Can ESAT Be Our Al Jazeera?
I am sure the owners of ESAT have thought seriously about the fantastic weapon they have built. They ought to be thanked by all Ethiopians who are eager to see a robust public sphere and alternative media in Ethiopia. Just before the start of the World Cup, the Spanish sports newspaper Marca had this amazing headline: “Spain Are the Best in the World; Now Prove It.” ESAT is a great idea; now prove it.
The Al Jazeera Effect, a term made famous in academia by USC Political Scientist Philip Seib, is much used and abused. Avid readers of the Weekly Standard may think that it means the role of the Qatar based satellite channel in undermining America’s war on terror. In Israel, some media define it as the mainstreamization of anti-Semitic propaganda. For the rulers of Saudi Arabia, the Al Jazeera Effect is no better than the irresponsible secularization of the Arab public sphere. Seib, however, defines it as “the superseding of the traditional media connections that have brought identity and structure to global politics by connectivity of new media, a rewiring of the world’s neural system.” His term is primarily about alternative media, not a single satellite channel. Al Jazeera, as the doyen of the new media, represents their nature, characteristics, ethos and self-identification and definition.
Drawing on Seib’s work, scholars of Arab media have studied the Al Jazeera Effect in the Arab world. Some were limited to the effects of Al Jazeera itself in creating a new era of political diversity in the Arab world. Others focused on the intensification of trends in media and politics in the Arab world that Al Jazeera started. Indeed, in the past few years, one can get a hard time finding any research in politics and media that doesn’t mention Al Jazeera in one way or another. It is early days to know whether all the academic excitement is justified; the Al Jazeera Effect may prove to be as fleeting as the much touted CNN Effect of the early 1990s. Media effects are usually overhyped. Be it as it may though, there is no denying that Al Jazeera has brought something to the media scene (mainly broadcast) in the Arab world that was not a feature previously: a vast intake basin.
Since the 1950s, most broadcast outlets in the Arab world were controlled by either governments or groups that were too afraid or too acquiesced to criticize them. The very few channels, which were started by opposition groups here and there, were largely propaganda-sque in their approach. When it was launched in 1996, Al Jazeera defied this Arab tradition by acting as a soapbox of very diverse opinions and views in the Middle East. Media scholar Yochai Benkler calls this Universal Intake. “The basic requirement of a public sphere is that it must in principle be susceptible to perceiving and considering the issues of anyone who believes that their condition is a matter appropriate for political consideration,” Benkler argued in his highly impressive work The Wealth of Networks.
There are parallels between the developments of the public sphere in Ethiopia and the Arab world. Up until the 1990s, both print and broadcast media in both places were largely government owned. The short wave radio channels run by opposition groups- mostly from overseas – were similar in style and approach to the outlets owned by governments. In 1990s, liberalization of the print media in Ethiopia and the shift of the pan-Arab press to London brought relative freedom to newspapers. But most of these newspapers concentrated on the politics rather than the political. What should have constituted as matters plausibly within the domain of political debate and action fell outside the intake basin of these newspapers, resulting in an impoverishment of the public sphere.
The end of the 1990s began the divergence of the two media spaces. Ethiopia’s has remained almost the same (give and take the extent of political freedom); the Arab media scene has gradually evolved into a genuine sphere of public participation. The Arab media sphere (part of the greater public sphere) is now a feast of breezy, passionate and substantive debates on anything ranging from the rights of minorities to the stagnation of economic growth in the region. What Al Jazeera had started, other TV stations and internet platforms in Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon have intensified. Call that the Al Jazeera Effect.
Will our first independent Satellite channel be able to do what Al Jazeera has done to the Arab media sphere? ESAT’s battles are harder. While Al jazeera started with lavish funding from an ambitious young emir who just overthrew his father in a bloodless coup, ESAT’s sources of funding are ordinary Ethiopians living in North America. What John Dewey called the problem of the public – the difference between the public of theory and the public of practice in political science – makes it hard to sustain the media let alone keep its quality high. Putting it in less academic terms, the task of consistently raising enough funds from the public is difficult. The public has slacker members who want to free ride; it has members who demand quantifiable success immediately; it has members who get tired of commitment quite easily; it also has cynical members who think nothing positive can come out of any political act. Another challenge is a determined effort by the government to jam the channel. Although many Arab countries floated the idea of jamming Al Jazeera, they were unable to do it before copycat stations mushroomed and made the jamming of Al Jazeera a useless exercise. This second problem has an effect on the first. The more ESAT staggers under government jamming, the more its funders get worn out – a strategy quite accurately identified by the government.
