PRESS FREEDOM MISSIONS
5. ETHIOPIA: STATE INTERFERENCE IN MEDIA CONTENT; SHIFT IN MEDIA LAW
Despite some positive changes in media law, Ethiopian journalists operating
within state media have no editorial independence, says the International
Press Institute (IPI) after a recent fact-finding mission to Ethiopia.
After meetings with local media and the head of the Office of Government
Communication Affairs (OGCA), IPI learned that the OGCA involvement with
state media reinforces government influence. A document published in 2008
"invites the media to focus on developmental journalism and informs
journalists that they should focus on success stories." Some say the
document is an effort to curb media efforts to hold the government
accountable, reports IPI.
IPI expressed concern about an ongoing legal case in which several media
owners are trying to secure publishing licenses for political newspapers
shut down in 2005. According to IPI, the head of the OGCA said he was not
willing to award the licenses on the basis of supporting a pluralistic
media environment.
However, there have been positive developments. There has been support for
freedom of information laws as well as the removal of the authorities'
power to hold journalists in jail while pursuing an investigation.
IPI has made several recommendations. The government should: ensure the
proper development of public service media; recognise dissenting, plural
voices; resist the temptation to adopt practices of other countries without
first considering if they are in accordance with the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. IPI also urges the media to establish best practices for
its own credibility.
More on the web:
- IPI fact-finding mission reports on Ethiopian press freedom:
http://www.freemedia.at/startpage/singleview/ipi-fact-finding-mission-reports-on-ethiopian-press-freedom/164e15fb41/
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