WOLAITA SODO UNIVERSITY

COLLAGE OF SOCIAL SCEINCE AND HUMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND
COMMUNICATIONS

PROPOSAL TITILE:-

ASSESSING THE LEVEL OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE OF JOURNALISM

IN WOLAITA FANA FM 99.9 NEWS REPORTING

ADVISOR :- WEGENE (MS)

BY ADISU YILIMA

JUN, 2023

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 TABLE CONTENT

CONTENT PAGE

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION .................................... .3

1.1 Back ground of the study ........ 3

1.2 Statement problem of the study 3

1.3 Objectives of the study 4

1.4 Research question 4

1.5 Significance of the study 5

1.6 Scope of the study 5

1.7 Limitation of the study 5

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW LITERATURE 6

2.1 Definition of news 6

2.2 Qualities or characteristics of news 7

2.3 Types soft news 9

2.4 News value /element 12

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHDOLOGY 16

3.1 Research method .. 16

3.2 Data collection method . 17

3.3 Data analysis method 18

Reference 19

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCATION

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1.1, Background of the study

The debut of the aemiro newspaper in 1902, which was handwritten at the time of its birth
signified the beginning of Ethiopian journalism. according to Birhanu [2006]. Journalism has
progressed in terms of both media and technology since then media have been and continue to be
used for a number of purposes in the rest of the world , including Ethiopia where journalism
originated , including war , propaganda , religious indoctrination , state
construction ,development and so on. under emperor Haile Silasie reign, radio was first
transmitted in Ethiopia in 1928 g.c .since this time ,audience have been rece Ethiopia has 50
radio stations that serve the government and the public information outlets, according to the
Ethiopian broadcast authority's website www.eba.gov.et), government and the public
information outlets, according to the Ethiopian broadcast authority's website (www.eba.gov.et),,
one of which is fana broadcasting corporation have one television station and many radio station
in the country, wolaita fana fm99.9 are one of the fana radio station branch.

Since prime minister Abiy ahmed's administration took power in Ethiopia, the media had more
freedom. different media channels were given previously unavailable opportunities to broadcast
in the country many journalists were released from prison, and the country's media
independence was recognized internationally at the time.. however, many media directly or
indirectly under the control of government including fana broadcasting coroporation .

1.2 Statement of the problem

The role of journalism in Ethiopia has been heavily influenced by the demands and ambitions of
Ethiopian governments, who have used the media to enforce their ideological agendas (shimelis,
2000). journalists working in Ethiopian broadcast media continue to face direct limitations
imposed by politicians, as well as self-censorship prompted by fear of retaliation. as a result,
there are ethical difficulties with stories, such as a lack of fairness, impartiality, or objectivity.
the impacts of government media control, according to solomon (2005), can be demonstrated in a
variety of ways. news is picked mostly for its utility in supporting the actions of the ruling party,
rather than for its professional judgment of newsworthiness. typically, growth stories, official
meetings, and official pronouncements make up a majority of the content. a lack of journalistic
professionalism is a major concern in Ethiopian media, as several of the experts mentioned

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above illustrate. some academic researches on journalistic professionalism have been done as a
result of this. and, by examining the news it gives,

This study will aim to evaluate the professional practice of journalism in wolaita fana fm99.9
news reporting, specifically how journalists are conducting professional journalism from the
position of news equalities ethical principles of journalism. furthermore, some journalists and
views , audience have express discontent with wolaita fana fm 99.9 news items'professionalism
.there is no evidence, , that any of these worries are true or incorrect. They have yet to by
scientific research, causing the researcher will to investigate the media professional journalistic
practice.

1.3, Objectives of the study

General objective:-
To assess the standards of professional journalism practice of wolaita fana fm 99.9 news
reporting.

Specific objective
1, Analysis the wolaita fana fm 99.9 news report about what issues including news coverage .
2. Evaluate the wolaita fana fm 99.9 news reporting to meet the standards of journalism
principles.

1.4, Research question

As a result, the current research will attempt to answer the following critical questions:
1. how much does the news meet the standards of journalism principles
[objectivity ;accuracy;balance and fairness].

2. What are the challenges to limit against for fulfill professional journalism principles.

1.5, Significance of the study

The study will be significant to contribute to fill the knowledge gap in understanding the
professional news qualities and elements use in journalistic practice. it will be also important to
point up the media station news reporting take into account ethical journalism principle and news
qualities and also it will be help to understand what the challenges or encumbrance of to apply

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the professional journalistic practice. Besides, the study will be to help journalists to have better
insight on news qualities and professional journalism practice.

1.6, Scope of the study

According to the data found from Ethiopian media authority, there are a total of 51 radio stations
and above 20 television stations which are broadcasting regional and nation wide levels. fana
radio is a huge media house in Ethiopia, it have above 8 stations branches and a large numbers of
audience. the study will observe only one branch radio station news report which is wolaita fana
fm 99.9, therefore ,other media station are not include in this study.
1.7, Limitation of the study

There are many obstacles that may limit me to conduct this research, among them, the financial
capacity may affect the research not to be carried out in terms of what is required and expected.
also, in the place where the research is conducted, there may not be sufficient response and
information, which is an obstacle to the success of the research. another limitation is that this
study focused on one radio station's news report and did not include others.

