Ethiopia Media and Telecoms Landscape Guide - Infoasaid

163.RadioOverview.Radio is the most important source of news and information in Ethiopia.Four out five Ethiopians use radio as a source of information, according to the ERISAudience Survey Ethiopia 2011 www.eris.org.uk/news/index.php?id=476&year=2011This media audience survey of 3,999 people throughout Ethiopia was conducted inlate 2010 by Electoral Reform International Services (ERIS) of the UK.Nearly three quarters of respondents said they had easy access to a working radioset. Just over half cited radio as their most important and most reliable source ofinformation.60% said they had listened to radio in the past day.However, access to radio was unusually low in the remote Gambella region ofsouthwestern Ethiopia – below 16%.Nearly all radio stations in Ethiopia are controlled by the government or interests withclose links to the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)party of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.Only three commercial FM stations in the capital Addis Ababa are owned by privatebusiness rather than political interests.The umbrella grouping for state radio and television is the Ethiopia Radio andTelevision Agency (ERTA).This runs Ethiopia Radio, the only radio station with a genuinely nationwide reach,and Addis FM 97.1, which broadcasts to the capital and the surrounding area.Ethiopia Radio claims to reach a potential audience of 45 million people – just overhalf the population – through its network of Medium Wave transmitters across thecountry.The station broadcasts mainly in Amharic, but also has daily programmes inOromo, Tigrinya, Somali, Afar and English.Beneath ERTA, there are eight government-run regional mass media agencies.