Mass media in Somalia
Print media in the country is progressively giving way to news radio stations and online portals, as internet connectivity and access increases.
[5] After closing down operations in the early 1990s due to the civil war, the broadcaster was officially re-opened in August 2001 by the Transitional National Government.
Also centered in Bosaso with its studios in Garowe is the Somali Broadcasting Corporation, Puntland's oldest and second largest private radio station.
On April 4, 2011, the Ministry of Information of the Transitional Federal Government officially re-launched the station as part of an initiative to develop the national telecommunications sector.
In 2003, as new free electronic media outlets started to proliferate, advertisers increasingly began switching over from print ads to radio and online commercials in order to reach more customers.
A number of the broadsheets in circulation subsequently closed down operations, as they were no longer able to cover printing costs in the face of the electronic revolution.
However, according to Issa Farah, a former editor with the Dalka broadsheet, newspaper publishing in Somalia is likely to experience a resurgence if the National Somali Printing Press is re-opened and the sector is given adequate public support.
Journalists had unrestricted freedom to write and publish stories without editorial oversight, and many took an active role in the conflict's propaganda battle.
According to the Ministry of Information, Posts and Telecommunication, the Act is expected to create an environment conducive to investment and the certainty it provides will encourage further infrastructural development, resulting in more efficient service delivery.
The 13-member committee of volunteers was formed after extensive consultations with civil society groups and the Speaker of Parliament, Mohamed Osman Jawari.
The Task Force will eventually give way to a permanent parliamentary Human Rights Commission, which will have the capacity to investigate allegations over a longer period.
The bill had been passed by the former Transitional Federal Parliament, with little input from members of the press vis-a-vis media operation and journalistic professional standards.
[66] Several additional workshops were conducted by the National Union of Somali Journalists, after which point reporters chose a panel of media representatives to present the assembled feedback at a later conference scheduled for March 21, 2013.
[67] On 1 September 2014, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, the Federal Cabinet approved the new Draft Media Bill.
[68] The legislation was welcomed by the National Union of Somali Journalists and other local media groups, who urged public institutions to adhere to the bill once implemented.
[69] According to Minister of Information Mustaf Ali Duhulow, after having consulted with Somali journalists and directors, the media bill was put before the Federal Parliament for deliberation during its fifth legislative session.
