small and medium enterprise Development (9)
Development journalism revived: The case of Ethiopiamore
by Terje Skjerdal
than once he has had the opportunity to get exclusive interviews
with African state leaders at theairport. What emerges is a
symbiotic relationship between the state media and the
bureaucracy. Itbecomes essential to ask how this condition
affects issues of professional integrity. Indeed, the concerned
reporter admits that journalistic integrity is under threat in the
present media situation:
“In the government media it is not acceptable to write negative
issues. Sometimes it’
s accepted, butnot widely. Of course there is a conflict with my
journalism ethics.
There is a conflict in my mind”
(reporter, ENA, personal interview 4 December 2008).
Interestingly, however, the reporter considershis conflict of mind
to be less important than national concerns. The reporter
believes that theunderprivileged economic condition of Ethiopia
necessitates a different type of reporting than thatwhich
traditional Western journalism can provide. Comparing different
journalism paradigms, heinfers:Some say watchdog journalism
is good journalism. [...] In my view, development journalism
isbetter. Ethiopia is a poor country. The government struggles to
create a better country. [...]Ethiopia is different from Europe and
America. We have to broadcast positive news to thepublic. The
public wants that news. That is development journalism. Some
of the peoplewant to hear political news. But the majority wants
to hear positive, development news. And
that’
s what I want too. (Reporter, ENA, personal interview 4
December 2008)The journalists in the state media acknowledge
that development journalism is in conflict withcertain other
types of professional practice
, especially ‘watchdog’ and ‘investigative’
reporting.Several reporters conceptualize a
‘hybrid’ journalism
form, however, and suggest that borrowingelements
from ‘universal’
professional frameworks would enhance Ethiopian
development journalism practice. Such a combination of critical
journalism and development journalism has beenfound in other
transitional societies as well, like Uganda (Mwesige 2004). One
editor in
The EthiopianHerald
agrees that development journalism is needed in official
reporting, but he also emphasizesthe value of other journalism
styles when he adds
: “I’m afraid t
hat development journalism will notget us where we should be. I
hope development journalism will be combined with other types
of journalism
–
liberal journalism. I want development journalism to be more
liberal” (personal
interview 11 May 2010). His comment is typical of the
discontent felt by many journalists as regardsthe current
condition for reporting in the Ethiopian state media. However,
the comment also revealsthe vagueness that the journalists sense
with development journalism. On the one hand, the practiceis
perceived as responding appropriately to
the country’s
social and economic challenges; on theother hand, it is perceived
as a practice which significantly delimits
the media’s potential to
operatefreely.
Concluding discussion
Journalists in the Ethiopian state media endorse the idea that the
media should both cover andsupport development. In terms of
role perception, the journalists view themselves as inherently
partof the society which they report on, and they take for granted
that a responsible media workershould also have the mind of a
change agent. In practical terms, this means focusing on
positivedevelopment efforts, educating people, and generally
supporting national interest. However, thisstudy has shown that
it also means neglecting critical stories, avoiding oppositional
voices, and hidinginformation from the public. The latter is not
an exception, but belongs to the order of the day inofficial
reporting. Paradoxically, this strategy is both defended and
disapproved by the journalists. Onthe one hand, they justify the
negligence of critical reporting by maintaining that such
coveragemight do more harm than good to the nation. Central to
this line of thought is the assumption thatthe society is not
prepared to deal with a high amount of negative stories because
a suspectedconsequence is instability and uncertainty among
people. On the other hand, journalists are criticalto what they
regard as mounting politicization of reporting practices in the
Ethiopian state mediafollowing the disputed 2005 elections. It
has become increasingly difficult to distinguish
between journalistic decisions made on professional grounds
and those made on political grounds.
10Alongside growing politicization of the Ethiopian state media,
the authorities haveintroduced development journalism in
official media policy. The policy opposes both libertarian and
–
even more so
–
authoritarian media ideologies. Like
Banda’s
(2007) PSB-inspired development journalism model, the
Ethiopian policy stresses that the media should accommodate
the needs of thelocal community. However, while
Banda’s and
many earlier submissions of development journalismassume
global media imbalances and the colonial legacy to be part of its
raison d’être
, the Ethiopianpolicy emerges entirely from domestic concerns
–
of which poverty is the most important condition.All the more
striking is that the implementation of development journalism in
Ethiopia appears torepeat some of the troubles of development
journalism elsewhere. The concerns are mainly of threetypes.
