for discussion. Government authorities do not want the programs to be critical and deliberative. Equally, failures to achieve an inclusive public sphere are the outcomes of the unstable political landscape in the country. Therefore, due to different factors, including a highly controlled media landscape in Ethiopia, creating platforms for public debate seems unattainable." (Abstract)
more
"Background: The demand for health-related information has increased dramatically in recent years. Media is crucial in reaching health messages to audiences, especially those who are distant and rural. Therefore, the study aimed to assess demands, access, and factors associated with access to health
...
messages through mass media in the rural community of Kersa District of East Hararghe, Eastern Ethiopia. A mixed-methods study was conducted from October 15 to November 20, 2020. A quantitative cross-sectional and a qualitative phenomenological study design were applied. A total of 578 participants were included by using a systematic sampling technique. Collected data were entered into Epidata version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. A multivariate logistic regression analysis model was used and reported using an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Statistical significance was set at p <0.05. For qualitative, six-focused group discussions (FGDs) were used and then analyzed thematically. Results: Overall, the demand of and access to health messages through mass media was 32.5% (95% CI=28.5–34.2%) and 26.6% (95% CI=24.6–28.7%), respectively. Factors such as having electric services (AOR=2.36, 95% CI=2.13–5.41), having a mobile phone (AOR=4.56, 95% CI=4.32–8.73), exposure to TV (AOR=4.73, 95% CI=1.03–11.62), and exposure to social media and printed media (AOR=5.24, 95% CI=1.07–15.63), a preference for programs such as news, current affairs, entertainment, health and educational were 2.37, 9.47, 4.75 and 7.55 times more likely to access health messages (AOR=2.37, 95% CI=1.00–5.61; AOR=9.47, 95% CI=3.54–25.34; AOR=4.75, 95% CI=1.23–18.38; and AOR=7.55, 95% CI=3.12–8.66, respectively). Qualitative findings, participants demand for health messages from health workers, radio, and the main source for accessing the message was the radio. Approximately one in every three and one in every four rural communities in the study area had demand, and access to health messages through mass media, respectively. As a result, all stakeholders should emphasize and strengthen expanding methods of reaching health messages using mass media." (Abstract)
more
"This country report provides an overview of the extent to which gender is addressed in Ethiopia’s digital policies, strategies, and regulations, divided into categories such as international development instruments, national digital policies and strategies, and digital sector-related laws and reg
...
ulations. The report includes a non-exhaustive list of specific programmes supporting digital inclusion in Ethiopia. The five pillars considered for analysis of gender in ICT strategies, policies and regulations are access to digital technology, digital skills, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship and leadership and digital infrastructure. There are explicit references to digital gender equality in Ethiopia’s digital policies and strategies. Based on the findings from the study, the report has a set of recommendations to enhance policies, laws, and regulations. There is a comprehensive checklist of preliminary policy actions that will help narrow the gender gap in Ethiopia. These range from ensuring women’s enrolment and completion of secondary and tertiary education to involving the private sector when making digital policies to facilitating women’s access to international networks." (Foreword)
more
"[...] While Facebook and YouTube are the most preferred platforms for content consumption, Facebook stands as a less trusted platform among the audience (ranks 4th). Audiences prioritize quality entertainment, current information, reliable reporting, and educational value content, while content cre
...
ators mostly cover topics like politics, business, and social issues.
Ethiopian users spend 2 to 4 hours daily on digital media, mainly accessed through smartphones. Online misinformation is widespread, and platforms like Telegram, websites, and YouTube are more trusted. Connectivity challenges, high staff-turnover, and limited advertising opportunities hinder content production and distribution. Digital media outlets engage with audiences through various platforms, targeting youth with a higher proportion of male users. Editorial systems, physical infrastructure, and revenue models vary among digital media outlets.
The study recommends that media organizations enhance digital literacy and fact-checking skills, diversify revenue streams, utilize digital storytelling tools, and access training programs. It suggests that government institutions streamline administrative procedures and provide incentives for digital innovation. Media development organizations are encouraged to offer capacity-building programs, provide financial and technical support, and collaborate on media literacy initiatives and fact-checking platforms. Acting on these recommendations could help mitigate challenges related to content production, verification, revenue generation, media literacy, and collaboration." (Executive summary)
more
"Who owns the media and communications in Africa today and with what implications? The book elegantly answers this urgent question by unpacking multiple dimensions of media ownership through rare and authoritative perspectives, including both historical and contemporary digital developments. It trac
...
es the evolving forms of ownership of media and communications in specific African contexts, showing how they interact with broader changes in and outside the continent. The book also shows how Big Techs, such as Meta (formerly known as Facebook), are involved in a scramble for Africa’s digital ecosystem and how their advance brings both opportunities and concerns about ownership and control. The chapters analyse evolving forms of ownership and their implications on media concentration and democracy across Africa. The book offers a nuanced account of how media ownership structures are in some instances captured with an ever-growing and complex ecosystem that also has new opportunities for public interest media. Offering a significant representation of the trends and diversity of existing media systems, the book goes beyond the postcolonial geographical divisions of North and Sub-Saharan Africa to highlight common patterns and significant similarities and differences of communications ownerships between and within African countries. The contributors expose media and communications ownership patterns in Africa that are centralised and yet decentralising and in some cases, battling, resurging and globalising." (Publisher description)
more
"The study was sparked by the absence of literature on transnational masspersonal communication (tmc) of 'Eritrean', 'Ethiopian', Oromo, and Somali diaspora communities. To bridge this theoretical gap, an empirical study was conducted at meso-level based on three questions: (a) what topics do people
...
