Reporting and Framing of Illegal Migration in Ethiopian Print Media: Addis Zemen and Reporter Newspapers in Focus.

Illegal migration is a global issue that impacts various aspects of human life. This study examines the coverage and framing of illegal migration in Ethiopian print media, focusing on Addis Zemen and Reporter newspapers. The researchers used both quantitative and qualitative research methods to analyse the amount and framing of stories about illegal migration published by the two newspapers. The findings indicate that the extent of illegal migration coverage is low in the two newspapers, with 28 editions including 11.56% of the total and 214 editions excluding it. The reporter provided more coverage than did Addis Zemen. The qualitative data also show that the two newspapers paid little attention to illegal migration due to different challenges, such as lack of media freedom, lack of training, lack of motivation, and financial problems. The type of stories published by the two newspapers emphasized hard news, with Addis Zemen presenting more stories on its front pages than did the Reporter. The researchers suggest that the two newspapers provide large amounts of coverage and report illegal migration from various perspectives. Keywords: Migration, Illegal Migration, Print Media, Newspaper DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/107-04 Date of Publication: January 30th 2025