There are no current independent mass media in

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

. All media outlets in Eritrea are from the Ministry of Information, a government source. Western media was brought to the country during Italian and British colonialism. The media is Eritrea played a role in its war against Ethiopia. Independent Eritrea has one of the harshest media regimes, with private and foreign ownership being banned since the early 2000s. As of 2018, the government controlled four newspapers, one television channel and two radio stations. International organizations such as

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

and

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wi ...

have consistently labelled the media in Eritrea as "not free", ranking it as the lowest or one of the lowest countries in press freedom indices. Access to the internet is very limited.

History

Italian and British colonialism brought western journalism to the region. It then fell into the hands of the Ethiopian rulers. During Eritrea's independence movement, media such as radio '' Dmtsi Hafash'' (), first broadcast in early 1979 from Fah and Sahel, played a revolutionary role. ''Dmtsi Hafash'' continues to broadcast till date. In 1996, the Eritrean government passed a law banning private broadcast media and requiring licenses for journalists and newspapers. The law barred the reprinting of works from banned publications, outlawed foreign ownership of media, and required all publications to be submitted to the government for approval prior to publication. In 2001, in an effort to quell burgeoning dissent about the future of the

People's Front for Democracy and Justice The People's Front for Democracy and Justice ( ti, ህዝባዊ ግንባር ንደሞክራስን ፍትሕን, PFDJ) is the founding, ruling, and sole legal political party of the State of Eritrea. The successor to the left-wing nationalist ...

, the government closed down eight independent newspapers and arrested an undisclosed number of journalists. Onwards from 18 September 2001, the government banned all private media. The newspapers affected included ''Meqaleh'', ''Setit'', ''Tiganay'', ''Zemen'', ''Wintana'', ''Admas'', ''Keste Debena'', and ''Mana''. Official reasons for the ban included national security, and failure to comply with media laws and regulations. 2001 also saw an unknown number of journalists being detained, some who are still thought to be imprisoned. Even before the arrests, journalists were facing conscription, which

HRW Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ri ...

explained as an attempt to clamp down on the media.

Print

There are two daily print newspapers: * ''Al-Hadisa'' (Arabic language) * ''Haddas Eritrea'' (Tigrinya language) There are also two other papers: * ''Eritrea Profile'', twice weekly (Wednesday & Saturday) (English language) * ''Eritrea Haddas'', weekly (Wednesday) (Tigre language) A defunct newspaper: * '' Nay Eretra Sämunawi Gazét'a'' (1942–1953)

Radio

There are three radio stations in Eritrea. Radio Bana is an educational radio broadcast in five languages. Radio Zara is available only in Tigrinya, while Dimtsi Hafash is available in nine languages:

Afar Afar may refer to: Peoples and languages *Afar language, an East Cushitic language *Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia Places Horn of Africa *Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia *Afar Region, a region ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

, Beja, Blin, Kunama,

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

, Saho, Tigre,

Tigrinya (; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions. History and literature ...

. Dimtsi Hafash and Radio Zara are available via satellite dish.

Radio Erena Radio Erena is a Paris-based radio station which broadcasts news in Tigrinya and Arabic into Eritrea. The two-hour daily broadcasts focus on Eritrean politics as well as the migration situation in Europe. The station is headquartered in the 13th ...

is a Paris-based radio station that broadcasts news in Eritrea.

Television

There are two television stations in the country, with a third having been announced in 2006. Eri-TV1, more commonly known as

Eri-TV Eri-TV (acronym for Eritrean Television) is an Eritrean state-owned television network. Headquartered in the nation's capital Asmara, it broadcasts 24 hours a day. The station offers around-the-clock news bulletins, talk shows, and propaganda pro ...

, is available globally through satellite while Eri-TV2 is only available in Eritrea; both are operated by the Ministry of Information from Asmara. Eri-TV has fully featured programming in four languages: Arabic,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

, Tigre, Tigrinya; as well as some programming in other languages including Amharic,

Oromo Oromo may refer to: People *Oromo people **Arsi Oromo **Borana Oromo people **Guji Oromo people **Ittu Oromo **Karrayyu Oromo ** Macha Oromo people **Raya Oromo people, in Tigray Province **Salale Oromo people **Welega Oromo people **Tulama Oromo ...

and

Somali Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Soma ...

. Eri-TV is available within Eritrea and abroad via satellite dish 24 hours a day. Many of the television owners in Eritrea use satellite dishes.

Diaspora online media

Online media of the Eritrean diaspora play a major role in Eritrean politics according to researcher Victoria Bernal. * '' Dehai'', created in 1992, tending to be pro-government * ''

Asmarino ''Asmarino'' or ''Asmarino Independent Media'' is an Eritrean diaspora news website created in 1997. Creation ''Asmarino'' was created in 1997 by Tesfaledet, an Eritrean refugee living in the United States The United States of America (U. ...

'', created in 1997, tending to be anti-government * ''

Awate ''Awate'' or awate.com is a United States based Eritrean news website. Creation ''Awate'' was created by Saleh Gadi as an Eritrean news website, in September 2000, several years after the 1997 creation of ''Asmarino'', another Eritrean diaspora new ...

'', created following the

Eritrean–Ethiopian War The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, also known as the Badme War, was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 1998 to June 2000. The war has its origins in a territorial dispute between the two states. After Eritr ...

, tending to be anti-government

References