Yet even working under these challenges, ESAT can still change our public sphere by taking a leaf out of Al Jazeera’s book. Here are some points:
1.Robert Kaplan said Al Jazeera was endearing because it exuded hustle. Hustle in media means being constantly in the front; getting scoops, interviews, insightful analyses, hard-hitting debates. For ESAT, the shortage of footage can decrease the hustle factor, but it would not totally wipe it out because to some extent “the medium becomes the message” when there is a message overload. That is not the case in Ethiopia. People will switch on and follow ESAT’s breaking news even when it has no footage to back the story with.
2. What made Al Jazeera excellent, argued Roger Cohen, was its ability to “bring the real world home.” Many observers think Al Jazeera is a channel of politics. The truth is quite different: it is a political channel. A channel of politics is obsessed with “who governs?” The mainstay of its coverage is the duel between the opposition and the ruling party, political parties and politicians. A political channel filters and presents views and concerns that are held by sufficiently large number of people. Its mainstay is behaviours, cultures, institutions and interactions that ultimately become the focal point of the politics. Al Jazeera televises issues ranging from police brutality and gay rights in Egypt to corruption in Saudi Arabia. Sometimes it criticizes Arab governments, but it also knows that you can say a lot about, say, the Egyptian government just by presenting a story of police officers who tortured a minibus driver with impunity.
3.Back to Robert Kaplan. Al Jazeera, he said, excelled at opening one’s mind because watching Al Jazeera is the “vicarious equivalent of engaging in the kinds of different conversations” one with a normal life would have. Al Jazeera does not involve in engaging continually in point scoring against one or another group. A TV channel like ESAT that beams to a country led by a fully authoritarian regime might be tempted to be just an anti-government propaganda instrument, but that would not help in getting credibility or relevance. ESAT will be best served if it can be a platform of live conversation among Ethiopians.
I am sure the owners of ESAT have thought seriously about the fantastic weapon they have built. They have to be thanked by all Ethiopians who are eager to see a robust public sphere and alternative media in Ethiopia. Just before the start of the World Cup, the Spanish sports newspaper Marca had this amazing headline: “Spain Are the Best in the World; Now Prove It.” ESAT is a great idea; now prove it.
I think a lot has been said about what effect ESAT will have on the Ethiopians and to the political spectrum as a whole. I don’t want dwell on that instead I think it is best to any one with a bit of media knowledge to put their hands into ESAT and see what they can provide rather than comparing ESAT to other huge media networks. I have seen how much effort and money is required to host a half hour program or a 1 minute advert let alone a 24 hour tv program, TV is an expensive media and what makes difficult for ESAT is they are not even doing from Ethiopia, you can imagine how difficult it can be to get fresh news with a video footage. So my final point….. get involved, don’t be a bystander!!!
Talk Show Vs Action show….talk talk talk isnt it enough?
Abiye,
I knew you since the time you began to broadcast ,your lovely show -Talk Football or even earlier in commerce.
You know what strikes me most about you- there are millions of young philosophical,wisdom filled,elegant and amazingly intellectual Ethiopians all over the country and here in the Diaspora, but none of them shared it.You share what you know from football-to-meznagana -to media and now politico-media. You are a precious wealth to Ethiopia in this day of brain drain,neglect and non nationalism.
Back to your piece,this intellectively written exploratory article is more of a recommendation to me than of being an action gamut.
I fully agree of what you raised and entertained very equidistantly .
We all have a stake and role of making ESAT our Aljazeera.But how? I feel the main thing behind this realistically means having highly skilled and trained journalists who would assist in PR,News room and Media management,evaluation and research,especially media research and most importantly Ethiopian journalists and media experts who could commit their time to making further media feasibility studies.This is what i think is the core in when we go down to business in the process of forming our AlZeerra effect via ESAT.
