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ISSUE 53 January 25, 2003

A Critical Study of IRIN Reporting: The Case of Somaliland

FRONT PAGE
SPECIAL

A Critical Study of IRIN Reporting: The Case of Somaliland

FEATURE

Dismissing A. Yusuf as Irrelevant, UCID Chairman Says Party Will Seek Talks With Hawiye and Rahanweyn Leaders on Somaliland and Somalia

Classes To Start At SOS Sheikh Secondary

Somalia Peace Talks Mediator Denies BBC Report

Musyoka: Somalia Crisis a Burden to Kenya

New Mediator Promises More Transparency At Peace Talks

Somalia Talks Are Stormy, but They Still Inch Ahead

ARTS & CULTURE

"I am Swinging This Flower To You" Part IV

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

US General: Iraq War Won't Hurt Horn of Africa Anti-Terror Effort

Appointment Of UN Special Adviser Extended

Man Claims Spirits Told Him To Hit His Son

RESPONSE

Dr. Tani Responds To Raqiya Omaar

EDITORIAL & OPINION

Faysal’s Creative Ideas and Legitimate Concerns

A State In The Making

Will The Federal Ethiopia Fail Somali Zone?

LETTERS
Rakiya, Where is The Justice for the 1990s?
Silanyo Is Our Hope

<< Back                Results and Discussion >>

IRIN uses the term Somalia to cover both Somalia and Somaliland. In our search we included all dispatches from this region using the search item "Somalia". We also took full advantage of the excellent search capabilities of IRIN’s Website. The archives in this site could be searched under 12 different subcategories:

  1. Children
  2. Democracy and Governance
  3. Economy
  4. Environment
  5. Food Security
  6. Gender Issues
  7. Health and Nutrition
  8. HIV/AIDS
  9. Human rights
  10. Natural Disasters
  11. Peace and Security
  12. Refugees and Internally displaced people

We searched under each of these categories using the primary search term of "Somalia" and the specific subcategory to come with a table that summarizes these data:

IRIN Dispatches from Somalia and Somaliland broken down in categories
IRIN Search Category Somalia Dispatches Regional Dispatches Somaliland Dispatches
Children 1 0 0
Democracy 12 0 3
Economy 1 0 0
Environment 1 0 0
Food Security 5 2 0
Gender 0 0 0
Health/Nutrition 1 0 0
HIV/AIDS 1 0 0
Human Rights 2 0 1
Natural Disaster 1 0 0
Peace/Security 86 2 5
Refugee/IDPs 2 1 1

We determined whether a report covered Somaliland or Somalia or both by reviewing the title and reading the contents of the dispatch. Where a specific article covered both Somalia and Somaliland we classified it as regional:

Numerical comparison of IRIN dispatches covering Somaliland and Somalia
Total No of Dispatches from Somalia and Somaliland Total Number of dispatches covering Somalia Total number of dispatches covering the region Total number of dispatches covering Somaliland Percent of Somaliland Coverage out of the total
119 105 5 9 7.56

We determined whether an article was predominantly favorable or unfavorable in its coverage based on the gist and connotation of the article and the impression it left with the target audience:

IRIN coverage of Somaliland broken down on the basis of sympathy as reflected by the dispatches into favorable and Non-favorable groups
IRIN Categories Somaliland Total Somaliland Favorable Somaliland Non-favorable
Children 0 0 0
Democracy 3 3 0
Economy 0 0 0
Environment 0 0 0
Food Security 0 0 0
Gender 0 0 0
Health/Nutrition 0 0 0
HIV/AIDS 0 0 0
Human Rights 1 0 1
Natural Disaster 1 0 0
Peace/Security 5 1 4
Refugee/IDPs 1 1 0

We included the titles and dates of all 9 articles that covered Somaliland so that the reader could reach his own calculations:

IRIN Title, date and Internet address of all the articles on Somaliland (from July 1/2002 to December 31/2002.)
SOMALIA: Somaliland polls hailed as a success, 17/Dec/02

NAIROBI, 17 December (IRIN) - Ahmad Haji Ali Adami, chairman of the electoral commission in the self-declared republic of Somaliland, has described this weekend’s local elections... Email Report

SOMALIA: Tension rising in disputed northern regions, 25/Nov/02

NAIROBI, 25 November (IRIN) - Tension is rising in Sool and Sanaag regions of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, to which both Somaliland and the self-declared autonomous... Email Report

SOMALIA: Somaliland "will not attend" talks, 9/Sep/02

NAIROBI, 9 September (IRIN) - The authorities in the self-declared republic of Somaliland will not attend the upcoming Somali reconciliation talks, Somaliland’s Information... Email Report

SOMALIA: Disputed regions "non-issue" for Puntland, 2/Sep/02

NAIROBI, 2 September (IRIN) - The disputed regions of Sool and Sanaag are part of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland and therefore not an issue to be discussed with... Email Report

SOMALIA: Editor imprisoned in Somaliland, 29/Aug/02

NAIROBI, 29 August (IRIN) - A court in Hargeysa, the capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, has sentenced a newspaper editor to four months’ imprisonment, according... Email Report

SOMALIA: Aid agencies uncoordinated in Somaliland, 15/Aug/02

NAIROBI, 15 August (IRIN) - International aid agencies lack coordination when dealing with long-term assistance for internally displaced and returnee populations in the... Email Report

SOMALIA: Somaliland parties agree on conditions for fair polls, 1/Aug/02

NAIROBI, 1 August (IRIN) - Registered political parties in the self-declared republic of Somaliland have agreed on conditions necessary for holding free and fair elections in... Email Report

SOMALIA: Somaliland polls set for January, 23/Jul/02

ADDIS ABABA, 23 July (IRIN) - The self-declared republic of Somaliland is to hold presidential elections in January, sources close to the Somaliland government told IRIN on... Email Report

SOMALIA: Troop build-up creates tension in Sool, 15/Jul/02

NAIROBI, 15 July (IRIN) - Tension is rising in the disputed Sool region of the self-declared republic of Somaliland as forces of Somaliland and those of the self-declared... Email Report

<< Back                Results and Discussion >>

 


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