U.S. Embassy trains 650+ Ethiopian journalists on fair and balanced reporting

The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia has trained 650+ Ethiopian broadcast and print journalists and editors on a variety of topics, including fair and balanced reporting on the electoral process and the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the U.S. government’s commitment to supporting democratic reforms including excellence in journalism, trainings focused on transparency and accountability.
A series of 25 week-long workshops designed to empower and educate journalists, the sessions were implemented by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs (CCP) with support from the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia and in partnership with the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia and Addis Ababa University’s School of Journalism and Communications.
The workshops, facilitated by renowned Ethiopian journalists and professors, are part of a $450,000 (14,730,000 million birr) investment by the U.S. Embassy to improve civic journalism and coverage of elections and COVID-19.
From February 2020 to August 2021, journalists from 66 media houses in 10 regions and city administrations gathered in person to cover topics that included learning how to identify misinformation and adapt reporting techniques with COVID-19 precautions. Staff from five regional and zonal communication affairs offices also participated in the trainings.