The Big problem here is ;we don;’t have these diamonds;skilled journalists.You may say why don’t we have a journalism school in AAU?Well if you think that School exits ,it only does nominally.Its Head Dr.Gebremedhin Araya, a tigrean chuvinist and extremist has twisted , the School’s good leaps and now fully made it Civil Service College.The politicization of the AAU SJC, has resulted in the drying of our wet lust for an independent , academically free School due to this very man and his party,TPLF/EPRDF.
Thus our only hope is from Ethiopians who were/are being educated real journalism in the West and some foreign volunteers who could proffer a hand.I hope ,if ESAT makes an open call for these experts, our dream of making and remaking the CNN and Jzeraa Effect comes into effect soon.
God Bless and lets all help ESAT
IMPUNITY OR PUNISHMENT …WHICH ONE IS A VIABLE OPTION???
addisalembelayzeleke@yahoo.com
There is one real issue which bugs me too much. If I were Meles (of course I could never do what he did) but if I were him, with all the genocide, murder, oppression, records, how on earth one believe I surrender my power with peace. Could one imagine what would happen on me, I will definitely end up at least life sentence at most death penalty, with this concept in mind what should be my viable option?
1. Stay in power to extent of one man is left to protect me.
2. Flee to some other country as Mengistu did…or
One can give me any other option which really is hard for me to think about…
So …our struggle toward freedom has to be designed with this basic understanding. As to me peaceful struggle could not come to my mind when I try to imagine the struggle against weyane.
Dear beloved Ethiopians, Could one show us to have some insight toward this struggle…I am not asking about a strategic plan of any organization or party,…but I am asking the general feasible option of this struggle which could be considered for consensus. I believe we should have one definite concept towards this struggle. We must discuses about the real option. We are messing around without any fruit which uphold the hope of our People. Our people are almost on the verge of giving up.
I got some other idea, I am saying Idea…one could consider it proposal…well…I thought about it too much even I was trying to share this idea with my friends…It is about giving personal impunity for Meles…It is ridicules for most of the Ethiopian people including myself, a man who order for the murder of thousands, the imprisonment of tens of thousands of innocent Ethiopians, a man responsible for poverty and hunger of our People,…be set free as if any innocent leader….It is implausible for me!!! but to get his punishment thousands has to die…of course there is only one choice left for us to bring him to justice, arm struggle, which incurs years of war…it costs lot of economy and of course precious human life…both sides of the war front are…brothers.
So…what should we do…I tried to see every pro democracy blogs or sites, which curse Meles…Meles did this or did that…it is obvious…he did lot more than one could imagine. We need action. Ethiopian people need action more than propaganda of anti weyane….we need action!!!We should not give more time folks he definitely is planning to end up like…Fidel Castro
It is important that the Owners of ESAT must find a lot of means to have the TV survive. The owners could cooperate with media distributors, operators even through broadband network arround the globe.
To compare with others does not help. Aljazeera is owned and financed by Quatar on Petrol dollar rich countries.
ESAT should turn to all Ethiopians in the world to subscribe to ESAT at a resonable and competetive fees.
Don`t forget commercial……….Good Luck.
I strongly agree with Abiy. ESAT will be powerful and frigthning to the goverment if it is independent, objective and impartial. It should accomodate diverse group of opinions. It shoud not be similar to ETV, on the other extreme. If it is so, it will be toothless
“will our independent satellite channel be able to do……………”,i don’t get it.is ESAT an independent channel?what is the difference between ESAT and ETV? for me ETV is a propaganda machine of the government( EPRDF) and ESAT for the opposition.so abiy i don’t think ESAT is an independent media.
My comments on ESAT so far-
Finance and other essential structural factors are necessary for the TV channel to perpetuate. Most people are not proactive, we usually tend to wait and see where something is trending before embarking on the move. Therefore ESAT shall basically prove in the beginning that it is able to be a media outlet with competitive journalistic attributes to maintain the financial and other necessary support that can make it sustain.
