Ethiopia: Reflection on Media Reform

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About

As the title suggests, this booklet aims to provide critical reflection and useful tips and tools for Ethiopian journalists and anyone who has an interest in media reform during times of change. Journalists from three nationalities, Ethiopia, Sweden, and South Africa; worked together to conduct seminars for journalists from all the regions in Ethiopia on topics ranging from press freedom, self-regulation, media business models, media councils to gender representation in the media. These seminars culminated in a very successful conference themed “Promoting Journalism and Democracy in Practice– Media Reform in a Time of Change” which was held on 9-10 April in Addis Ababa at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

Stylescape

The Layout

Since the booklet was composed primarily of written content, a minimalist approach was taken to designing the layout. Images (Illustrations and Photography) and large text call-outs were utilized to provide visual breaks from the text-heavy content of the booklet.

Imagery

The illustrations were heavily stylized and designed to resemble propaganda/protest poster artwork from the olden days when the western world was also at a pivotal point in journalism and freedom of speech. Only three colors(red, black and white) were utilized in keeping with the FOJO media institute brand guide-lines.

This applied for the layout and the overall color scheme of the booklet as well. Hints of local patterns were also employed to help contextualize the images that were used.

A variety of photographs were also chosen from the conference and its participants and united with a grey-scale color scheme with bright splashes of red here and there to keep them visually engaging. These images were placed in a way that they would help provide visual interest, add context to the accompanying articles. they also provide a welcome visual break from the otherwise dense written content.