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definitions of news

It is now obvious that there are various definitions of news just as there are professionals in the
field of journalism. thus, news is a relative term and its definition depends on the circumstances
and situation of the person defining it, and the person's sense of news value or judgment. from
llayman's angle, news is anything that has just happened which attracts the interest and layman's
angle, news is anything that has just happened which attracts the interest and attention of many

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people. the definition, though not adequate enough, has an element of truth in it.
comprehensively, there are various definitions of news by communication scholars and authors
worth mentioning here. news is jointly defined by julteng and nelson (1983). as "anything that
interests you and that you did not know", and that "news is whatever the reporter and editor
decides is news". this view is akin to teel and taylor (1983) who said "news is pretty much
whatever your editor decides it is" news is defined by charnley cited in ogunsiji (1989, p. 23) as
"the timely report of facts or opinions that hold interest or importance, or both for a considerable
number of people". the oxford advanced learners' dictionary defines news as "infomation about
important or interesting recent events, especially when published or broadcast." the british royal
commission on the press (1949) and the ross commission cted in frost (2002, p. 11), said this
about news: there are, however, certain elements common to all conceptions of news. to be news,
an event must first be interesting to the public, and the public for this purpose means for each
paper the people who read that paper. and others like them. second, and equally important, it
must be new, and newness is measured in newspaper offices in terms of minutes. also, lawal
(2001, p. 3) summarized news as thus: "a factual accurate account of event or problem or
something real and current and out of the ordinary that interest's people. news in the opinion of
macdougall (1977) is "an account of an event which a newspaper prints in the belief that by so
doing it will profit." while to kessler and mcdonald cited in popoola (2003, p. 2) "news is the
power plant of our colossal information machine.

2.2 Qualities or characteristics of news

Going by the definitions of news in the previous page, being interesting. Perishable, timely.
humanly acceptable and of significance to a large number of people: it then follows that news
has certain characteristics or qualities that distinguishes it from other forms of stories. in other
words, news must meet certain criteria to qualify as news, they are as follows:

Accuracy

News must be accurate. every news story must aspire to be accurate, precise, exact in terms of
every statement, use of names and date, age, data presentation, figures, addresses, and
quotation,etc. this un epavering commitment to accuracy is essential to a news medium's
credibility and a journalist's personal integrity. accuracy means correctness not only of specific

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details but also of general impression with regard to the way the details are put together and the
empasis given. many news editors endeavour to cross-check their facts before publishing any
news story. this is because no reader takes a medium serious when that medium does not get it
right with its facts and figures.

when a story is based on the writer's imagination, it becomes inaccurate. ufuophu-biri (2006,
p.29) cautions that "the facts must be presented the way they are without editorializing. even if
the facts are incongruous in some respects as judged by your value system, you must publish
them the way they are." accuracy is not easy to achieve due to myriads of facts that go into a
story, the speed involved in modern journalism, and many people who help to produce the
finished story. every news medium thus wants to be the first to break a story. but the poser: must
it do this at the expense of accuracy?

Balanced

Balance in a news story is an important issue that confronts a reporter in his day-to-day work. the
reporter may need to ask himself: am i being fair to all parties concerned in a story? am I treating
all sides of a story without any evidence of partiality? news is usually considered balanced and
complete when a reporter informs readers, listeners or viewers of all important details of a news
event in a proper relationship. balance in news writing entails giving prominence to both sides in
a story. thus, nwodu (2006, p. 19) states: "balance means that equal prominence and opportunity
should be given to all sides of a story without fear or favor." some reporters have been accused
of receiving "brown envelope by a party to an issue when such individual views were neither
sought nor requested for, and such stories get published. the element of balance is lacking in
most newspaper stories published in the country. the trend in the publication of evening
newspaper has seriously questioned the issue of balance. newspapers in this country do not carry
balanced reports especially in the way they represent their stories.

Timeliness

no newspaper reader would want to read yesterday's news. people would rather prefer current
information on events. he better the news the better except where readers want a fresh angle to an
event, eg. the otokoto, okija and late president umar musa yaradua sickness saga.no reader wants
to have anything to do with stale news .timeliness does not mean that all the events or facts in a

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news story are current. it may mean only that the story is appropriate at the time t is published
monthly currency may be a better word than timeliness. the evening newspapers have a track
record of reporting breaking news. the problems associated with such evening publications
according to nwodu (supra) are as follows:

1. poor news treatment;

2. acute lack of in-depth reporting

3. limited variety of news items

4. absence of thorough editing of manuscript and proofreading of galley proof,

5. limited scope of circulation; and

6. limited number of pages.

This aspect of news timeliness is what differentiates newspapers from magazines. Magazines
come out on longer intervals (eg. weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually. etc). however, in order to
attract readership, magazines are printed in bond or art paper, cover in-depth reporting, has better
style of writing and uses illustration and color.

