Assessing Public Relations Functions and Challenges in the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA)
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Date
2022-05-30
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AAU
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to provide a critical assessment of the function and challenges of
public relations in the Ethiopian news agency. To achieve the objective of the study, a mixed
research design was used. A total of 268 respondents from ENA, ministries PR and the media
were purposively selected to participate in this study. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis
were used to analyze the data collected through the questionnaire, in-depth interviews, and
FGDs. The study concluded that public relations is often a top-down approach and ignores the
bottom-up and horizontal approaches. The weak organizational structure of public relations
hindered the achievement of ENA's desired goals. In addition, the study found that the biggest
challenge in ENA's public relations is the lack of professionalism. The role of ENA's public
relations department in connecting its staff with its customers and stakeholders was rated low.
The ministries' PR knowledge of ENA requires additional efforts, such as self-promotion through
the media, as their knowledge of ENA's services and founding purpose is limited. The
organization should therefore be advised to make great efforts to improve its public relations
and meet the needs of staff within ENA, clients, stakeholders and the public in general in order
to achieve sustainable growth and benefits.