Media and religion in Ethiopia
The recently endorsed Ethiopian media policy and media law have opened up the opportunity for religious groups to own their own broadcasting channels. Accordingly, close to 50 religious media organizations have received licenses from the Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA) . Through this report, Fojo scrutinizes coverage of religion in the Ethiopian media and describes what the media and religion relationship looks like. The study gives an historical background of media and religion in Ethiopia, reviews relevant media laws and policies, describes the new religious media landscape, and examines how journalists deal with religious issues by scrutinizing television channels from both the private and the state-owned media in the county. The study finds that while the religious media have now got wider opportunities to engage in media production, they tend to focus on soft issues. The mainstream media on its part – especially the state-affiliated media –shy away from religious conflicts. The media tend to either present the issues in a ‘tolerance’ frame without touching the causes, actors and consequences of the conflict, or covering the issues in a polarized way by classifying the people as ‘us’ and ‘them’ based on their religious denomination.
Publisert i Research briefing (Jimma University, Ethiopia) , 2024
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