If Ethiopia is to develop, it must make room for the independent voices of the press and media, argues crusading Ethiopian journalist Amare Aregawi.
There has been Government-owned media in Ethiopia as far back as the early 1900s. The first newspapers were printed in the wake of victory against the Italians. The private media, on the other hand, is still nascent. It emerged little more than a decade ago, after the collapse of the military regime and the rise to power of the present government in 1991.
The first press law, introduced in 1992, abolished previous censorship laws, sanctioning private print media. It allowed for free expression without prior restraint and protected the individual rather than government. As a result, private newspapers flourished. People began to get the benefit of information provided by an alternative to government sources.
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