A Study of Source Consideration and News Selection in Ethiopian Television
| dc.contributor.advisor | Zewdie, Teka (PhD) | |
| dc.contributor.author | Dibaba, Getachew | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-06-28T09:53:19Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-11-08T13:37:35Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-06-28T09:53:19Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-11-08T13:37:35Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2006-07 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The study aims to examine the practice of source and story selection in Ethiopian Television (ETV). The study thus explores the dominant sources used within ETV news to see whose views are reflected most in the news and how these sources become frequently used by journalists in the news. The study also examines criteria for selecting stories at ETV. The nature of methodology employed in this study is qualitative. In-depth interviews with key informants and content analysis were used as techniques to gather data. Some 503 television news stories were collected between 1 May 2006 and 30 May 2006. Key informant interviews were also conducted with media practitioners who are responsible for news production. Results showed that government sources were used as major information providers in 73.4 % of the stories, and government officials were visible in 54.3 % of the stories. The interpretation drawn from these results is that government voices are preferred for news stories, with representatives from other sections of society being given less chance to express their perspectives. The thesis concludes that that political power is a major source consideration at ETV. The powerful decision-makers at the editorial conference, gatekeepers of the final product, are inevitably members of or sympathetic to the ruling party. With regard to criteria for news selection, issues that deal with development are given priority, and portraying the government positively is also an important criterion for choosing stories. The findings also show that there are both internal and external pressures affecting journalistic decisions, often forcing journalists to practice self-censorship in order to depict the ruling party positively and omit facts that are offensive to the ruling party. The thesis concludes that different sections of society are not able to communicate their perspectives on ETV since the organization serves as a conduit for government policy messages instead of regularly entertaining diversified views. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/4600 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | en_US |
| dc.subject | Consideration and News Selection in Ethiopian | en_US |
| dc.title | A Study of Source Consideration and News Selection in Ethiopian Television | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |