User:Labdella/sandbox

Article Evaluation

Everything in the article on "Censorship" is relevant, but it is unclear how the editors decided which censorship cases to include. For example, a few countries are highlighted in the political section, but there are many cases of political censorship that are omitted. Furthermore, there is unbalance in that some of the subsections are just a sentence or two while others are lengthy paragraphs. Article appears to be quite neutral. A bit strange that section on Turkey mentioned only the censorship of Wikipedia though other forms of censorship exist in Turkey. The citation links work and the sources are reputable and unbiased. The article could use more supporting citations though because there are a lot of un-cited facts. Talk page shows that the article is C-class, so somewhat incomplete.

Article Selection

One article that I would like to improve is the Human Rights in Ethiopia page. I noticed two areas with room for improvement. I was exploring the censorship by country portal and found that there is no page for Censorship in Ethiopia (which is my B.A. thesis topic). So, I decided to check the Human Rights in Ethiopia page to see if it touched on censorship. The article does tackle freedom of the press, but the last incident that is cited is from 2014. This is particularly concerning given the mass arrests of journalists and subsequent state of emergency that the Ethiopian government started in response to protests in 2015 and 2016. Furthermore, the section mentions international declarations that condemn censorship, but I would go further and add the excerpt of the Ethiopian constitution that explicitly protects freedom of the press and condemns censorship. This is important because it shows that the Ethiopian government censors despite freedom of the press being a "protected" right. I would also add to the section titled "Anti-Terrorism Proclamation". This proclamation is one of the ways that the government justifies arresting journalists. Although the section covers many ramifications of the proclamation, it does not reference the connection to censorship. This is quite a notable missing piece as several human rights organizations have exposed the government for arresting oppositional and/or anti-government journalists on the basis of "inciting terrorism".

Another, though much more ambitious option, would be to get the Censorship in Ethiopia article started. It is shocking that there is still no page for this topic as Ethiopian censorship is classified as one of the strictest in the world. Furthermore, with the change in regimes earlier this year, a report on censorship under the previous regime is long overdue. Since this is closely related to my B.A. thesis topic, I can confirm that there a several reputable sources from which this potential article could be built and can verify its notability.

A third option would be to create an article on Citizen Media in Ethiopia. This would cover different media such as print, radio, television, and Internet. This is key to the understanding of censorship in Ethiopia. For many years, citizen media was virtually non-existent as the government maintained a monopoly over newspapers, television networks, etc. However with a growth in independent media, the government continues to censor through unconventional methods such as withdrawing funding or advertisements that many citizen media outlets depend on in order to operate.

Note: For the Week 5 "Add a citation" assignment, I added supporting content to the "Freedom of the press" section of the Human Rights in Ethiopia page along with a citation from Human Rights Watch. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Labdella (talk • contribs) 12:51, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

Citizen Media in Ethiopia

Citizen media is a relatively young and growing sector in Ethiopia. However, Ethiopian citizen media is in a constant battle with the state. The majority of information outlets, such as newspapers, radio, and television remain under the purview of the government. The arrival of the Internet, however, is largely responsible for the growth in citizen media in the last decade.

Print

There are nineteen newspapers in circulation in Ethiopia, many of which are private. This was not the case just 10 years ago when government-published print dominated. This shift away from government-run print is due in part to an increase in access to Internet in Ethiopia, but also to a rise in diaspora media. Though not government run, private newspapers are subject to governmental control. The government can and has terminated private newspapers, blocked online news sites, arrested journalists and editors, and pulled advertising on which private newspapers depend to continue publishing. Diaspora media is the strongest leg of Ethiopian citizen media in that it is less subject to government surveillance and economic threats.

Television

All broadcast television in Ethiopia remains government-run. Until 2008, satellite channels from abroad were the only alternative to government networks. About ten years ago, however, EBS TV began to fill the gap as the first private Ethiopian satellite network. More recently, a surge in private networks has led to a more balanced selection of Ethiopian channels in which only half are public media.

Internet

Ethiopian online media, too, has seen an increase in volume in the last decade. Though less than 5% of Ethiopians have access to Internet at home, mobile data (provided by Ethio Telecom) as well as Internet/Wi-Fi cafes are increasingly popular. Blogs and social media pages are on par with many news agencies in terms of breaking big stories. Online media also has wider reachin that it is appealing to youth and engaging to those of a lower literacy level unlike traditional print media. Internet is particularly vulnerable to state control, however, as the government maintains a monopoly as the sole Internet provider, Ethio Telecom. The government, particularly during the series of states of emergency between 2016 and 2018, has shut off Internet without forewarning or explanation.