Objectivity

Objectivity hinges on separating independently verifiable tacts' from subjective values (schudson
1978, p. 293). michael schudson explains this objectivity norm' further: "the objectivity norm
guides journalists to separate facts from values and to report only the facts." objectivity is an
essential principle of news practice, though it's often difficult to achieve. The reporter owes it as
a duty to his readers to present all sides of an issue and allow the readers to draw their conclusion
from the story. this is because a reporter's opinions and emotions can easily interfere with factual
presentation in stories about which strong biases and idiosyncrasies to bear on the news story. if
a reporter is too close to the story (i.e. knows the sources intimately or has expressed strong
opinions about some aspects of it), it might be better to reassign the story to another reporter to
avoid any question of bias. objectivity as a concept in the quality of a news story has generated
intense debate among scholars of journalism, media experts and practitioners alike. there are,
however, two sides of the divide. while objectivity is neither here nor there, few others believe

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that objectivity is achievable if reporters write their stories without being biased, either in their
choice of words or in their presentation of facts. those in the majority see objectivity as a relative
term. in other words, they argue that what is objective to a particular reporter may not be
objective to another reporter.

2.3 Types of news

Introduction the reason for categorizing news into various types is to avoid the problem that may
likely arise as to which news should be regarded as hard or soft news. apart from the above two,
there are the investigative, interpretative and in-depth news stories. there is, however, no
watertight compartment demarcating the various types of news, as the characteristics of one type
is likely to be found in the other. news can thus be classified into:

1. hard news;

2. 2 soft news;

3, investigative news stories;

4, lnterpretative news stories;

Hard news

Hard news stories have significance for relatively large number of readers, listeners or viewers
often about timely events tht have just happened or about to happen in government, politics,
foreign affairs, education, labour, religion, courts, financial markets and the like. it is the usual
routine reporting of telling the readers what happened; who it happened to, where it happened
and why it happened. the hard news sory is neither an essay, nor a commentary. it is also not an
opinion, an editorial or an analysis. though reporters always "ill in" some essential background.,
readers need to think about the information presented to comprehend its significance. as a result
much straight reporting of facts for hard news has given way to interpretative reporting in which
the reporter explains the significance of facts and give the background necessary for people to

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understand what they read, hear or see and the opinion of experts on the event that are being
reported.

hard news is simply a report of an event. being a report., it adopts the conventional inverted
pyramid style, using the five w's and h. it must therefore leave no question unanswered. in the
opinion of lawal (2001, p. 11) "it is the sort of news that helps the people to decide which course
of action to take or that will affect them financially. physically or in some other important ways"
hard news is a story where the grain is sifted from he shaft of chaotic and confusing inforrst with
lots of fact of news

Soft news

Soft news are stories about lighter account of events. it deals mostly with events such as
ceremonies involving opening of hospitals, schools, funerals, marmages, accomplishments of
people, adventure, sports, controversy, etc., soft news has a wider scope than the hard new story.
rolnicki (2007. p. 4) posit that soft news is "usually less important because it entertains, though it
may also inform, of course, and is often, less timely than hard news." it includes human interest
and feature stories that may often relate to hard news. t appeals more to emotions than the
intellect and the desire to be informed. the soft news story does not use the inverted pyramid
style but rather adopts the chronological style of writing a story. i can also use any type of lead in
the introduction: direct, delayed. question, staccato, aneodote, etc. soft news stories are very
common with "soft sell" magazines.

Investigative report

Inivestigative story is the type of story which involves digging aut facts not previously known to
readers. it is a genre of joumalism that unearths hidden significant information on issues that
concern he public. investigative journalism means a particular type of journalistic inquiry, as
defined by jobhn ullmann and steve honey man cited in harcup (2007, p. 74), "s the reporting.
through one's own work product and initiative, matters of importance which some persons or

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organizations wish to keep secret." in his book, david spark cited in ganiyu, (2004, p. 133).
defined investigative reporting as reporting which "seeks not just the obvious informants who
will be uncontroversial or economical with the truth, but the less obvious who know about
disturbing secrets and are angry and disturbed enough to divulge them." bayo onanuga (supra),
the editor-in-chief or the news magazine, sees investigative reporting as when a journalist goes
beyond merely scratching reports on the surface, checks and eross- checks information; unearths
the hidden and the concealed mudathir ganiyu (2004, p. 134) author of reporter's companion: a
complete guide to news reporting and writing, defines.

Interpretative report

In this form of story, the reporter has the latitude to interpret the news the way he sees it. he is
free to editorialize, inject his own opinion and pass comments on the facts being reported. Like
investigative or indepth rporting, interpretative reporting, ogunsiji (1989, p. 31l) notes, "require
additional facts for easy clarifcation, detailed explanation and logical analysis". in the opinion of
ganiyu (2004, p. 179), interpretative reporting is a step ahead of the news story in that it seeks to
give meaning and perspective to the news story. while he news story is a straight, clinical report,
that give the reader the facts of the story and leaves him to reach his against the above
background, interpretative report expands he horizon of the average reader, going memory lane
to give background information on an issue or event. ih makes meaning to the reader out of the
myiads of facts, and explains the importance of today's action on tomoro decision.

