Self-regulation of the private press in Ethiopia: prospects and challenges
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Date
2008-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The research has attempted to study the practices of self-regulation among the Ethiopian
private presses with a view to apprehend the prospects and challenges of
institutionalizing vibrant and functional self-regulatory bodies in the press industry.
In Ethiopia the press has been liberalized since the downfall of the socialist military
government in 1991. The FDRE constitution and the subsequent press proclamation has
provided recognition to the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press which in
turn contributed to the proliferation of the private press. However, the private as well as
the government press were not functioning in line with recognized journalistic
standards. There was a north-south dichotomy in the press. Some of the private presses
were serving as a mouthpiece for certain opposition political parties while others were
highly affiliated with the incumbent government. Still others were established to
promote parochial ethnic politics. The government press was also serving as a conduit to
the government propaganda. Consequently, journalistic ethics and self-regulation were
highly disregarded.
The researcher has employed a qualitative methodology to conduct the research. Indepth
interviews are conducted with journalists, editor-in-chiefs, owners and
representatives of media professional associations to apprehend the prospects and
challenges of institutionalizing self-regulatory frameworks in the country’s media
industry. Beside this, the researcher has exhaustively explored pertinent Ethiopian
media legislations in a bid to examine their conduciveness for exercising self-regulation.
The finding of the research demonstrates that the practice of media self-regulation
in Ethiopia is in its nascent stage. There are some media houses that have developed in10
house codes of conduct as ethical guidelines. However, only in very few media houses
are the codes treated as an institutional ethical standard. In most cases self-regulation
predicates upon the will, consent and cooperation of the press industry. However, in
Ethiopia the private/government dichotomy and the chasm among the private presses
make institutionalizing self-regulatory bodies very remote. There is also a substantial
polarization among and within journalists’ associations in political lines. Some of the
journalists’ associations are highly politically charged. Despite these, however, there are
some promising movements among some private presses and the civil society to
establish an independent self-regulatory body.
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Keywords
private press in Ethiopia