Ethiopia's radio broadcasting has a rich history, starting with the establishment of the first radio station in 1931 during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie. In 1933, radio began operating to disseminate information to the masses, marking all-encompassing progress of the country.
The foreign legations had earlier imported equipment for their own use. During the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1936, the Ethiopian Patriots (Arbegnoch) demolished the radio telegraphic station, prompting the Italian to establish the new radio station at the center in Addis Ababa. On 7 September 1935, the first successful test had conducted over radio telephone in Akaki station, and broadcast Amharic-English language to denounce the Italian invasion. The Italian also destroyed the radio station after a war with British army during the Second World War East African Campaign in 1941.
The British military force then embarked to repair the Broadcasting network in Ethiopia since 1942. The Ministry of Information employed a contract through Mackay Radio Telegram Company, the 7.5 KW transmitting station at Jimma Road left behind the Italians, was fixed with the radio telegraphic international broadcast to America and Far East were organized. The first radio station was Radio Ethiopia, depicted as a masterpiece for propaganda tool of the government of Ethiopia. Car radio was introduced by this time where they received messages from Haile Selassie, public announcement, news, plays, and proclamation.
By 1950, recorded program transmission was commenced as recording materials available for assistance. Under Proclamation No.131/1952, the electrical means of transmission program was transferred to the Imperial Board of telecommunication. In 1953, there were short wave transmission in Ethiopia. The modern radio transmission began in 1957 when the United States donated 2.5 million dollars to install ten-kilowatt short-wave transmitter at the Jimma Road Station and launched in 1960.
The Voice of the Gospel was granted to broadcast Christian radio station in Addis Ababa which officially opened in 1964. The Lutheran World Federation was granted to establish a radio station and maintained the government interest to include private sectors in the field, and to broaden radio broadcasting service as an alternative. Another radio station was Kagnaw Station in Asmara, which was owned by the United States Army until 1978. This station served as a global network of communication.
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In 1966, three new high-power transmitters, i.e. 100 KW in Geja Hara, near Addis Ababa, 50 KW in Adi Ugri, near Asmara and 100 KW in Harar medium wave transmission were installed. In 1968, the Ethiopian Broadcast Authority became an autonomous body under Ministry of Information. There are three main stations: 100-kilowatt station in Addis Ababa, a 100-kilowatt station in Harar and a 50-kilowatt station outside in Asmara, with additional programs being broadcast from 1 10-kilowatt station in Addis Ababa. MW and SW are utilized for reaching wider audiences, especially in rural areas.
The Emergence of FM Radio
FM radio in Ethiopia had its inception with FM Addis 97.1 [am] in 2000, broadcasting on the frequency 97.1MHz. Since then, the radio landscape in Ethiopia has flourished, with numerous FM radio stations emerging, particularly centered around the capital city of Addis Ababa. The stations used to follow odd frequencies to avoid interference.
The newly emerging “private”FM Radio stations in Addis Ababa and somewhere else in Ethiopia including the much-heralded Sheger FM is often accused of indulging in self-censorship. There has been FM Radios expansion and explosion in our country since the turn of the Ethiopian millennium in Addis alone there are more than six radio stations besides there are more to come as Ethiopian Broadcast Authority indicated recently. These FM radios are disseminating an influx of information to millions of listeners in the capital.
But the question is besides fulfilling their business interest whether this radio stations are fulfilling their functions in the society as a responsible actor? Do they regulate and improve themselves to be more responsible with the speed they are expanding? These questions are worth considering because radio as a mass media is the double-edged sword of any society. However, unfortunately, these newly growing FM radio stations are neither responsible nor people-centric. Prime significance is given to entertainment issues.
According to my rough estimation throughout my two weeks stay in Addis Ababa over 100 radio talk shows aired every week on all FM Radio stations during the prime hours have set their agenda to discuss nothing but football, film, fashion, sex or music. Moreover, theses shows are overcrowded with the so called famous or “debutant “artists” & “journalists” who deceive the public with hollow analysis of art, music or football and traditional rhetoric. Ethiopia is in a quagmire of crises ranging from education to electricity and from food security to economic woes. The list is long and unending. Shouldn’t these radios conduct shows on the real issues being faced today? However, one thing that caught my attention this past weekend was how various privities newspapers had covered the revolution of Egypt and Tunisia .Awereba Times gave through analysis while Addis Admas covered the story with a reasonably enough analysis by their own standard. But not “private” FM radio stations.
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Sheger FM 102.1: A Pioneer in Private Radio
SHEGER FM 102.1 'yenanetew radio' is the first private radio station in Ethiopia.
Key features of the Sheger FM app include:
- Recorded shows (podcasts) - that you can either listen online or offline (after downloading them) without any data usage.
- Flash Poll Feature: let your voice be heard, by answering to the hottest questions and polls the Radio will address to you.
It’s not just a Radio, it’s your next community!
The English version of Part 4 from a special series of talks on Ethiopian history, written for Sheger FMPress enter or click to view image in full sizeI was delighted and deeply touched when Teferi Haddis teamed up with Ephrem Endale to translate and broadcast some of my Medium articles on Sheger FM. I was even more thrilled by the wonderful public response.
And so I wanted to give something back to Ethiopian listeners. I offered to develop a series of talks on Ethiopian history - specifically written for an Amharic audience. Some pieces will eventually be found in a forthcoming book in English, but I took special care to adapt the material to be heard (when I got into journalism, I started in radio, so listening to lines can be a different but still rich experience, as opposed to reading them).
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For this last talk, well, maybe in these grim times for Ethiopia, it’s fitting that I also put out the original English version of the script. The words were submitted in early July to Sheger, which broadcast its Amharic translation in late September. These were words intended to inspire.
Writers never know what kind of reception they’ll get to their work, so all I can do is hope that someone out there likes the message. I count myself lucky. Digging through files in the British National Archives in London, I found this remarkable story about the Patriots who fought the Fascist Occupation.
Local radio programming in Ethiopia is providing mental health care
There is almost always courage with the Patriots, sometimes tragedy and setbacks, but I never expected dark comedy. The story goes like this: a group of Patriots attacked one of the trains pulling out of Addis Ababa, and the train gets expertly derailed, and the Italian soldiers flee into a construction house that serves as a kind of bunker.
Well! Now it’s a siege. See, the British come into the story because they found an eyewitness who said that “not a few of the Italian soldiers . . . spent much of their time huddled in a corner and in tears.” So much for Fascist courage! But that’s not the surreal part.
See, the phone lines were cut, and the Italians hadn’t thought to bring along a radio. So when the train gets overdue, a search party of soldiers ride out in a coal-car pulled by an engine. The Somali driver is afraid of getting hit by gunfire, so he crouches down while opening the throttle and driving blind. And so he’s going at 50 miles an hour, annnnnd crash! He smashes right into the derailed train.
Half the search party gets killed by the Ethiopians, the other half go running back to Addis Ababa, and what do the Italians do? They send more reinforcements! But the Patriots aren’t fools, so they quickly withdraw, and the Italians then take out their frustration on the local populace, letting their askari troops run amuck and commit terrible war crimes.
But the Patriot attacks are so embarrassing for the Italians that when they happen, officers go around to all the foreign legations and shut down their radios to stop the news from spreading. As grim and awful as that skirmish was, I can’t help but think of that ridiculous coal car smashing into a derailed train, and the bizarre chain of events.
I’m lucky. I found that story, and with a little help, I tracked down the great hero Jagama Kello in his last years, and though frail and in bed, he recalled the wonderful tales of his years as a Patriot commander.
