Ethiopia media guide

A man points at the cover of a local newspaper in a street stall in a downtown area of the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on November 3, 2021Getty Images

Imprisoned journalists were freed and previously banned media were allowed to operate under reforms championed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed when he took office in 2018.

Among them were diaspora-based satellite TV stations ESAT and Oromo Media Network (OMN).

But by late 2020, amid inter-ethnic conflicts and fighting in the northern Tigray region, newly-recovered media freedoms were "hanging by a thread", Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said.

RSF said there had been no significant improvements to harsh media laws, which had been supplemented by a "vaguely-worded" law on hate speech and disinformation.

Although the state controls most broadcasting outlets, there is a handful of private TV and radio stations.

Radio is an important medium, reaching rural areas where most Ethiopians live.

Press circulation is largely confined to the literate urban elite.

There were 21.1 million internet users by December 2021, 17.7% of the population (Internetworldstats.com).

Online restrictions were rolled back after Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018, and the authorities lifted the blocking of hundreds of mainly opposition websites.

Social media platforms and messaging apps have been blocked intermittently, says Freedom House.

Press

Television

Radio

News agencies/Online

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