Browsing by Author "Berhanu Asfaw Weldemikael"

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    Discourses of ‘Development’ in Ethiopian Press
    (Addis Ababa University, 2019-04-01) Berhanu Asfaw Weldemikael; Hailom Banteyerga(PhD)
    The study aims at analyzing the representation of development discourse in selected Ethiopian press outlets. Using social constructionism and critical discourse analysis as major theoretical guides, the study analyzed five English-medium press outlets and their coverage of development issues during the five years of GTP I (Sept 2010 – Aug 2015). The publications were selected using purposive sampling. It focused on finding out linguistic and discursive differences among state-owned and privately-owned press outlets. 143 articles were selected using Parker’s seven criteria for distinguishing discourses and Shah’s ten criteria of development reporting. The articles were analyzed qualitatively using critical discourse analysis (Fairclough’s three-dimensional model and discourse representation theory; van Djik’s socio-cognitive theory and ideological square were used), systematic functional linguistics (transitivity in particular), appraisal theory, and representation of social actor’s theory. Social and discursive practices of the press were also analyzed. The representation of development issues in the Ethiopian press has been highly polarized and politicized. Accordingly, two major and opposite ideologies were identified: (1) revolutionary democracy and developmental state; and (2) liberal and/or neo-liberal ideology. The former is addressed as ‘the optimist view’, while the latter is labeled as ‘the doubting view’. The state press, Ethiopian Herald, reported about Ethiopia’s development in line with the revolutionary democracy and developmental state ideology. In doing so, three basic manifestations of developmental state ideology were emphasized: the government/ruling party took the central position of every development activity; economic growth was reported as a sole manifestation of development, and development activities were mostly evaluated in terms of poverty reduction. Contrary to this, the private press represented Ethiopia’s development in accordance with liberal ideology. In doing so, the private sector takes the central position in the development narrative,while the government was urged to have zero or minimal involvement in the economy.Development activities were evaluated in terms of social and political variables. Both used different styles of reporting in a way that manifests discursive struggle and meaning contestations. Power abuse and enactments were mainly manifested through source selection, distribution, and representation of social actors.