Online Newspapers, Live TV Channels, Radios

The media outlets are a recent phenomenon in Ethiopia. Earlier, the emergence of the newspaper was not so visible. A good number of reasons are liable for this. The mainstream media outlets of the country are made of radio, television, and internet. Majority of the media outlets are owned by the state and under the state domination. Besides, there are some other media outlets available which are privately owned. But the media outlets are not so much flourished in different terms.

At present, among the media outlets, radio is most preferred. There are a good number of reasons why the media outlets failed to shine in the country. The first and foremost thing about the country is that they are illiterate. The literacy rate is lower in the country than its neighbors. A large portion of the population lives in the rural areas of the country and they have less access to the modern media outlets other than radios. But in some other cases, they also rely on information from different other sources for them.

Television also plays another important source of information and entertainment for the people of the country. Radio is preferred in the rural areas while television is preferred in the city areas. The number of television sets in different city areas is notable. The television stations broadcast a wide number of events and programs for the audience across the country. They come with different languages too.

Though there are some newspapers available in the country, the circulation is lower. In fact, there is almost no readership of the newspapers across the country. Only the main cities of the country have few circulations which are insufficient for the survival of the newspapers. As a result, the journalists of newspapers are involved in different types of illegal activities that do not match with them at all. Besides, the newspapers are losing their appeal to the mass people for some unwanted news publications.

The media outlets have some self-censorship. They do not publish any news and information which are a threat to the country. Besides, they do not also criticize any government policies. In fact, the government of the country has a tight control of media. The radio and television stations are dominated by the government and even the news and information are monitored prior to publication. So, there is less reports and information available which criticize the government. And the self-censorship of the journalists is the safeguard for them.

When there is unwanted news and information is available on the mass media outlets, the government takes stern actions against the media outlets. So, the journalists are aware of the issues and do not publish such news and information that may damage their career or life. In fact, the best way to keep out of trouble with the government is to maintain the self-censorship.

There are around 21 newspapers available in the country and they come with different languages. Most of the newspapers are published using the local languages and there are some English language dailies are also available.

The country has 10 radio stations and eight of them are AM radio while the two others are shortwave. Radio operation needs a license to operate inside the country. The radio contents are diversified. And the radio stations are accessible from any parts of the country. So, the number of radio listeners is more than the other types of media outlets.

The state-run television broadcasts around the day. And it has a wide number of programs and events for the audience. But the television broadcast is limited to some large cities in the country. And the broadcast contents are often monitored by the state authorities.

The use of the internet is not so much available in the country. And thus there are less internet-based media outlets.