First, the ambiguity of development journalism is a persisting
problem. In principle, theframework encourages both
promotional and investigative stories. In effect, however,
journalistsperceive sympathetic reporting to be the only style
accepted by the owner. Secondly, the policybecomes politicized
on its way to the newsroom. As far as the journalists are
concerned, there areonly certain issues that are allowed to be
reported on; only a certain form of language that isaccepted; and
only certain sources that should be consulted
–
and they are all pro-government.Thirdly, and ironically,
implementation of development journalism turns out to be
marked by top-down directives rather than participation from
below. This is in great contrast to old and newtheories of
development journalism (Domatob and Hall 1983; Banda 2007;
Servaes 2009). In theEthiopian case, both the policy document
and journalists speak warmly of the importance of people-driven
journalism, but ultimately, it is leaders and managers who frame
the nature and extent of such participation. Broadcasting
journalists disclose how they pretend to care for public
participationin the programmes by including a majority of
voices which support
the government’s caus
e, whilesupplementing with a few dissident voices for the sake
of credibility.Of course, these critical remarks to development
journalism could be dismissed by arguingthat the policy is not
yet fully implemented in the Ethiopian media. And rightly, both
practitionersand managers in the media organizations admit that
there are deficiencies to be dealt with. Mediaveteran Kefyalew
Azeze, one of the minds behind the Ethiopian development
journalism policydocument, observes:
“
There are some examples of good journalism in our
organizations, but onlysporadic. [...] There is a slow process in
the development of journalism in this country. The laws arevery
progressive, but not the p
ractice” (personal interview
17 November 2009). The politicalleadership is therefore humble
in its portrayal of the performance in the media organizations.
Areorientation to development journalism philosophy is
expected to improve the performance overtime, in the view of
Ethiopian authorities. However, it is fair to suggest that the
elasticity entailed inthe development journalism paradigm is
hardly conducive for a potential break with the
traditionallypoliticized character of the Ethiopian state media.
On the contrary, the chequered history of development
journalism worldwide shows that the paradigm has commonly
been used to validatemedia support for the political ideas of the
government.On this basis, it might seem that development
journalism must be scrapped altogether as amodel for
professional media practice in a transitional society like
Ethiopia. However, that is notentirely the thesis here. Rather, a
society in transition has challenges that are unlikely to be fixed
byembracing a libertarian media system alone. A media structure
solely built on commercial principleswould hardly give proper
attention to issues of social and national importance, nor is the
economicbase in such societies strong enough for creating a
competitive media market. Therefore, in light of the present
study of the Ethiopian media, there seems to be no single media
or journalism modelthat is likely to resolve the diverse
challenges of a transitional media society. Instead, a
combinationof models should be considered. To the extent
development journalism is applied as one of theapproaches,
particular attention must be paid to avoid problems of
politicization in reporting and tosecure overall media freedom.
Acknowledgements
11I am greatly indebted to Woldegiorgis Ghebrehiwot who
translated the Ethiopian policy document ondevelopment
journalism from Amharic to English. I also thank Birhanu Olana
and prof. Helge Rønningfor constructive comments on a
previous draft.
Endnote
1. More recent estimates of journalists in ERTA are lower as
regional media houses have beenoutsourced from the mother
institution and organized as separate unit
by Terje Skjerdal
than once he has had the opportunity to get exclusive interviews
with African state leaders at theairport. What emerges is a
symbiotic relationship between the state media and the
bureaucracy. Itbecomes essential to ask how this condition
affects issues of professional integrity. Indeed, the concerned
reporter admits that journalistic integrity is under threat in the
present media situation:
“In the government media it is not acceptable to write negative
issues. Sometimes it’
s accepted, butnot widely. Of course there is a conflict with my
journalism ethics.
There is a conflict in my mind”
(reporter, ENA, personal interview 4 December 2008).
Interestingly, however, the reporter considershis conflict of mind
to be less important than national concerns. The reporter
believes that theunderprivileged economic condition of Ethiopia
necessitates a different type of reporting than thatwhich
traditional Western journalism can provide. Comparing different
journalism paradigms, heinfers:Some say watchdog journalism
is good journalism. [...] In my view, development journalism
isbetter. Ethiopia is a poor country. The government struggles to
create a better country. [...]Ethiopia is different from Europe and
America. We have to broadcast positive news to thepublic. The
public wants that news. That is development journalism. Some
of the peoplewant to hear political news. But the majority wants
to hear positive, development news. And
that’
s what I want too. (Reporter, ENA, personal interview 4
December 2008)The journalists in the state media acknowledge
that development journalism is in conflict withcertain other
types of professional practice
, especially ‘watchdog’ and ‘investigative’
reporting.Several reporters conceptualize a
‘hybrid’ journalism
form, however, and suggest that borrowingelements
from ‘universal’
professional frameworks would enhance Ethiopian
development journalism practice. Such a combination of critical
journalism and development journalism has beenfound in other
transitional societies as well, like Uganda (Mwesige 2004). One
editor in
The EthiopianHerald
agrees that development journalism is needed in official
reporting, but he also emphasizesthe value of other journalism
styles when he adds
: “I’m afraid t
hat development journalism will notget us where we should be. I
hope development journalism will be combined with other types
of journalism
–
liberal journalism. I want development journalism to be more
liberal” (personal
interview 11 May 2010). His comment is typical of the
discontent felt by many journalists as regardsthe current
condition for reporting in the Ethiopian state media. However,
the comment also revealsthe vagueness that the journalists sense
with development journalism. On the one hand, the practiceis
perceived as responding appropriately to
the country’s
social and economic challenges; on theother hand, it is perceived
as a practice which significantly delimits
the media’s potential to
operatefreely.