in the diaspora communities discuss in relation to their homelands via social media - an alternative for tmc; (b) how do they communicate about their homelands' issues in relation to their collective identities; and (c) how does this communication enable the construction of their own identity as well as the deconstruction of competing identities. The theoretical analysis from the perspective of these questions led to developing own model, i.e., the Diasporic Identity Construction in Transnational Masspersonal Communication Model (DICTMCM). This model, which connects the theoretical analysis to the empirical study, argues that their communication in relation to their homelands, particularly about their collective identities, consists not only of what they talk but also of how they converse. As a result, the empirical results delivered a comparative analysis of the tmc of these four diaspora communities and how they construct their collective identities via this tmc, which bridged the above stated gap." (Publisher description)
more
"Hate speech is more complex and diverse on social media. It spreads at high speed and can impact behaviors beyond the borders where it originates. Hate is ubiquitous, interactive, and multimedia. It is available 24/7, reaching a much larger audience. On social media, haters can be anonymous and fin
...
d support from individuals with the same aggressive mindset. This is just a brief characterization and certainly presents many theoretical gaps that need improvement. This book explores the nature of hate speech on social media. Readers will find chapters written by 21 authors from 18 universities or research centers. It includes researchers from 11 countries, prioritizing a diversity of approaches from the Global North and Global South – Brazil, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Germany, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the USA. The analyses herein involve the realities in an even larger number of countries, given the transnational approach of some of these studies." (Preface, page 13)
more
"The book [...] examines the dedicated policies targeting the SDGs, as well as political and institutional drivers of synergies and trade-offs between the SDGs in selected key areas – both cross-nationally and in specific country contexts. Their analysis moves beyond the focus on links between SDG
...
indicators and targets. Instead, the book takes advantage of recent evidence from the initial implementation phase of the SDGs and each chapter explores the question of which political-institutional prerequisites, governance mechanisms and policy instruments are suited to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs. The findings presented are intended to both inform high-level policy debates and to provide orientation for practitioners working on development cooperation." (Publisher description)
more
"With contributions from scholars across the continent, Digital Citizenship in Africa illustrates how citizens have been using VPNs, encryption, and privacy-protecting browsers to resist limits on their rights to privacy and political speech. This book dramatically expands our understanding of the v
...
ast and growing arsenal of tech tools, tactics, and techniques now being deployed by repressive governments to limit the ability of citizens to safely and openly express opposition to government and corporate actions. AI-enabled surveillance, covertly deployed disinformation, and internet shutdowns are documented in ten countries, concluding with recommendations on how to curb government and corporate power, and how to re-invigorate digital citizenship across Africa." (Publisher description)
more
"This volume presents case studies of news media employing and integrating social media into their news production practices. It links social media use to journalistic practices and news production processes in the digital age of the Global South. Critically, the chapters look at seminal cases of st
...
art-up news media whose content is informed by trends in social media, ethical considerations and participatory cultures spurred by the wide use of social media. There has been considerable research looking at the potential of new media technologies, traditional journalism and citizen reporting. The extent to which these new media technologies and 'citizen journalism' have morphed or reconfigured traditional journalism practice remains debatable. Currently, there are questions around the limits of social media in journalism practice as the ethical lines continue to become blurred. It is this conundrum of the role of social media in the reconfiguration of the media, news making, production and participatory cultures that requires more investigation. Social media has also turned the logic of the political economy of media production on its head as citizens can now produce, package and distribute news and information with shoestring budgets and in authoritarian regimes with no license of practice. This new political economy means the power that special interest groups used to enjoy is increasingly slipping from their hands as citizens take back the power to appropriate social media journalism to counter hegemonic narratives. Citizens can also perform journalistic roles of investigating and whistleblowing but with a lack off, or limited, regulation." (Publisher description)
more
"DW Akademie initiated a human-centered design (HCD) process as a starting point for a media development project in Ethiopia. The aim was to develop a better understanding and assess the current situation regarding misinformation and disinformation. The process with journalists and media experts fro
...
m Ethiopia was conducted between October 2019 and February 2020 in Addis Ababa in order to find an accepted and feasible way to support fact-checking in Ethiopia. This case study shows the process of gaining insights into the “context of use” for fact-checkers and the main results of the ideation on fact-checking initiatives within the very diverse Ethiopian context." (Page 7)
more
"For most of its modern history, the news media in Ethiopia have been a tool for government control. But 2018 brought a wave of optimism to Africa’s second most populous nation. Anti-government protests forced the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to undertake majo
...
