Walta, officially known as Walta Media and Communication Corporate S.C. (WMCC), and previously known as Walta Information Center, operates out of Addis Ababa. Founded in 1994, it supplies news content to Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) and other local media. The company runs a news portal with content in English, Amharic and Arabic as well as a television station, Walta TV, mostly focused on social and political news in Amharic.
Media assets
Television: Walta TV
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Private (CaPr)
Ownership and governance
Walta Media and Communication Corporate S.C. is run by a board of directors and led by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The company claims to be privately owned, yet its ownership is unclear.
Source of funding and budget
Walta Media and Communication Corporate S.C. is funded by the government of Ethiopia, indirectly, through the ruling party, the Prosperity Party, which was established in December 2019 as a successor to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), according to local journalists interviewed for this report in May 2023.
Editorial independence
According to information from the publisher itself, Walta is specializing in both disseminating news and providing public relations services. Local journalists say that Walta is closely associated with the government. That can be seen in its editorial coverage, which is blatantly favorable to the government.
No statue and no independent assessment mechanism to validate the editorial independence of Walta news outlets have been identified.
September 2023