Press Freedom Ethiopia -- USAGM
Metadata
- Press Freedom Ethiopia -- USAGM
- July 15, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English PRESS FREEDOM ETHIOPIA FOREIGN MEDIA HEADLINE: Expelled Journalists Say Reporting on Ethiopia Difficult for Foreign Press TEASER: Harassment, beatings, online abuse make covering Ethiopia a challenge, says foreign journalist expelled in May. PUBLISHED AT: 7/15/22, 1:06 p.m. BYLINE: Salem Solomon DATELINE: WASHINGTON VIDEOGRAPHER: VIDEO EDITOR: Salem Solomon PRODUCER: Roderick James SCRIPT EDITORS: JJ, MAS VIDEO SOURCE (S): Reuters, AFP, YouTube/Fana Broadcasting Corporate, YouTube/Office of the Prime Minister - Ethiopia, Microsoft Teams, YouTube/The Economist GRAPHICS: Anand Mistry, Roderick James PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X TRT: 3:24 VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath TYPE: TVPKG/RADIO EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRO)) [[Harassed, beaten, and finally expelled. Tom Gardner, a correspondent with The Economist, speaks with VOA’s Salem Solomon about challenges he and other journalists face covering the war in Ethiopia.]] ((NARRATOR)) From pro-government rallies in the capital Addis Ababa … ((NARRATOR)) … to protests in the U.S. capital, Washington. ((NARRATOR)) Hostility toward media covering Ethiopia has been palpable since war broke out in Tigray in 2020, with accusations of false news and bias leveled at journalists in the streets and online. ((NARRATOR)) Foreign correspondents who came to Ethiopia to cover developments like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam or the liberation of political prisoners say access has quickly evaporated. ((Tom Gardner, The Economist)) ((Microsoft Teams: No courtesy needed)) “Certainly, after the war began, it became far, far more difficult than it had been before … I was stopped from going to Tigray last year. I was prevented from going.” ((NARRATOR)) That’s Tom Gardner, a correspondent for the British newspaper The Economist. The Ethiopian government expelled him from the country in May. Gardner has covered Ethiopia for five and a half years. Then came political turmoil and protests. And with it, harassment. [[Radio Track: Again, Gardner]] ((Tom Gardner, The Economist)) ((Microsoft Teams: No courtesy needed)) “Then there was always problems with, or potential problems with, police, local security forces. I had run-ins with the police and in Amhara for instance last year.” ((NARRATOR)) In July 2021, police detained Gardner and a colleague. Gardner in a later account recalled being hit in the head with a rifle butt and seeing his friend’s mouth fill with blood as officers beat him while bystanders jeered. ((NARRATOR)) While reporting in Ethiopia, Gardner came under attack in other ways too: ((Mandatory CG: Twitter)) online harassment, attempts to discredit his reporting, and finally, a letter from the Ethiopian Media Authority revoking his credentials and giving Gardner 48 hours to leave. [[Radio Track: Gardner said authorities didn't provide clarity.]] ((Tom Gardner, The Economist)) ((Microsoft Teams: No courtesy needed)) “The government was incredibly vague in the letter they gave me, revoking my license. They referred to, sort of unspecified unprofessional behavior, a breach of ethics, mistaken approach to reporting.” ((Mandatory gg: YouTube/Office of the Prime Minister)) ((NARRATOR)) The spokesperson for Ethiopia’s prime minister did not respond to VOA’s request for comment. But the government has pushed back on criticism from rights groups over media arrests and harassment, saying it is fighting disinformation and terrorist propaganda. In a speech in June, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused journalists of fomenting violence. [[Radio Track: He said, "Let’s not designate individuals engaged in destroying national institutions as ‘activists' and ‘journalists.’"]] ((Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia)) ((Male in Amharic)) ((Mandatory cg: YouTube/Fana Broadcasting Corporate)) “Let’s not designate individuals engaged in destroying national institutions as ‘activists' and ‘journalists.’” ((Then cuts to Simon Marks photo)) ((Mandatory Cg: Courtesy photo/Simon Marks)) ((Video – cuts to Simon speaking to VOA from past interview)) (Microsoft Teams: No courtesy needed)) ((NARRATOR)) When Simon Marks, a reporter for the New York Times and VOA, ((end courtesy)) was expelled under similar circumstances in May 2021, he said arrests and beatings were “hampering the confidence” of colleagues. Media rights groups agreed, adding that expelling or harassing foreign correspondents sends a chilling message to local media. [[Radio Track: Muthoki Mumo is the sub-Saharan Africa representative of the press freedom nonprofit the Committee to Protect Journalists]] ((Muthoki Mumo, Committee to Protect Journalists)) ((Microsoft Teams: No courtesy needed)) “What does that mean for the journalists operating already in Ethiopia, whether they be local or international? They must ask themselves the question, ‘If this can happen to him, what could potentially happen to me?’” ((NARRATOR)) Already the risk of arrest is high. The state-funded Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says authorities detained 54 media workers between July 2021 and May 2022. ((Salem Solomon, VOA News, Washington))