r reforms to its authoritarian rule in an effort to stave off mass violence and the potential collapse of the central government. The incumbent prime minister, Hai lemariam Desalegn, was forced to resign. In his place, the EPRDF nominated Abiy Ahmed, a young and charismatic reformer from the long-marginalized Oromiya region. Overnight, protestors lifted roadblocks and popular discontent transformed into euphoria and hope for a better future. This set the stage for one of the most remarkable attempts at media reform in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. The Abiy government freed journalists from prison; deregulated the sector, enabling the establishment of dozens of new media houses; and put into motion a media reform process that brought government and civil society together in a shared vision for change. However, these early successes have faltered. Quick deregulation without strong enabling institutions and laws created a surge of media outlets and journalism associations that fueled polarization and conflict along ethnic fault lines." (Page 1)
more
"To date, no study has evaluated the effect of a radio-only campaign on infant vaccination coverage, timeliness, and related morbidity in a low-income country. We implemented the "10+10+30" radio campaign involving broadcasting a weekly 10-minute radio drama series on vaccination, followed by a 10-m
...
inute discussion by community health workers, and then a 30-minute listener phone-in segment in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia for three months. To assess the impact of 10+10+30, which was aired on a community radio station, we recruited mothers of infants up to 5 weeks old in intervention district clusters that were inside the radio station's reception range (n = 328 dyads) and control district clusters that were outside of the range (n = 332 dyads). Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses, adjusted for pre-intervention differences between the districts, were conducted to examine the co-primary outcome of Penta-3 vaccination coverage and timeliness as well as those of other vaccines and outcomes related to infant morbidity. Both intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses revealed higher vaccine coverage and more timely vaccine administration in the intervention district relative to the control district, with infants in the intervention district being 39% more likely to receive a Penta 3 vaccination. In addition, adjusted regression analyses of maternal retrospective reports over a two-week period revealed 80% less infant diarrhoea, 40% less fever and 58% less cough in the intervention district relative to the control district. This study provides compelling initial evidence that a radio drama integrated with discussion and phone-in components may improve infant vaccination coverage and timeliness and may reduce infant morbidity." (Abstract)
more
"The chapters here explore the impact, especially of Covid-19, on the media while unpacking the complexities, intersections and dynamics surrounding technological, political and economic developments and trends. Similarly, media discourses on journalism practice, audience narratives and news discour
...
ses are taken up. The contributors revisit and offer critical insights on a broad range of theories and debates, including political economy of the media, constructive journalism, the Fourth Estate, securitization and journalist safety. As such, we obtain a deeper understanding of the changes and continuities surrounding discourses on news frames, trends, actors and agendas in the context of health crises. Also, the important role for public health communication and the notion of ‘information’ as a ‘public good’, especially during health crises, i.e. Covid-19, are invaluable areas of discussion. Lastly, the volume contributes to new insights on media discourses around regulation, representation and marginalization in the context of health crises. We learn, for instance, how several governments under the guise of ‘national safety’ continue to impinge on human rights and freedom of expression for both producers and consumers. This occurs through loopholes in existing regulation but also because of non-existent policy like on social media and citizen journalism and affordances of impunity." (Preface, page xii)
more
"This volume explores and calls into question certain commonly held assumptions about writing and technological advancement in the Islamic tradition. In particular, it challenges the idea that mechanical print naturally and inevitably displaces handwritten texts as well as the notion that the so-cal
...
led transition from manuscript to print is unidirectional. Indeed, rather than distinct technologies that emerge in a progressive series (one naturally following the other), they frequently co-exist in complex and complementary relationships – relationships we are only now starting to recognize and explore. The book brings together essays by internationally recognized scholars from an array of disciplines (including philology, linguistics, religious studies, history, anthropology, and typography) whose work focuses on the written word – channeled through various media – as a social and cultural phenomenon within the Islamic tradition." (Publisher description)
more
"Various media freedom NGOs have noted that progress achieved in 2019 in terms of freedom of expression and of the media was disrupted by a series of internet shutdowns as well as by an anti-hate speech law adopted in 2020, whose vague provisions have drawn criticism from specialized observers. Furt
...
hermore, the armed conflict that broke out in the Tigray region in November 2020 has pointed out to concerning trends, with journalists reporting having been barred to travel to the region. Responding to these setbacks, the UNESCO Addis Ababa Office launched in 2020 on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day an online campaign promoting freedom of expression, media freedom and the safety of journalists within the national context of democratic transition. In addition, the campaign aimed at encouraging professional journalism within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has, as in many other countries, come to further complicate the challenges faced by Ethiopian media." (Page 2)
more
"This study reviews patterns of domestic and international media reporting and the role of disinformation, misinformation, and media bias in the Tigray conflict, which has been raging since November 2020. Since its outbreak, the conflict has evolved through four broad phases. Throughout these phases
...
, the conflict was characterised by egregious violations of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law. To analyse the role of the media in the conflict, this study reviewed local and international media, conducted interviews with local and international journalists and analysts, and consulted secondary literature. Patterns of reporting by international and local media exhibited fairly significant levels of divergence in the issues that were selected for reporting and how they were reported during these four phases of the conflict." (Executive summary)
more