Browsing by Author "Theodros Woudneh"

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    The Ethiopian Defamation Laws and Journalists' Perception and Practices Pertinent to the Laws
    (Addis Ababa University, 2017-06) Theodros Woudneh ; Negeri Lencho
    The aim of this research is to examine the Ethiopian defamation laws and the journalists' perception and practices pertaining to the laws. The Public Sphere theory and Social Responsibility Theory of the Press have been employed to inform the research. The research employed both quantitative and qualitative method of research. Moreover, the research utilized descriptive and thematic analysis method to analyze the quantitative and the qualitative data respectively. 2 10 questionnaires were administered to reporters and editors in the state run and privately owned media based in Add is Ababa thro ugh random sampling, out of which the properly filled and returned 142 questionnaires were analyzed. Besides, the data from the interview which were gathered from four media selected randomly through lottery system and from the purposely selected four journalists in those media were analyzed separately. What is more, the data gathered from two focus groups with eight members each selected using purposive sampling were discussion and analyzed thematically. The various defamation laws of the country were analyzed against the laws on freedom of expression. Again, the four defamation cases which appeared in the Federal First instant courts since 1999 were selected based on the availability sampling and analyzed thematically. The research found out that journalists have a negative perception towards the defamation laws; the various defamation laws serve a chilling effect; and many defamation cases of the court have a deterrence factor to the extent of se lf-censoring.