2.4 News values

News offers a highly selective version of events influenced by the "ideological structure" of
prevalent news values (hall 1973235), one of the most realistic definitions of news which is a
commercial proposition is that which says "hews is what the city editor says is news." but the
editor's decision as to which news event should be covered or which news story should be
published is more often than not influence by certain news values. it then means that not every
event. person, action, activity, or incident qualifies as news. news must therefore meet certain
criteria. such criteria referred to as news values are elements used by editors in the process of
evaluating stores meant for coverage or publication. these are known as the news values,

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sometimes referred to as the elements of news worthiness. the elements on which news stories
are evaluated are:

Proximity or nearness

Proximity or nearness simply refers not only to geographical nearness; i.e., nearness of an event
or occurrence to the audience, also to interest, sometimes called effect. when a person sees
familiar place on the pages of a newspaper.

Geographical proximity

Ogunsiji (1989:27), notes entail: "the nearer an individual is to the location of a news event, the
more relevant the event becomes for him. the event is more likely to attract his attention and
generate interest in him than another event which occurred thousands of miles away."

Psychological proximity

According to the art of news reporting. psychological proximity is: "a situation in which there is
a psychological or emotional attachment between the audience and the subjective object of the ".
thus, the high inflation rate in Zimbabwe is assessed to be of more concern to Zimbabweans than
to Nigerians. news that occurs in a particular area is much more significant to the people or the
area than to people from another area.

Consequence and impact

Consequence is another important element on which news is evaluated. it means the impact of an
occurrence on people and places. it pertains to the extent of appeal to the importance and to the
effect a story will have on readers. in other words, the impact! this is because every story that
bears direct consequence on human beings is more likely to attract and sustain audience
attention. for instance, the increasing call for the probe of the former president, chief olusegun
obasanjo, nd some of his ministers, against the willbros, halliburton and aviation scandals which
broke out after the end of the administration attracted attention in the Nigerian media. the reason
is that such happening is bound to provoke comments. the issue of corruption has had serious
consequence on the economy and Nigerians. such event is often considered to be news worthy
because the readers, listeners or viewers will always like to know the latest development

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regarding the issue .consequence that affects a person's well-being will make the news story
more important to readers. how many people will be affected and how badly, are considered by
the reporter when the story is being developed and by the editor when determining bow much
display the story gets in print media or how much time it gets in a news broadcast and online
media.

Prominence/personality

Generally, every action of important people seems to considered news worthy, from their official
life at one end to their private life at the other. in the words of rolnickiet al. (2007:12) news is
about "persons, places, things and situations known to the public by reason of wealth, social
position, achievement or negative publicity." news is personality based. the more popular a
particular name, place, event or situation, the near interest the story will have. the death of
former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir bhutto (1953 -20o07) made worldwide headlines
because of her prominence rather than because of the circumstances that caused her death. that
explain why reporters are sometimes attached to important personalities.

Timeliness

Timeliness or immediacy is an essential element of most news. news must be current. News must
get to the audience or readers as soon as possible. according to ufuophu-biri (2006:13)."news is
now. news is recent, on-going and often a continuation of the day or the moment before." for
daily papers and broadcast and online news, the wonds 'yesterday, 'last night', today' and
tomorrow' characterize most stories. occasionally a story will concern events that happened in
the past. in this case, the reporter tries to seek a "today (a fresh) angle to the previous event.
many newspapers publish background analysis of major news events. these in-depth stories have
a longer time implication then the yesterday', today' or 'tomorrow' angles of many news stories.
despite the restriction of early deadlines, news stories can still be written, both the latest
development and consequence should be in the lead.

Oddity or unusualness

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Oddity helps to make news. the greater the degree of unusualness or oddity in a story, the greater
its value as news readers will be delighted to read that a vulture turns to a human being. that will
certainly make a big news. whatever that is considered unusual or odd by the public make news.
if a man lives on top of a tree, instead of a house, the media will be eager to report such news.
oddity or unusualness makes news in the media and is always the audience delight. a first time or
even a last time event often is more interesting to the audience.

Conflict

Conflict is one of he most basic news elements. i is he news element that appears most frequent
in news media. for instance, "news of wars, coup d'états, earthquakes, floods, and such other
occurrences make interesting news items. in conclusion, hetherington (1985:8-9) adds that
interesting stories are lakely to involve significance, drama surprise, personalities, sex, scandal,
crime, murder, and or proximity. however, research suggests that potential items must generally
fall into one or more of these categories to be selected as news stories (harcup and oneill
2001:279): the power elite stories concerning powerful individuals, organizations. celebrity
stories concerning people who are already famous.

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CHAPTER -THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 RESEARCH METHOD

For the study, the researcher will be use both qualitative quantitative approaches . according to
mcneill& chapman (2005), using both qualitative and quantitative methods is refer to as a mixed
and using both is highly important to ensure the correctness of the data obtained from the
sampled medium. in addition, according to cres well (2007), the quantitative is less detailed and
the qualitative is subjective. as a result, the best solution is to combine them to achieve a better
outcome. a study's overall strength outweighs both qualitative and quantitative research.
according to kerlinger (2000), content analysis is a systematic, objective and quantitative way of
researching and analyzing communication in order to quantify factors. according to shoemaker
and reese (1996), media content is defined by a variety of phenomena, , including the medium,
production techniques, messages, sources quoted or referred to and context, and the task of
content analysis is to impose some sort of order on these phenomena in order to grasp their
meaning.

