The Ethiopian Media Authority has indefinitely revoked the publishing license of The Reporter, one of the country's oldest independent news outlets, according to Human Rights Watch. The regulator announced the suspension in a November 2 Facebook post, saying it took effect immediately and applied to both the newspaper's print and online operations.
The Reporter publishes in English and Amharic and is described by Human Rights Watch as Ethiopia's final privately owned Amharic-language newspaper. The outlet had operated for decades before the order.
Why it matters
The suspension removes one of the few remaining independent voices from Ethiopia's media landscape. According to Human Rights Watch, the decision fits a broader pattern of official pressure on journalists and civic organizations that has accelerated since 2025.
The group says authorities have used broad claims about "national interests" to justify shutting down outlets whose coverage they dislike — language that gives regulators wide discretion and offers little room for appeal. Human Rights Watch frames the move as part of an ongoing campaign against independent media rather than an isolated licensing dispute.
Regulator accuses paper of harming national interests
In its Facebook statement, the Ethiopian Media Authority said The Reporter had broken the country's laws and media ethics rules by repeatedly publishing material it characterized as contrary to national interests. The authority specifically alleged the outlet had run "distorted content" that it said damages foreign investment, tourism and diplomacy.
The regulator did not, in the statement cited by Human Rights Watch, detail which articles prompted the action or explain how the alleged harm was measured. Human Rights Watch's account does not indicate whether The Reporter has been given a route to challenge the decision.
The suspension came days after The Reporter published an editorial warning that Ethiopia's privately owned press was passing through one of the most dangerous stretches in its history. The paper used that editorial to call for immediate reforms, arguing that without them the private media sector risked collapsing entirely.
A pattern of pressure on journalists
The licensing decision is not the first time The Reporter has drawn official attention. According to Human Rights Watch, journalists working for the outlet have been arrested, and the paper itself has operated under sustained government pressure.
The wider record described by the group includes numerous media bans since 2025, the expulsion of foreign correspondents, and actions against local reporters ranging from arbitrary detention to enforced disappearance and raids on newsroom offices.
In October, plainclothes police detained journalists Samuel Getachew and Amanuel Gebremedhin, according to Human Rights Watch. The two were accused of reporting news that would cause disruption in Addis Ababa and were held for eight days before being released.
Human Rights Watch is calling on Ethiopia's government to reverse the suspension and on international partners with ties to Addis Ababa to press for that outcome. Whether the regulator responds to that appeal, or whether The Reporter pursues a legal challenge, is the next thing to watch.
