Online Newspapers, Live TV Channels, Radios

The media outlets in Djibouti consist of newspapers, television and radio stations. But there are some troubles with the media outlets. They are not free to express their opinions. Almost all the media outlets are controlled by the government. Besides, the government owns the majority of the media outlets and has created a situation where it is impossible to think of press freedom. The media in the country is dominated by the government for some unknown reasons. The government does not want to allow media to express their inner issues.

The number of private media outlets is zero and the government has ownership of the mainstream media which it uses for its own benefits. As a result, there are not a single authentic news source is available while the censorship is strictly maintained inside the country. The media outlets, being owned by the government, is unable to express freely. Even, the media contents are regularly filtered and monitored by the government so that no anti-government message is broadcast or printed to spark any unrest. The situation intensified since 2016 when the presidential election took place.

Moreover, the number of the internet users is also limited comparing a country like this. In fact, most of the people have no or limited access to the internet facility. So, it is not possible for them either to express their opinions or to know about the world events through the online media outlets. So, the information about the world is limited to them and they only have the idea about their own state which is also do not provide the best or real information to them.

The monitoring of the opposition websites is a common practice in the country and the government does it skillfully. Often the websites are not allowed to access inside the country and people are deprived of the news and information. But some of the opposition media outlets are operated from foreign countries to make people aware of the latest happenings of the government. They mostly run anti-government propaganda.

The media outlets are struggling in the country but they are not allowed to express themselves extensively. This is a small land but the government is all in all. Besides, the readership of the newspaper is lower in the country for the increased rate of illiteracy. The people who are literate have less time to spend reading newspapers. They remain busy with earning their living. And so, another medium like radio has grabbed the position. Actually, radio has become the greatest source of entertainment and information of the local people.

The media outlets mostly broadcast and publish their media contents using French and Arabic language. English is rarely used in this case. Besides, religious issues are also considered while publishing or broadcasting news and information. A majority of the local people belong to the Muslim community and so the media contents are shaped in that way so that nobody feels any disrespect to their religious views.

The state has a single newspaper that comes in printed form. And the newspaper is owned by the government. The newspaper mostly focuses on some generalized issue and published on a weekly basis.

The state has one state-run television set and it broadcasts in different languages including French, Afar, and Arabic. But the television contents are not so much attractive for the audiences and access to television is not available for everyone.

The radio broadcast in the country began in the 1940s and since then it is operating. But this outlet is controlled by the government. People have a huge access to this outlet and radio plays an important role to disseminate information to the local people.