express their political opinions freely for fear of repercussions. Criticism of the government is not welcome even if there are no apparent negative consequences. Some members of the panel felt that the ability to express one’s opinion freely has improved tremendously compared to the previous regimes, and they remain optimistic that things will improve further in the “young democracy” under the current administration. Others felt that the fear of speaking one’s mind was being reinforced after 2005 by legal threats and official statements made by government officials. Some laws on the statute books could be used to limit the right to freedom of expression in an unjustifiable manner. Two outstanding examples are the Anti Terrorism Proclamation 2009 which allows for the “encouragement” of (undefined) “terrorism” to be punished with severe jail sentences, and the Revised Criminal Code of 2004 which provides for criminal defamation. A new Freedom of the Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation of 2008 requires publishers or news agencies to be registered with a state authority. This registration has to be renewed every three years and can be refused. The same act regulates citizens’ right to access public information which is guaranteed by the Constitution. The act lists a number of exemptions to this right but also provides for a “public interest override”, which will oblige an authority to release information if the public interest outweighs the potential harm caused by such disclosure. Another new piece of legislation is the Charities and Societies Proclamation 2009. It restricts foreign funding for civil society organisations active in the advancement of human and democratic rights to ten per cent of their total funding. This, coupled with the undeveloped culture of grass root level participation in the country, has made fund raising extremely difficult. As a result, activities of civil society groups, particularly in areas of advocacy, have substantially declined. Broadcasting, radio in particular, is the medium of choice in Ethiopia. Geographical coverage of radio transmissions has reached an estimated 70 per cent, while television coverage is close to 60 per cent. The state-owned Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency (ERTA) operates a National Radio Service and regional radio stations as well as a national television service and some regional TV channels. The board of the ERTA is selected by the government. Most of the top managers are members of the ruling party and all staff members are government employees. As a consequence editorial independence of the state broadcaster is limited. News bulletins are essentially bulletins about government activities. The coverage does not reflect diverse views but is usually one-sided, lacks depth and falls short of journalistic ethics. 6 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ETHIOPIA 2010