ADDIS ABABA– Ethiopia’s dominant public media should respect its duties and responsibilities entitled to promoting public interest and shunning commercialization, a communication expert said.
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald, Journalism and Communication Assistant Professor at Wollega University, Yared Desalgen stated that public media should strengthen its investigative programs to play active role in exposing maladministration and promoting democratic governance.
The expert also noted that the media need to build public trust resisting influence from external intervention and presenting both government’s successes and shortcomings.
The assistant professor further called on media institutions to address employee’s capacity limitation and fight rent seeking tendencies to realize their mission of promoting national consensus.
He said efforts to cover the salary and operational expenses from commercial and sponsored programs posed the public media at a crossroads of fulfilling society’s interests.
Yared stated that due attention should be given to make public-centered program and enhance the role public media has played for democracy and development.
The assistant professor noted that consolidated efforts need to be executed to protect media’s independence from external influence and enhance employees’ capacity that would in turn build the public trust.
The government needs to public media’s revenue sources and increase the subsidy to reduce the outlets’ dependency on advertisements, he commended.
The Ethiopian Herald May 19/2020
BY BILAL DERSO