The researcher will be utilize content validity and face validity to assess the validity of the
study's quantitative data, the checklists for measuring the practice of journalistic principle's on
wolaita fana fm 99.9. the simple of the study are of wolaita fana fm 99.9.

The simple part of this study is the morning news broadcast of wolaita fana fm 99.9. the
researcher will take some of this news cast and makes it part of the study. probability sampling
technique will be use in this study, this sampling technique includes sample selection which is
based on random methods. the focus of the study is the news of wolaita fana fm 99.9 broadcast
for 30 day's, which is from june 5 to july 5 at 6:30 pm. for the research sample 60 news reports
will be include from the news broadcast at 6:30 midday for 30 consecutive day's.

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3.2 Data collection tools
This study will be to use an in depth interview and content analysis.

3.2.1 Content analysis

Both quantitative and qualitative content analysis will be employ to analyze select news stories.
sequentially quantitative data analysis will be use to answer the why question of the findings.
because media content analysis will be advance as systematic method to the study. as the main
proponent of content analysis, beresn (1952) cited in macnamara.

Content analysis can help researchers to carry out their analysis systematical content analysis,
according to the definitions, content analysis is a systematic way of summarizing and generating
conclusions based on data will obtain from a chosen medium that is free of researcher bias and
quantifiable. as a result, the quantitative content analysis in this study will be involve counting
and categorize news stories based on how many lack objectivity, accuracy, fairness and balance.
also, how many news stories from sampling media have features of objectivity, accuracy,
fairness and balance? the variables will be include the news stories reputation length and aspects
of balance, impartiality and others journalism news qualities in respect to the select news stories.

Qualitative content analysis is a method of examining text data by carefully reading the
contents. because it requires extended interaction with a text , it helps in examining human
behavior openoin and information that is difficult to obtain by quantitative content analysis . as a
consequence, qualitative content analysis will be utilize to describe the sample news contents
will be generate by wolaita fana fm 99.9 using journalistic standards.

3.2,2 An in-depth interview

Individual in-depth interviews are characterized by extensive questioning and open-ended
questions, and used to collect qualitative information. individual in-depth interviews are
important as a follow-up to focus group interviews in order to take forward the issues raised in
the focus groups (ritchie & lewis 2003).

3.3 Data analysis method

Qualitative content analysis is a method of examining text data by carefully reading the contents.
because it requires extended interaction with a text, it helps in examining human behavior,

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opinion, and other information that is difficult to obtain by quantitative content analysis. as a
consequence, qualitative content analysis will be utilize to describe the simple news contents will
generate by wolaita fana fm 99.9, it will to use journalist standards.

And also the researcher will to use quantitative data analysis for the purpose of to explian how
many news stories will reports with in requires 30 days. analysis how many news stories full
fulled the professional journalist principle. therefore the researcher will be use quantitative data
analysis method like tables.

RESULTS AND DISCUSION Quantitative content analysis of news coverage Addis TV

has news selection preferences, according to the news items examined in this
study. It covers news from across the country and has no restrictions for the
topics covered in the news. However, the majority of media coverage focused on
events in Addis Ababa and the activities of Addis Ababa's deputy mayor, Mrs.
Adanech Abebe. Consider the following scenario:  Addis Ababa City Deputy
Mayor Adanech Abebe said the people of Addis Ababa should be commended and
strengthened for their support of the Defense Forces who were attacked by the
extremist TPLF. ( November 4,2013 E.C)  Addis Ababa City Deputy Mayor
Adanech Abebe said there is no discrimination towards the people of Tigray
State in the government's assault on extremists. (November 5, 2013 E.C) 
Addis Ababa City Deputy Mayor, Adanech Abebe said our army's victory after
repelling the invasion is a strong indicator that any attempt to degrade
Ethiopia's dignity and sovereignty will fail. ( November 8,2013 E.C) There's a
lot of news out there that's extremely similar to what was just said above.
Total amount of sampled news within 3 months Ordinary day news Extra Ordinary
day news Total percentage 226 40 266 100% News based on deputy mayor Adanech
Abebe 42 8 50 18.8% 7 The news regarding the deputy mayor of Addis Ababa, Mrs.
Adanech Abebe, accounted 50 or 18.8 percent of the entire amount of news
sampled by Addis TV over a threemonth period. Addis TV Amharic news also
extensively covers the activities of the prime minister, ministries,
authorities, and offices.  The Ministry of Defense stated that the TPLF was
engaging in law enforcement action against the TPLF and that the group was

