15 August 2012 Last updated at 07:06 ET

Ethiopia profile

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Media relations with the government have sometimes been troubled

Radio is the medium of choice, reaching rural areas where most Ethiopians live.

Although the state controls most broadcasting outlets, including the sole national TV network, there is a handful of private radio stations.

Some opposition groups beam into Ethiopia using hired shortwave radio transmitters overseas.

The number of privately-owned newspapers has grown; some are available online. Press circulation is largely confined to the literate urban elite.

The private press offers quite different reporting to state-owned newspapers and routinely criticises the government.

The relationship between the press and officials has sometimes been difficult. A "legislative arsenal", including anti-terror laws, has eroded "the democratic space and freedom of expression", said media rights group Reporters Without Borders in 2012.

There were 622,000 internet users by December 2011 (Internetworldstats.com). The government owns the sole ISP, "allowing it to censor when and where it sees fit", the Committee to Protect Journalists reported in 2011.

There is substantial filtering of political news, according to OpenNet Initiative. The government curbs access to the sites of domestic "insurgent groups" and several blogs and websites run by opposition groups abroad, says the US State Department.

Press

• Addis Zemen - state-owned daily
• Ethiopian Herald - state-owned English-language daily
• The Daily Monitor - private, English-language
• Addis Admass - private, Amharic-language weekly
• The Reporter - private, English-language web pages
• Capital - English-language, business weekly
• Addis Fortune - English-language business weekly

Television

• Ethiopian Television (ETV) - state-owned

Radio

• Radio Ethiopia - state-owned, operates National Service and External Service and regional stations
• FM Addis 97.1 - operated by Addis Ababa city administration
• Voice of Tigray Revolution - Tigray Regional State government radio
• Radio Fana - founded in 1994 by ruling party

News agencies/internet

• Walta Information Centre (WIC) - privately-owned, pro-government
• Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) - state-owned