Ethiopia's media and newspapers

To follow Ethiopia, readers mostly turn to The Reporter, Addis Standard, Addis Fortune and Capital in English, the ENA agency and EBC television in Amharic and Oromo, with most of these outlets publishing free of charge online and on social media.

From imperial chronicles to a private press

Under Haile Selassie, Addis Ababa papers such as Addis Zemen and The Ethiopian Herald served the empire first. The Derg kept them as state organs after 1974. The 1992 press law then allowed numerous private weeklies to flourish.

Addis Ababa weeklies and their editorial lines

The Reporter, founded in the 1990s, publishes political and economic analysis in English and Amharic. Addis Standard closely covers regional conflicts and human rights. Addis Zemen and The Ethiopian Herald remain the state dailies, close to the federal government.

Amharic, Oromo, Tigrinya: which language to choose?

Amharic, written in the Ge'ez script, remains the federal working language. Afaan Oromo, written in Latin script, is the most widely spoken; Tigrinya, Somali and Afar are used in their regions. English dominates business and diplomatic reporting.

Media of the regional states

Each regional state has its own public media: Oromia Broadcasting Network in Adama and Addis Ababa, Amhara Media Corporation in Bahir Dar, Tigray TV in Mekelle. They reflect regional government priorities and often address their own language community first.

Independent sites and apps

Ethiopian Monitor, Ethiopia Observer and Borkena publish online in English, with Borkena adding Amharic. Many readers also follow outlets' Telegram and YouTube channels, hugely popular in Addis Ababa, where content travels faster than print editions.

ENA, a public agency since 1942

The Ethiopian News Agency publishes dispatches in Amharic, English, Oromo, Tigrinya, Afar, Somali, Arabic and French. It relays decisions by the Prime Minister, infrastructure projects such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and news from the regional states.

EBC, Fana and Walta on air

The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation runs public television and radio, with bulletins in several languages. Fana and Walta, long linked to the former ruling coalition, also operate radio, television and news sites that are widely followed in the capital.

What do Ethiopians abroad read?

The large diaspora in the United States and Europe created outlets such as ESAT and the Oromia Media Network, some of which moved back home after 2018. Canada-based Borkena is an example of English-language sites aimed at Ethiopian expatriates.

The birr, coffee and athletics

Addis Fortune, Capital and Ethiopian Business Review track the National Bank, the birr, coffee, aviation and the opening of the banking sector. Sport, dominated by distance running and football, is covered by FM radio stations and EBC sports pages.

Press freedom and internet shutdowns

After an opening in 2018, several journalists were arrested during the Tigray war of 2020 to 2022 and amid tensions in Amhara. Regional internet shutdowns have also hit Tigray, Oromia and Amhara, limiting on-the-ground verification.

Pay or read for free?

Most Ethiopian sites are free. Business weeklies sometimes reserve part of their archives for subscribers. For a regional view, compare with the Kenyan press from Nairobi, which actively covers the Horn of Africa, and the Djibouti press, Ethiopia's maritime gateway.

Cross-checking sources in a federal country

The same offensive or agreement is told differently by EBC, a regional outlet and a diaspora site. Compare at least three sources, then read the neighbours, from the Sudanese press to the South Sudanese press.

Following Ethiopian news step by step

1. Start with an English-language weekly such as The Reporter or Addis Standard for analysis and political context.
2. Add the ENA website for official announcements from the federal government and the regional states.
3. Follow a business outlet, Addis Fortune or Capital, to understand the birr, inflation and banking reforms.
4. Watch the EBC news live or on replay, with automatic subtitles if you do not understand Amharic.
5. Compare with a regional outlet, for example Oromia Broadcasting Network or Amhara Media Corporation, during a local conflict.
6. Convert dates from the Ethiopian calendar before citing an event reported in the Amharic press.

Access to Ethiopian newspapers and channels

Useful facts about Ethiopia

• Languages: Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Tigrinya, Somali, Afar; English for business
• News agency: Ethiopian News Agency (ENA)
• Public broadcaster: Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC)
• Leading titles: The Reporter, Addis Standard, Addis Fortune
• Ethiopian calendar: roughly seven to eight years behind the Gregorian calendar
• Time zone: UTC+3, with hours sometimes counted from 6 in the morning
• Currency: Ethiopian birr (ETB)

Common traps for foreign readers of Ethiopian media

• Forgetting the Ethiopian calendar: an Amharic date can look seven or eight years off if it is not converted.
• Misreading a time announced on the radio, because local Ethiopian time starts at dawn rather than midnight.
• Taking a war video shared on Telegram as recent when it dates from the 2021 Tigray conflict.
• Confusing a regional outlet defending the interests of a federal state with a neutral federal source.
• Trusting an account imitating The Reporter or Addis Standard on social media without checking the outlet's official site.

Common questions about the Ethiopian press