 | |
 | |
Type of site | Private |
|---|---|
| Available in | Somali language, English language |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Country of origin | Somalia |
| Founder(s) | Aw Musse Ismail, [1] Mahad Mussa Ahmed [2] |
| Industry | Mass media |
| URL | https://horseedmedia.net |
| Launched | 5, April 2008 |
| Current status | Active |
Horseed Media is a Somali radio station and news website established in April 2008 by a group of Somali diaspora members in the Netherlands and Finland. [1]
Since its establishment, Horseed Media has made an extensive contribution in highlighting the socio-economic issues in the country, media skills development and advocating for democracy and human rights.
Horseed Media journalists have faced hostilities and censorship from the authorities in Somalia. In June 2007 the deputy director of Horseed, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nunow, was arrested and held for one day after interviewing kidnapped westerners. [3] On October 18, 2010, a bomb attack on the headquarters of Horseed Media radio in Bosaso destroyed the reception office of the radio; journalists and staff members who were at the studio at the time of the attack escaped unhurt, however. The International Federation of Journalists condemned the attack and urged the Puntland authorities to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to account. [4] In October 2012, the Puntland administration shut down the Horseed Media radio station in Bosaso, a move that later prompted Reporters Without Borders to write an open letter to the then-president of Puntland, Abdirahman Farole, requesting an explanation for the closure of the radio. [5] On August 9, 2017, the semi-autonomous Puntland administration detained Horseed Media journalist Omar Saeed Mohammed without charges. [6]
In 2008, Horseed Media took part in the United Nations Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalists’ Fellowship Programme, in New York. [7] Nine junior and mid-level print and broadcast journalists representing media organizations in Bahrain, Brazil, Gabon, Israel, Jordan, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Somalia, South Africa, and Turkey took part in the program. [2]
The European Journalism Centre’s MediaLandscape.Org recognized Horseed Media in 2018 as one of the “constantly reliable” Somali news websites out of hundreds they have evaluated. [8] Similarly, the Internews Network recognized Horseed Media as one of the more reliable websites, asserting that "It has a network of reporters in the region and is widely considered to be a trustworthy source of news." [9]
According to a BBC Media Action analysis of Somalia media in 2011, Horseed Media's radio station had "one of the strongest reputations in Puntland". [10]
Puntland, officially the Puntland State of Somalia, is a Federal Member State in northeastern Somalia. The capital city is the city of Garoowe in the Nugal region, and its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Geographically to the west, Puntland lays claim to the intra-46th meridian territories that were outside European colonial rule during parts of the Scramble for Africa period.
Reporters Without Borders is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as founded on the belief that everyone requires access to the news and information, in line with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that recognizes the right to receive and share information regardless of frontiers, along with other international rights charters. RSF has consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the International Organisation of the Francophonie.
Bosaso, historically known as Bender Cassim is a city in the northeastern Bari province (gobol) of Somalia. It is the seat of the Bosaso District. Located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, the municipality serves as the region's commercial capital and is a major seaport within the autonomous Puntland state.
Garowe is the administrative capital of Puntland in northeastern Somalia.
Qardho, also known as Gardo, is a city in the northeastern Bari region of Somalia, a district within the autonomous state of Puntland.
Mohamud Muse Hersi (Somali: Maxamuud Muuse Xirsi Cadde, Arabic: محمد موسى حرسي; 1 July 1937 – 8 February 2017), also known as Adde Musa, was a Somali politician. He was the President of the Puntland region of Somalia from 8 January 2005 to 8 January 2009.
Taleh is a historical town in the eastern Sool region of Somaliland. As of September 2015, both Puntland and Somaliland had nominal influence or control in Taleh and it's vicinity. The town served as the capital of the pre-independence Dervish movement.
Reham Al-Farra (1974–2003) was a Palestinian diplomat and journalist who was murdered in the Canal Hotel bombing in 2003. She had served as a Minister of Public Information and for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Mass media in Somalia includes various radio, television, print and internet outlets. The federal government operates two official radio and TV networks, which exist alongside a number of private and foreign stations. Print media in the country is progressively giving way to news radio stations and online portals, as internet connectivity and access increases. In February 2013, the Ministry of Information, Posts and Telecommunication also launched a broad-based consultative process for the reformation of media legislation.
The Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings occurred on October 29, 2008, when six suicide bombers attacked in coordinated car bombings targets in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, and the Puntland port of Bosaso in northeastern Somalia. The bombings killed at least 30 people.
Puntland, officially Puntland State of Somalia, is a Federal Member State in northeastern Somalia. The capital Of Puntland Is Garowe.
Abshir Abdillahi, known as "Boyah" is a Somali pirate.
Alberto Graves Chakussanga , was an Angolan journalist. Chakussanga worked as a weekly current affairs program radio host for the Radio Despertar in the Viana district outside of Luanda when he was murdered in his home. A vocal critic of the government, Chakussanga's murder remains unsolved. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists's database, Chakussanga and Stanislas Ocloo, also killed in 2010, were the first journalists killed in Angola since Simao Roberto, also a government critic, was killed in 1998.
Julio Castillo Narváez was a Peruvian producer and host of a radio news program on the Radio Ollantay station. He was known as a stern critic of the local government. Narváez was murdered in Viru, Peru on May 3, 2011, which was World Press Freedom Day. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Narváez was one of three broadcast journalists killed in Peru in 2011.
The Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) is a security force based in Puntland, an autonomous region in northeastern Somalia. As of March 2012, the PMPF had around 500 personnel. The force is eventually expected to comprise 10,000 personnel.
Qaw, also known as Bandar Siyada, is a populated place in the northeastern Bari region of Somalia.
The Islamic State in Somalia or Abnaa ul-Calipha is an Islamic State–affiliated group that primarily operates in the mountainous areas of Puntland, though has also claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks throughout the rest of Somalia. Led by Sheikh Abdul Qadir Mumin, the group is estimated to have up to 300 active fighters. Since its formation, ISS probably managed to take control of a small, sparsely populated territory in northern Somalia's mountainous hinterland, though it was not acknowledged as official province ("Wilayat") by IS's central leadership until December 2017. Since then, it has sometimes been called Somalia Province by pro-IS media. ISS is also the declared enemy of al-Shabaab, which considers the Islamic State a significant threat to its own predominance among Jihadist factions in Somalia.
This is a 2018 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
Solomon Serwanjja is a Ugandan investigative journalist and the Executive Director of the African Institute for Investigative Journalism (AIIJ). On 13 July 2021, he resigned from his position as news anchor with NBSTV ending his 13 year career on television. In 2019 Serwanjja was awarded the Komla Dumor Award, an annual award given by the BBC to celebrate African journalists. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism and Communication from Makerere University.
In Somalia, freedom of speech and freedom of the media is guaranteed under the Somali Constitution established when the Federal Government was established in 2012. However, while there are swathes of blogs along with nearly 100 established media outlets, the culture of journalism has been violated with violence, arbitrary arrests, persecution, and suppression of the media.