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circulating false information under the pretense of a civil war. ( November
2 ,2013 E.C)  Addis Ababa Police Commission announced that the TPLF
extremist group commissioned 242 people and 744 weapons to cause disorder in
Addis Ababa. ( November 3 ,2013 E.C)  Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has asked
members of the Tigray People's and Special Forces not to make excessive
sacrifices in order to extend his life. (November 4 ,2013 E.C) Total amount of
sampled news within 3 months Ordinary day news Extra Ordinary day news Total
percentage 226 40 266 100% News based on Prime minster Dr Abiy Ahmed 17 2 19
7.14% News based on government ministries', authorities', bureaus', sub-
cities', and woredas' communiqués 72 0 72 27.06% Total 89 2 91 34.2 % 8 7.14 %
media news examined was about Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed. Other government
officials account for 27.06 % of the total news sampled. These government
figures were mentioned in 91 of the 226 news stories analyzed. In general, the
table below indicates the areas Addis TV concentrates on when it comes to news
selection and coverage over a chosen period of 266 randomly picked news. Total
amount of sampled news within 3 months Ordinary day news Extra Ordinary day
news Total percentage 226 40 266 100% News based on deputy mayor Adanech Abebe
42 8 50 18.8% News based on Prime minster Dr Abiy Ahmed 17 2 19 7.14% News
based on other govt officials communique 28 8 36 13.53% News based on
government ministries', authorities', bureaus', sub-cities', and woredas'
communiqués 72 0 72 27.06% News based Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
and religious institutions 8 6 14 5.26% News based on opposition political
parties 6 0 6 2.25% News about social topics such as health, education, the
economy, holidays, traffic, and so on. 43 15 58 21.83% News based on scholars
10 1 11 4.13% Total 226 40 266 100% 9 The data in the above table can be
divided into three categories: First, there are the news sources; second,
there are the news speakers; and third, there is the emphasis that each news
source placed on each of its speakers. Government officials were the main
speakers in Addis TV's news broadcasts, as can be seen in the table above.
Mrs. Adanch Abebe, the deputy mayor of Addis Ababa, was mentioned in the news
50 times (18.8%) out of 226 news stories. On 19 (7.14 percent) of the stories

18
were about Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The news was based on 36 various
governmental officials' communiqués (13.53 percent). About 72 times, messages
from government ministries, authorities, bureaus, sub-cities, and districts
were broadcast on the news (27.06 percent). Non-governmental and religious
organizations covered 14 (5.26%) of the news stories. Opposition political
parties also made the news six times (2.25 percent). Health, education, the
economy, holidays, traffic, and other social topics were covered 58 times
(21.83 percent). Scholars have also covered 11 (4.13%) of the total number of
news stories. This means that government figures at the federal and local
levels received the most attention from Addis TV. For example, out of 226 news
stories, 69 (25.94 percent) were based on two higher government officials: the
country's prime minister and Addis Ababa's deputy mayor. Other government
officials, as well as various federal and city ministries, authorities,
agencies, and sub cities, account for a total of (40.59 percent) of the news.
According to the data, government officials and organizations account for
66.53 percent of news sources and coverage, compared to news from opposition
political parties (2.25 percent) and news from the general population (21.83
percent). In general, government officials were the prominent speakers on
Addis TV's newscasts, and the media extensively covered their activities. The
media, according to Holmes (1990), is a place where different ideas are
entertained. The outcomes of the study tend to contradict this argument, as
Addis TV's practice demonstrates that stories are told from a single point of
view, hinting that officials use the media to promote their agenda.
4.2 Qualitative content analysis of news coverage Based on the facts acquired,
the researcher separates the news material into two categories: ordinary and
extraordinary day news. Politics, economics, health, transportation, water and
sanitation, education, agriculture, and industry are among the themes covered
by ordinary news (news transmitted every day within a specified period of time
without calendar days/holidays). Under the extraordinary day news umbrella,
however, news transmitted on numerous holydays was gathered and examined. As a
result, the most important news themes were investigated in terms of the

19
categories. For the analysis, extracts from the sampled news stories and
interviews were used in combination. As stated in chapter two, journalists and
media outlets are responsible for covering matters that affect the public
interest. They also act as watchdogs for authorities that abuse their power,
for government wrongdoings, and for anyone fighting for the greater good. We
can observe from the news items selected as a sample for this study that the
media houses have a severe professional problem with this issue. Addis TV only
carried a few news pieces having a watchdog function during that time period.
The vast bulk of its news pieces are confined to event coverage. These kinds
of news articles cannot fulfill a media organization's social responsibility
mission, which has the lofty goal of making society a better place to live.
During this time, however, the majority of the news broadcast on Addis TV was
success tales. Actions taken by the government.  Deputy Mayor Adanech Abebe
of Addis Ababa City has stated that she will work hard to secure the full
involvement and benefit of the city's youth. (November 10, 2013)  According
to Jantirara Abay, Deputy Mayor Coordinator of Public Service Institutions,
expanding schools in Addis Ababa will not only ease momentary challenges, but
will also improve the grade of schools over time. (February 3, 2013 EC) 11 
The Focus Women and Children Center and Muday Charity received financial and
material help from Addis Ababa Deputy Mayor Adanech Abebe.(April 19, 2013 EC)
As we can see from the above news reports, they raise a variety of issues that
are directly relevant to the general population. Almost all of them are one-
sided stories that serve simply to entertain government leaders' ideas about
what they would do for the people. Any of the above news items failed to
include the public's perspective on the topics.
4.3 Analyzing objectivity and Independence of the sampled news Most of the
professionalism characteristics of journalism, including objectivity and
independence, are dependent on the source of news stories, according to Revers
(2013). When it comes to the study's sample media, we can't say that its many
news sources are independent or objective because the main source of news is
various government officials and offices. Here's an example of news that

