 | |
| Country | |
|---|---|
| Availability | 101.5 MHz/Somalia |
| Headquarters | Mogadishu |
| Area | Degmada Hodan, Ex Arwada (Taleeh) |
| Owner | Abdimaalik Yusuf Banna |
Key people | Abuukar Sheikh Mohamud (General Director) [1] |
| Established | 2002 |
Launch date | 6 May 2002 |
Official website | shabellemedia |
Shabelle Media Network (SMN) is a radio and television news organization based in Mogadishu, Somalia.
The Shabelle Media Network was founded in 2002 in Merca, Somalia, by a group of young Somali intellectuals. Its mission was to ensure that Somalis around the world remain abreast of developments within the Somali community and in touch with each other. [2]
The network's first phase was focused on airing to Africa, Asia and Australia via Thaicom 3 satellite. In 2005, it expanded to include satellite broadcasts to North America and Europe. [2]
SMN's Radio Shabelle slowly grew to become one of Somalia's most respected privately owned radio stations, [3] airing from 6 a.m. to midnight. [4] It later relocated its headquarters to the national capital, Mogadishu. [2]
Prior to Mogadishu's pacification by the Somali National Army in mid-2011, the independent Radio Shabelle, among other Somali media outlets, was frequently targeted by Islamist militants. [5] Among the casualties during this most volatile 2007 to 2011 period was Radio Shabelle's acting manager, Bashir Nur Gedi, who was killed on October 19, 2007. In 2009, the station's director Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe was also assassinated. [6]
After their ouster, the insurgents resorted to issuing death threats and targeted assassinations in order to discourage reporting on their activities. [7] Due to frustration at the increasing number of expatriate journalists returning to the capital after the relative improvement in security, the militants in 2012 intensified their anti-media campaign, [8] killing four SMN reporters during the year, including director Hassan Osman Abdi. [9]
Despite the attempted intimidation, journalists have persisted in covering the war beat. [7] Through membership in the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), reporters are also spearheading a governmental initiative to reform the 2007 Somali media law. [10]
SMN broadcasts news, business, analysis, culture and sports items via its radio and television network. It airs its own programs and documentaries through both terrestrial and satellite transmissions. The organization also reports on domestic peace initiatives and conferences, provides a platform for the discussion of issues of interest to the Somali community, and offers call-in services wherein listeners or viewers can interact with program participants. [1]
Shabelle Media Network's main target audience is the Somali community, both within the Horn of Africa and abroad. Its broadcasts are also geared toward local policy makers and international stakeholders. [1]
In 2010, Radio Shabelle was awarded the Media of the Year prize by the Paris-based journalism organization, Reporters Without Borders (RSF). [3]
Communications in Somalia encompasses the communications services and capacity of Somalia. Telecommunications, internet, radio, print, television and postal services in the nation are largely concentrated in the private sector. Several of the telecom firms have begun expanding their activities abroad. The federal government operates two official radio and television networks, which exist alongside a number of private and foreign stations. Print media in the country is also progressively giving way to news radio stations and online portals, as internet connectivity and access increases. In 2012, a National Communications Act was also approved by Cabinet members, and 2 October 2017, the president of Somalia Finally signed the National Communications Law, and became the official Law that regulated the ICT industry. Under that Law, National Communications Authority (NCA) of the federal Republic of Somalia has been established, with board of directors and a general manager. Somalia currently is ranked first in Africa for most affordable mobile data per gigabyte and 7th in the world.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a Multinational force formed by the African Union. The operation deployed to Somalia soon after the Islamic Courts Union was deposed by troops from Ethiopia during a large scale invasion in late 2006. The missions primary objective was to maintain the regime change between the ICU and the newly installed Transitional Federal Government, implement a national security plan and train the TFG security forces. As part of its duties, AMISOM later supported the Federal Government of Somalia in its war against Al-Shabaab. AMISOM was the most deadly peacekeeping operation in the post-war era.
Even before the beginning of the War in Somalia (2006-2009) there were significant assertions and accusations of the use of disinformation and propaganda tactics, classed as forms of information warfare, by various parties to shape the causes and course of the conflict. These include assertions of falsification of the presence or number of forces involved, exaggeration or minimisation of the casualties inflicted or taken, influence or control of media outlets, and other informational means and media to sway popular support and international opinion.
After two decades of violence and civil war and after the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia captured Mogadishu and Kismayo, the TFG attempted to disarm the militias of the country in late 2006. According to the UN/World Bank's Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) coordination secretariat, "the total estimated number of militias [militia members] to be demobilized is 53,000." In 2005, they estimated that "there are 11–15,000 militia people controlling Mogadishu ."
The timeline of events in the War in Somalia during 2007 is set out below.
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Barkhad Awale Adan, also spelled Burkhat, was a Somali journalist. He was the Director of Radio Hurma, based in Mogadishu, Somalia. He was killed in 2010 by a stray bullet during intensive fighting between Al-Shabaab militants and AMISOM soldiers in the Battle of Mogadishu.
Bashir Nur Gedi was the radio manager and acting director of Radio Shabelle, an independent radio station that regularly ran watchdog reports on government corruption in Mogadishu, Somalia. Gedi was murdered in 2007, though the precise circumstances of his death remain unclear. He was one of several prominent members of the station's leadership killed, including fellow acting media directors, Muktar Mohamed Hirabe and Hassan Osman Abdi. He was the eighth journalist killed in 2007 in Somalia.
Abdi Jeylani Malaq Marshale, also known as Abdi Jeylani Malaq or Abdi Jeylani Marshale, was a popular comedian on both radio and TV from Somalia who was targeted by Al-Shabaab militants and later assassinated in Mogadishu.
Abukar Hassan Mohamoud, also known as Kadaf, was a Somali activist and the manager/director for the independent Somaliweyn Radio in Mogadishu, Somalia. At the time of his murder, he had been working on a re-launch of Radio Somaliweyn, which had been attacked and looted by Al-Shabaab in 2010.
HornAfrik was a media organization based in Mogadishu, Somalia. Prior to its closure in 2010, it was the first independent radio network to have its headquarters in the city. HornAfrik operated Radio HornAfrik, as well as one other radio station, a television station, a website and a training research center.
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This is a 2014 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This article contains a timeline of events for the Somalimilitant group al-Shabaab.
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This is a 2018 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
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.