SECTOR 4 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 2.5 4.2 The standard of reporting follows the basic principles of accuracy and fairness. Most of the reporting in the country seeks to adhere strictly to the principle of accuracy. Factual errors are rare. For the state media accuracy is not really an issue because they mainly report on decisions of the government by using its statements. The principle of fairness, however, is very often compromised by almost all media, be they private or state. The tendency to be either pro or against the government runs counter to the notion of fairness. The state media, when reporting on opposition meetings, for example, tend to project only negative aspects such as organisational mishaps, while the private print publications, for their part, focus predominantly on criticising the government. The problem manifests more starkly in the private media because many of them contain more editorials or opinion pieces than news stories, with the separation between the two too often blurred. There are only very few media outlets that follow the principles of both accuracy and fairness. There is some hope for the future, though: according to observations made by the School of Journalism at the University of Addis Ababa the number of journalists who understand these principles is increasing. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ETHIOPIA 2010 51