- Transcript/Script PRESS FREEDOM ETHIOPIA FOREIGN MEDIA HEADLINE: Expelled Journalists Say Reporting on Ethiopia Difficult for Foreign Press TEASER: Harassment, beatings, online abuse make covering Ethiopia a challenge, says foreign journalist expelled in May. PUBLISHED AT: 7/15/22, 1:06 p.m. BYLINE: Salem Solomon DATELINE: WASHINGTON VIDEOGRAPHER: VIDEO EDITOR: Salem Solomon PRODUCER: Roderick James SCRIPT EDITORS: JJ, MAS VIDEO SOURCE (S): Reuters, AFP, YouTube/Fana Broadcasting Corporate, YouTube/Office of the Prime Minister - Ethiopia, Microsoft Teams, YouTube/The Economist GRAPHICS: Anand Mistry, Roderick James PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X TRT: 3:24 VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath TYPE: TVPKG/RADIO EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRO)) [[Harassed, beaten, and finally expelled. Tom Gardner, a correspondent with The Economist, speaks with VOA’s Salem Solomon about challenges he and other journalists face covering the war in Ethiopia.]] ((NARRATOR)) From pro-government rallies in the capital Addis Ababa … ((NARRATOR)) … to protests in the U.S. capital, Washington. ((NARRATOR)) Hostility toward media covering Ethiopia has been palpable since war broke out in Tigray in 2020, with accusations of false news and bias leveled at journalists in the streets and online. ((NARRATOR)) Foreign correspondents who came to Ethiopia to cover developments like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam or the liberation of political prisoners say access has quickly evaporated. ((Tom Gardner, The Economist)) ((Microsoft Teams: No courtesy needed)) “Certainly, after the war began, it became far, far more difficult than it had been before … I was stopped from going to Tigray last year. I was prevented from going.” ((NARRATOR)) That’s Tom Gardner, a correspondent for the British newspaper The Economist. The Ethiopian government expelled him from the country in May. Gardner has covered Ethiopia for five and a half years. Then came political turmoil and protests. And with it, harassment. [[Radio Track: Again, Gardner]] ((Tom Gardner, The Economist)) ((Microsoft Teams: No courtesy needed)) “Then there was always problems with, or potential problems with, police, local security forces. I had run-ins with the police and in Amhara for instance last year.” ((NARRATOR)) In July 2021, police detained Gardner and a colleague. Gardner in a later account recalled being hit in the head with a rifle butt and seeing his friend’s mouth fill with blood as officers beat him while bystanders jeered. ((NARRATOR)) While reporting in Ethiopia, Gardner came under attack in other ways too: ((Mandatory CG: Twitter)) online harassment, attempts to discredit his reporting, and finally, a letter from the Ethiopian Media Authority revoking his credentials and giving Gardner 48 hours to leave. [[Radio Track: Gardner said authorities didn't provide clarity.]] ((Tom Gardner, The Economist)) ((Microsoft Teams: No courtesy needed)) “The government was incredibly vague in the letter they gave me, revoking my license. They referred to, sort of unspecified unprofessional behavior, a breach of ethics, mistaken approach to reporting.” ((Mandatory gg: YouTube/Office of the Prime Minister)) ((NARRATOR)) The spokesperson for Ethiopia’s prime minister did not respond to VOA’s request for comment. But the government has pushed back on criticism from rights groups over media arrests and harassment, saying it is fighting disinformation and terrorist propaganda. In a speech in June, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused journalists of fomenting violence. [[Radio Track: He said, "Let’s not designate individuals engaged in destroying national institutions as ‘activists' and ‘journalists.’"]] ((Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia)) ((Male in Amharic)) ((Mandatory cg: YouTube/Fana Broadcasting Corporate)) “Let’s not designate individuals engaged in destroying national institutions as ‘activists' and ‘journalists.’” ((Then cuts to Simon Marks photo)) ((Mandatory Cg: Courtesy photo/Simon Marks)) ((Video – cuts to Simon speaking to VOA from past interview)) (Microsoft Teams: No courtesy needed)) ((NARRATOR)) When Simon Marks, a reporter for the New York Times and VOA, ((end courtesy)) was expelled under similar circumstances in May 2021, he said arrests and beatings were “hampering the confidence” of colleagues. Media rights groups agreed, adding that expelling or harassing foreign correspondents sends a chilling message to local media. [[Radio Track: Muthoki Mumo is the sub-Saharan Africa representative of the press freedom nonprofit the Committee to Protect Journalists]] ((Muthoki Mumo, Committee to Protect Journalists)) ((Microsoft Teams: No courtesy needed)) “What does that mean for the journalists operating already in Ethiopia, whether they be local or international? They must ask themselves the question, ‘If this can happen to him, what could potentially happen to me?’” ((NARRATOR)) Already the risk of arrest is high. The state-funded Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says authorities detained 54 media workers between July 2021 and May 2022. ((Salem Solomon, VOA News, Washington))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Topic Tags Press freedom
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date July 15, 2022 16:22 EDT
- Description English Harassed, beaten, and finally expelled. Tom Gardner, a correspondent with The Economist, speaks with VOA’s Salem Solomon about challenges he and other journalists face covering the war in Ethiopia.
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English