20
supports this theory:  Addis Ababa is growing in a variety of ways,
according to Deputy Mayor Adanech Abebe, who claimed work is ongoing to assist
the city's farmers. ( April 2, 2013) The above news story is presented by
Addis TV and is reported by the channel's reporter, who is expected to fulfill
the news story's level of objectivity as long as he is a professional
journalist. However, this news is lacking in objectivity; the report only
shows one side of the story, which is how the Addis Ababa municipal
administration works hard to build the city and assist the people who reside
in its environs. The reporter solely used the deputy mayor of Addis Ababa
Adanch Abebe's speech to describe how her administration is committed to
making Addis Ababa one of the top cities in Africa and to assisting the city's
farmers. The reporter claims in his news piece that the lives of Addis Ababa
residents are improving and changing, however there is no evidence or
interviewee to back up this claim. Furthermore, the deputy mayor's upbeat tone
indicates that the local administration has created a plan to assist the
city's farmers, and they are pleased. Again, the reporter backed this
argument, telling the audience that farmers in the city had previously
profited in some way, and that now they will receive the help they deserve.
But, other from Mrs. Adanech Abebe's speech, no one knows what the farmers 12
had previously, what they desire now, or even what their impressions are based
on the new platform built by the city administration to support them, because
no farmer interviewee is included in the news report. As a result, the news
article is no longer objective. Furthermore, the news item did not include any
figures depicting the city's growth. In terms of independence, the news story
strongly supports what the mayor has said, and the journalist does not present
or demonstrate any other perspective through his story. And it means that the
journalist was not watchful and brave in covering the entire issue by
including multiple points of view from numerous news sources.
4.4 Analyzing Balance and Fairness of the sampled news To be impartial in
their reporting, journalists should avoid covering one-sided stories. They go
out of their way to find opposing viewpoints and report on them without

21
favoring one side over the other. A story might have multiple points of view,
and a journalist is supposed to observe things from different perspectives.
According to the Missouri Group, there are no instant replays in news
(1992:14). The majority of news items on Addis TV about various subjects
concern the success of the Addis Ababa city administration, the federal
government, and various governmental agencies and politicians. Furthermore,
the majority of the news stories in the sampled media are one-sided tales with
other relevant issues in terms of news balance and fairness. One of the news
was presented in the following ways.  Deputy Mayor Adanech Abebe of Addis
Ababa City said the administration is working hard to modernize the city's
delivery of critical event services and make it less exposed to criminal
operations. (November 1, 2013 EC) The item above is about the Addis Ababa city
administration's initiatives to improve critical event services. The story
depicts the local administration's eagerness and commitment to solve the
service problem. Despite this, the study made no mention of the public's
problems as a result of the sector's service delivery. The service's
background information was not provided, nor was the sector's ups and downs
recorded. The news' principal objective, however, is to show how the local
administration prioritized service. Journalists in the media only cover the
positive aspects of government action, ignoring the negative aspects of the
service. 13 Journalists, according to scholars like Salter (2005), are obliged
to not just report on what happened, but also to show their audiences how the
event unfolded.
4.5 Analyzing Credibility of the sampled news The channel via which the
information was transmitted, rather than the person or group who sent the
message, was the focus of medium credibility research. It's simple to
understand how prior studies looked for combinations of source attributes that
can influence people to change their thoughts when it comes to source
trustworthiness. Source knowledge and trustworthiness were the two most
important factors in determining source credibility. Expertise paired with
trustworthiness results in credibility (Ibid). The following news story, which

22
was broadcast on Addis TV, has raise credibility concerns:  Last summer,
more than 8 million seedlings were planted, with the Addis Ababa City
Administration Environmental Protection and Green Development Commission
announcing that 83 percent had grown.( April 6, 2013) According to the news
report featured above, 83 percent of seedling plants established last summer
out of a total of 100 percent seedling plants, but the narrative did not
explain how that many plants were established or how they measured and
obtained the precise figure of established plants. As a result, if the news is
unable to respond to such inquiries, its trustworthiness is questioned.
According to this (Kruger, 2004), the most important issue in journalism is
believability. Journalists are expected to convey issues from a variety of
angles in order to earn the public's trust. After losing journalistic
credibility, it's tough to rebuild it. Journalists must be able to earn the
public's trust.
4.6 Responses on professional journalistic practice and the role of
journalists on the process of news production in Addis TV  There are
pressure from government or political officials 
Political influence  Restrains of journalists
Most news politically motivated and thy come from the above govt officials 
Lack of journalists ability 14 4.7 Response on independence of the journalists
The concept of media independence is intimately tied to the concept of media
credibility. The media's credibility will be degraded in the eyes of the
public if the public considers journalists or their institutions' activities
as forerunners of the interests of specific organizations. Journalists'
independence is a critical ethical foundation that should be highlighted.
Kruger is a well-known figure in the (2004:13). Almost majority of the
respondents agree that Addis TV lacks professional journalistic freedom,
making the news supplied by journalists unprofessional. We can deduce from the
foregoing profiles of journalists and media editors that there are a number of
variables that contribute to Addis TV's journalistic practice being non-
independent. The first is that the media, particularly the management bodies,