But so far many programs broadcasted on the channel (during that small portion of time it is not jammed) would rather lead in to thinking it is not a channel worth spending a penny. Partisan attitude is not the major problem in my perspective; as a matter of fact you hardly find a media outlet with no partisan inclination anywhere in the world. My fear is it is actually partisan like ETV. The most deplorable attribute of ETV is not the fact it is praising a dictatorial regime 24/7. Rather the most deplorable attribute of ETV is its highly unqualified and incompetent staff.
The moment I watched Lencho Letta’s interview on ESAT a surge of anger was running in me. How could a TV channel appoint someone like that journalist to interview one of the most experienced and educated contemporary politicians like Lencho? The interview that could have been a precious piece turned in to an ETV standard ‘’developmental’’ monologue. Other programs will also make the same impression.
Hence I believe that ESAT shall promptly act and at least employ technically efficient staff to start the long journey. Addis Neger journalists might help volunteering for such existential challenge.
ESAT has a good tool to reach the people of Ethiopia. I haven’t seen a good skill yet. Most of the people working for ESAT are below or at journalism infant stage. In this compitetive business of TV services the mediocre ESAT may not go too far. Here are some tips to stay in business and win creadibility:
1. invest on proficient and skillful people.
2. aim at gaining and maintaining credibility.
3. do not try to maximize profit at this stage of ESAT.
Witout due considerations to these 3 points, it wont be too long for ESAT to join the late ETN.
would ESAT be an aljazeera of …? from where it stands now it wont and if it keeps wobbling like this i don’t think it would ever period. i share most of the positive comments, i said most, because as some one who is presently residing in this contry i would love to distance my self from those emotional fellow citizens who believe ESAT could potentially substitue ETV in every aspect right from petty news like car accident and some goverment regulations which affect our daily life. ofcourse ESAT can satiate our thrist for negavtive politics by condemning meles tigrayan,and woyane but it would never tell us about a little progress in the remote of ethiopia, merely due to the grudge the founders and funders as well as the diaspora had with this government one way or the other. i see ESAT as a good venue indeed forum to disspate our anger but is that what this divided nation needs in this time of uncertainity about who is who? The interview with Amare Aregawi(the owner of reporter) and Lencho Leta( the reknowned oromo elit) tells something about how this sattelite of would be ethiopians perceived. isn’t that eye brow raising? why were they agitated? is it because they were tgrian or undercover woyane. if this informative TV of the ethiopians advocate and exagerate the rift b/n tribes by calling them tigrayans and hardline oromos(separetis) i quoted the later from the interview of tamagne beyene “even the hard line OLF… has to get an opportunity to have its say….” imphasis that ‘even’meaning OLF is not a stakeholder rather a complement to prove the fairness of this TV ,then surely it is not the question of how that matters the most but when before it is render obsolate and forgotten by the majority, ever illuding their hope indeed setting a bad example for others to come. being alternative isnot to stand on the other extrem with the same camuoflage rather to be vivid clourful and distinguishable with such an ease. yes, fairness isnot what we think fair,though by mere coincedence we can be right,instead it is what many believes fair nomater how wrong u think they are. so, i find it hard to even put ESAT and jezeera in the same box let alone weigh them on the balance. jazeera is meant to be global and tuned as such with competent and exprienced professionals on the contrary ESAT is meant to anger or targer a particular government with predetermind goal of deposing or forcing appology for their sins as they have done to their predecessor. for me,hope i am wrong, ESAT is yet to come to picture with real smell of our(all of us) ethiopia.
Here the question whether should we stay under darkness or getting connected and communicated to be out of poverty and long-stayed ethnocentrism while the rest of the world is getting in the middle of globalization of ideas and thinkings to make life better! Getting started of ESAT is much better than any effort that has been made to fight Ethiopians’ stupid enemy like Meles and Bereket together with those crippled human being such as Prof. Andreas and Dr. Abiy Tasse! Let me tell you these days’ practical things you have to do! Just cry, write, draw whenever you get a chance and do same wherever you get outlets to make free your brother and sisters from future darkness of their generation. Let Ethiopians hear a truth first then we will think about STANDARDIZATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF MEDIA when we get free from modern bondage of all kinds from all sides!