Media in Somalia: radio, TV, news sites and the risks journalists face

Radio first

Radio is the most popular source of news in Somalia, and TV reaches mainly towns (Reporters Without Borders, Somalia). Radio suits an oral culture: news, poetry, religion and song all travel by voice.

How Somali radio began

• 1941 to 1945, Hargeisa. A small transmitter for the British police became "Hargeisa, Radio Somali" by 1945, the first live Somali-language station. It took the name Radio Hargeisa in 1953 (Fathi Jama, Geeska, 2025).
• 1956 to 1957, Cairo and London. Radio Cairo began Somali broadcasts, and the BBC Somali Service went on air on 18 July 1957 (BBC Somali Service, Wikipedia; Geeska, how Radio Cairo made waves in Somalia). In 2017 the BBC marked 60 years with a young women's poetry prize, won by Deqa Nuux Yonis at the Hiddo Dhawr centre in Hargeisa (WardheerNews; Lola Kenya Screen).
• Radio Mogadishu was the national station. In the 1970s its Waaberi group shaped Somali music (Music In Africa; see Somali music).
• 2007, VOA Somali. Voice of America launched its Somali service on 12 February 2007 (Inside VOA).

After 1991: a crowded field

After the state collapsed, private radio, TV and websites filled the gap. Private broadcasters such as Radio Shabelle, Goobjoog and Universal TV operate in Mogadishu and the member states (Media Bias/Fact Check, Somalia media profile). There are two state TV channels and several private ones, some broadcast by satellite from abroad. London-based Universal TV is the best known (RSF).

Many outlets are tied to political or clan interests, so readers often compare several sources (Media Bias/Fact Check).

Online

• Internet users: about 5.72 million at the end of 2026, 27.9 percent of the population (DataReportal).
• Social media: about 3.51 million user identities in October 2025 (DataReportal, Digital 2026).
• Print is shrinking in Mogadishu as online media grow (RSF).

The law and press freedom

• Ranking: Somalia was 126th of 180 in RSF's 2026 World Press Freedom Index, up from 136th in 2025 (RSF).
• Media law: the federal government adopted a media law on 9 January 2016 (Landinfo, 2016). A Media Council oversees the sector. RSF reports that in March 2024 the Minister of Information appointed six of its nine members.
• Courts: journalists are often tried under the 1964 Penal Code, and RSF says a promised moratorium on arresting journalists has not been adopted (RSF).

Safety

RSF counts more than 50 media workers killed since 2010 and calls Somalia "one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in Africa" (RSF).