23
want journalists' news to be used solely as propaganda instruments for the
government.
5. Summary As
previously stated, the primary goal of this study was to analyze the quality
of professional journalism practices in the Addis Media Network, with a focus
on Addis TV Amharic news. To answer the study's research questions, the
researcher used both qualitative and quantitative content analysis, as well as
an in-depth interview. To perform this study, the researcher used 266 randomly
selected news stories during a three-month period. • According to the study's
findings, Addis TV's news shows a lower level of application of professional
journalistic principles. The fundamental reason for this was that government
officials were the main speakers in the media's news broadcasts. As a result,
news was framed only in terms of their own interests, with no regard for
professional journalistic principles. The following evidence backed up this
claim:  The data show that government officials were the primary speakers on
Addis TV's news broadcasts. Mrs. Adanch Abebe, the deputy mayor of Addis
Ababa, was mentioned in the news 50 times (18.8%) out of 226 news stories,
according to the results. On 19 (7.14 percent) of the stories were about Prime
Minister Dr. 15 Abiy Ahmed. The news was based on 36 various governmental
officials' communiqués (13.53 percent).  Similarly, government
communications from Ministries, Authorities, Bureaus, Sub-Cities, and
Districts were broadcast 72 times in the news (27.06 percent ). Non-
governmental and religious organizations (NGOs) and religious institutions
(religious institutions) covered 14 (5.26%) of the news stories. Opposition
political parties also made the news six times (2.25 percent). Health,
education, the economy, holidays, traffic, and other social topics were
discussed 58 times (21.83 percent). Scholars have also covered 11 (4.13%) of
the total number of news pieces.  Furthermore, the findings of the study
revealed that government leaders at both the federal and local levels received
the most publicity on Addis TV. Out of 226 news pieces, 69 (25.94 percent)
were based on two senior government officials: the country's prime minister

24
and Addis Ababa's deputy mayor. Other government officials, as well as various
federal and city ministries, authorities, agencies, and sub cities, account
for a total of (40.59 percent) of the news. This means that government
personnel and organizations account for 66.53 percent of news sources and
coverage, compared to news from opposition political parties (2.25 percent)
and news from the general public (21.83 percent).  The news generated by
Addis TV had a variety of problems when it came to meeting the criteria of
professional journalistic principles. The following are a few examples of
displays:  Addis TV broadcasts certain news articles that entertain the
public's ideas, although they are primarily concerned with the government's
backing. The media is required to be pluralistic and reflect the diversity of
its society, providing access to a wide range of viewpoints as well as the
ability to reply. However, the findings revealed that Addis TV did not feature
many news articles that reflected a variety of public viewpoints. The news
reports that the media house attempted to cover in this manner only reflected
stories that backed the government actions.  However, as a public mainstream
media outlet with a watchdog role for the public, Addis TV is expected to
cover many issues that affect the public's 16 benefit; in this case, out of
266 news stories sampled, only one news story was covered by Addis TV, which
showed the society's problems that needed to be addressed by government
officials. This discovery revealed that Addis TV failed to fulfill the public
media's most basic social responsibility role of helping the people by raising
their queries and looking for answers.  The study's focal media cannot be
considered independent of its news sources, according to the findings, because
its principal news sources are various government organizations and officials,
which account for (66.53 percent) of the total sampled news. This means that,
to the extent that the media acquires information directly from government
institutions and officials, these outlets are exposed to political and other
pressures by definition. Addis TV has been driven to focus on topics that
promote the government due to a lack of professional freedom.  The social
responsibility theory, according to McQuail (1994), emphasizes the media's

25
societal responsibilities. The news media should be neutral, credible, and
truthful in their reporting. The journalist's goal is to give the viewers a
balanced and truthful picture of the event. The majority of the news items
evaluated from the sampling media, on the other hand, are one-sided stories
that only cover the government's side of the story, as well as success stories
that encourage government activity.  The news items on Addis TV include
unprofessional reporting methods, such as a lack of objectivity by adding the
journalist's beliefs and opinions, omission of essential news issues, and so
on.  There are big problems in Addis TV when it comes to following the
ethical rules of journalism, which forces the media and journalists to ignore
the professional principles of journalism. Some of them include the following:
 The findings of the investigation revealed that Addis TV is directly
controlled by Addis Ababa's city administration, and that it functions as a
mouthpiece for the city administration and other government institutions in
the country rather than a public media channel. 17  According to the
findings of the study, Addis TV journalists are constantly under pressure from
their superiors in terms of news content and source selection. The bosses
choose both the news and the sources, not the journalists. The bosses were
chosen by the government based on their political allegiance rather than their
competence.  The tone of all government-related news on Addis TV was
likewise discovered to be positive. There wasn't a single news report
criticizing any government agency or activity. Even if the news was bad, it
was given in the context of the government's attempts to fix the problem. 
Finally, lack of capacity of journalists and editors, incompetence in
education, inadequate training for journalists at the institute, journalists'
interest in bribery, and lack of commitment to their profession all contribute
to the

26
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