Concluding discussion
Journalists in the Ethiopian state media endorse the idea that the
media should both cover andsupport development. In terms of
role perception, the journalists view themselves as inherently
partof the society which they report on, and they take for granted
that a responsible media workershould also have the mind of a
change agent. In practical terms, this means focusing on
positivedevelopment efforts, educating people, and generally
supporting national interest. However, thisstudy has shown that
it also means neglecting critical stories, avoiding oppositional
voices, and hidinginformation from the public. The latter is not
an exception, but belongs to the order of the day inofficial
reporting. Paradoxically, this strategy is both defended and
disapproved by the journalists. Onthe one hand, they justify the
negligence of critical reporting by maintaining that such
coveragemight do more harm than good to the nation. Central to
this line of thought is the assumption thatthe society is not
prepared to deal with a high amount of negative stories because
a suspectedconsequence is instability and uncertainty among
people. On the other hand, journalists are criticalto what they
regard as mounting politicization of reporting practices in the
Ethiopian state mediafollowing the disputed 2005 elections. It
has become increasingly difficult to distinguish
between journalistic decisions made on professional grounds
and those made on political grounds.
10Alongside growing politicization of the Ethiopian state media,
the authorities haveintroduced development journalism in
official media policy. The policy opposes both libertarian and
–
even more so
–
authoritarian media ideologies. Like
Banda’s
(2007) PSB-inspired development journalism model, the
Ethiopian policy stresses that the media should accommodate
the needs of thelocal community. However, while
Banda’s and
many earlier submissions of development journalismassume
global media imbalances and the colonial legacy to be part of its
raison d’être
, the Ethiopianpolicy emerges entirely from domestic concerns
–
of which poverty is the most important condition.All the more
striking is that the implementation of development journalism in
Ethiopia appears torepeat some of the troubles of development
journalism elsewhere. The concerns are mainly of threetypes.
First, the ambiguity of development journalism is a persisting
problem. In principle, theframework encourages both
promotional and investigative stories. In effect, however,
journalistsperceive sympathetic reporting to be the only style
accepted by the owner. Secondly, the policybecomes politicized
on its way to the newsroom. As far as the journalists are
concerned, there areonly certain issues that are allowed to be
reported on; only a certain form of language that isaccepted; and
only certain sources that should be consulted
–
and they are all pro-government.Thirdly, and ironically,
implementation of development journalism turns out to be
marked by top-down directives rather than participation from
below. This is in great contrast to old and newtheories of
development journalism (Domatob and Hall 1983; Banda 2007;
Servaes 2009). In theEthiopian case, both the policy document
and journalists speak warmly of the importance of people-driven
journalism, but ultimately, it is leaders and managers who frame
the nature and extent of such participation. Broadcasting
journalists disclose how they pretend to care for public
participationin the programmes by including a majority of
voices which support
the government’s caus
e, whilesupplementing with a few dissident voices for the sake
of credibility.Of course, these critical remarks to development
journalism could be dismissed by arguingthat the policy is not
yet fully implemented in the Ethiopian media. And rightly, both
practitionersand managers in the media organizations admit that
there are deficiencies to be dealt with. Mediaveteran Kefyalew
Azeze, one of the minds behind the Ethiopian development
journalism policydocument, observes:
“
There are some examples of good journalism in our
organizations, but onlysporadic. [...] There is a slow process in
the development of journalism in this country. The laws arevery
progressive, but not the p
ractice” (personal interview
17 November 2009). The politicalleadership is therefore humble
in its portrayal of the performance in the media organizations.
Areorientation to development journalism philosophy is
expected to improve the performance overtime, in the view of
Ethiopian authorities. However, it is fair to suggest that the
elasticity entailed inthe development journalism paradigm is
hardly conducive for a potential break with the
traditionallypoliticized character of the Ethiopian state media.
On the contrary, the chequered history of development
journalism worldwide shows that the paradigm has commonly
been used to validatemedia support for the political ideas of the
government.On this basis, it might seem that development
journalism must be scrapped altogether as amodel for
professional media practice in a transitional society like
Ethiopia. However, that is notentirely the thesis here. Rather, a
society in transition has challenges that are unlikely to be fixed
byembracing a libertarian media system alone. A media structure
solely built on commercial principleswould hardly give proper
attention to issues of social and national importance, nor is the
economicbase in such societies strong enough for creating a
competitive media market. Therefore, in light of the present
study of the Ethiopian media, there seems to be no single media
or journalism modelthat is likely to resolve the diverse
challenges of a transitional media society. Instead, a
combinationof models should be considered. To the extent
development journalism is applied as one of theapproaches,
particular attention must be paid to avoid problems of
politicization in reporting and tosecure overall media freedom.
Acknowledgements
11I am greatly indebted to Woldegiorgis Ghebrehiwot who
translated the Ethiopian policy document ondevelopment
journalism from Amharic to English. I also thank Birhanu Olana
and prof. Helge Rønningfor constructive comments on a
previous draft.
Endnote
1. More recent estimates of journalists in ERTA are lower as
regional media houses have beenoutsourced from the mother
institution and organized as separate unit