Arts, heritage and media
Newspapers in Somaliland: Geeska Afrika, Dawan, Ogaal and the Hargeisa press
Hargeisa is home to most of Somaliland's printed press. Dawan, started in 2000, is the government paper. Geeska Afrika, founded in 2006 by Geeska Media Group, became in April 2017 the second Somaliland paper to print in colour, after Dawan. Ogaal, founded in 2005, published in Somali and English six days a week.
Radio first, then print
Somaliland's first broadcaster was Radio Kudu, founded in 1942 under British rule and renamed Radio Hargeisa at independence on 26 June 1960 (Media of Somaliland, Wikipedia). The same overview says that under military rule from 1969 all media was run by the government, except BBC Somali, which broadcast from abroad (Wikipedia).
Geeska Afrika
Geeska Afrika ("The Horn of Africa") is a Somali-language newspaper published in Hargeisa by the Geeska Media Group. It was founded in 2006 (Geeska Afrika, Wikipedia). In April 2017, after twelve years in black and white, it became the second Somaliland newspaper to print in colour, after Dawan, as the group marked its 11th anniversary (Somaliland Sun). At its 9th anniversary it received an award for media ethics (Sayruuq), and the group marked the paper's 12th year in 2018 (Geeska). The group also runs an English-language news site, Geeska.
Dawan
Dawan is a Somali-language paper published in Hargeisa since 2000. It belongs to the Dawan Media Group, part of Somaliland's Ministry of Information and National Guidance, and serves as the government's main newspaper (Dawan, Wikipedia; Wargeyska Dawan).
Ogaal
Ogaal was an independent newspaper founded in Hargeisa in 2005. It carried domestic news in Somali and English and came out every day except Friday. It belonged to the Ogaal Media Center (Ogaal Newspaper, Wikipedia).
News websites
Wikipedia lists these among Somaliland's news websites: Oodweyne News, Somaliland Post, Berbera News, Somaliland Sun, Somaliland Chronicle, Qaran News, Gabiley.net, Borama News, Arabsiyo News, Somtribune, Hargeisa Press, Hayaan News, Araweelo News, Aftahan News and Hadhwanaag News (Media of Somaliland, Wikipedia).
Media groups and the law
Wikipedia calls the Somaliland Journalists Association (SOLJA) the most popular group speaking for journalists. Others are Women in Journalism Association (WIJA) and Female in Media Organization (FIMO) (Wikipedia; SOLJA). Under Somaliland's constitution and press law, defamation and libel are civil, not criminal, matters (Somaliland press law). A Heinrich Böll Foundation study set out the opportunities and challenges for press freedom there (Heinrich Böll Stiftung), and Freedom House has reported on press freedom in Somaliland separately from Somalia (Freedom House, 2015).
Read more
Sources
- Media of Somaliland, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Geeska Afrika, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Somaliland Sun · somalilandsun.net
- Sayruuq · sayruuq.com
- Geeska · geeska.net
- Geeska · geeska.com
- Dawan, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Wargeyska Dawan · wargeyskadawan.com
- Ogaal Newspaper, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- SOLJA · soljaorg.com
- Somaliland press law · somalilandlaw.com
- Heinrich Böll Stiftung · ke.boell.org
- Freedom House, 2015 · freedomhouse.org
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