The Media of Somalia: A Force for Moderation?

"In a country with a rich oral culture where the Latin alphabet for Somali was adopted only as recently as 1973, radio has for generations been the most important medium in the country. While access to and control over radio provides the main focus of this briefing, radio takes its place alongside other increasingly important media."

As shown by an avid consumption of news and information, "[m]edia matters in Somalia", according to the introduction to this policy document. With a history of drought, famine, and war, news is valued, and media becomes a "battle ground". "The media provides a platform through which people debate their future, thrash out their differences and, at least in part, settle them. It also provides - at least sometimes - an essential check on the abuse of power."

This research, from October 2010 - March 2011, took place in three regions across the country, through focus groups and interviews with Somali journalists, media commentators, and representatives of development, donor, and other organisations. A content analysis of news output was also done. (Footnotes are removed in this summary.)

For this research, "media" is considered how people in Somalia access, trust, use, and misuse information. With late adoption of the Latin alphabet, radio leads as the main source of information; thus, access to and control of radio is important. Telecommunication-based services are of rising importance, including for diaspora communication. Telephone call rates are low, but internet access is increasingly important and is beginning to complement the role of radio. Online news and, to an extent, international and domestic satellite television are becoming more frequently used sources of information. Political influence and media ownership reflect power relationships. "One of nine television stations broadcasting from within the country is owned by Al-Shabab, an extremist Somali militia with links to al-Qaeda."

The document describes Somalia through its history and population groups (six clans of pastoralists and agriculturalists) and by region: South Central Somalia, Somaliland, and Puntland. Youth-led militias have overthrown various governments, some repressing journalism, opening the South Central region to extremist forms of Islam and lawlessness. Somaliland and Puntland, at the date of research, were more stable.

Of 35 radio stations, national coverage is a feature only of international stations, "principally the BBC Somali Service and VOA [Voice of America] that broadcast over shortwave as well as through local partners. A 2007 BBC survey in Mogadishu found that the BBC Somali Service and the Mogadishu based private FM station HornAfrik were the joint most popular stations, listened to by four-fifths of adult males and two-thirds of adult women." Local radio stations were beginning to erode the audience share of international stations, but extremist demands on limiting content on many stations have caused them to suffer loss of audience and, in some cases, closure.

According to the document, the history of radio reflects control by political leaders and warlords, which led to using radio for sensationalism and the glorification of war - roots of this are based in the clan poet oral tradition of telling hero stories. With private investment beginning in 1999 for the opening of Radio HornAfrik, the diaspora began to exert its influence, creating conditions for "a more independent, plural and genuinely professional media." Diaspora investment is in private stations, where there is a strong level of trust in their reporting motives.

However,as stated here, the rule of Al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam has terrorised journalists, causing many to flee, and has closed independent radio stations. "The assault on media independence has been remorseless and merciless. Al-Shabab has a deliberate strategy of taking over or intimidating radio stations. The NUSOJ’s State of the Freedom of the Press in Somalia reported the seizure of seven private media houses by Al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam in 2010....However, that risks caricaturing the media as a helpless set of actors easily bent to serve those with power, and consequently a force used to control and manipulate public opinion in the interests of those with the guns. The reality is more complex and arguably suggests that the media in general and radio in particular has been far more a force for moderation rather than extremism." 

The document states that he profession of journalism suffers from intimidation, low pay, and lack of training in both lawless areas and those under rule of law. Women journalists are most threatened by Islamists. "Journalism is in deep trouble in Somalia but there can be few countries where journalists have risked or resisted more in the face of appalling attacks....The fact is that brave journalists are continuing to fight to uphold the independence of their profession and the story of the last three decades has been as much one of resistance to terror as it has been submission."

And, as stated by the research, audiences are demanding more balanced coverage and are tired of hearing about war. "Most radio stations, and especially the largest and most successful ones, responded to audience demand and increasingly attempt balance in their coverage, representing diverse perspectives." Respondents suggested that BBC radio influence helped establish Radio Shabelle and HornAfrik as stations to be trusted, resulting in growing audience demand for their programming and an online presence, as well as increasing financial stability, as people switch to their channels. Extremist bans on music and drama and insistence on only Qu'ranic readings has caused stations to close. "Extremism in Somalia is bad for business and terrible for building an audience."

Television's growing importance is represented by the growing number of stations, especially those broadcasting by satellite from outside Somalia. As stated here, they appear to be increasingly competing with radio stations, but they are limited in audience to those who are economically advantaged and have electricity. Newspapers are smaller in number and limited to areas of more stability and more economic resources, particularly Somaliland. The internet, shaped by the diaspora, has seen rapid proliferation: "one of Africa’s most well developed online media landscapes, with an abundance of internet sites - particularly news websites - forming in recent years. Views on this burgeoning landscape tend to be as diverse as the media itself." Since it is unregulated, those with economic means and a political agenda are starting websites; however, there is much international and mainstream content - available to and used by some of the radio stations. The spread and impact of mobile was small at the time of research but set to grow in availability and influence.

The document recommends:

• "Make media support a priority: This briefing argues that media is potentially a profoundly moderating force in a society much in need of moderation."
• "Ownership and agency: The future media sector within Somalia will be created by Somalis. Efforts designed to support media in the country will increasingly need to have legitimacy within the country."
• "Support regulatory reform: Regulatory reform is more difficult in Somalia than almost any other country, especially in South Central Somalia where there are no functioning institutions....That support should be focused on ensuring that people have access to trusted, diverse sets of perspectives from both national and international actors. Popular demand for such information is already high."
• "Ensure strategic coherence: the web of support to Somali media is among the most complex in the world. The number of domestic media support organisations, international media support organisations (of which the publishers of this briefing are one), of external donor organisations combined with the complexity of the media landscape all make strategic coherence key."
• "Support standard setters: Few people interviewed for this research felt that providing training to individual journalists over short periods of time is likely to be an effective approach in the future. Training should be targeted at those capable of setting standards and passing skills to others."