There is no current independent media in Eritrea. All media outlets in Eritrea are from the Ministry of Information, a government source.
In 1996, the government passed a law banning private broadcast media and requiring licenses for journalists and newspapers. The law barred the reprinting of works from banned publications, outlawed foreign ownership of media, and required all publications to be submitted to the government for approval prior to publication. In 2001, in an effort to quell burgeoning dissent about the future of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, the government closed down eight independent newspapers and arrested an undisclosed number of journalists.
There are two daily print newspapers:
There are also two other papers:
There are three radio stations in Eritrea. Radio Bana is an educational radio broadcast in five languages. Radio Zara is available only in Tigrinya, while Dimtsi Hafash is available in nine languages:
Dimtsi Hafash and Radio Zara are available via satellite dish.
There are two television stations in the country, with a third having been recently announced. Eri-TV1, more commonly known as Eri-TV, is available global through satellite while Eri-TV2 is only available in Eritrea; both are operated by the Ministry of Information from Asmara. Eri-TV has fully featured programming in four languages:
as well as some programming in other languages including:
Eri-TV is available within Eritrea and abroad via satellite dish 24 hours a day. Many of the television owners in Eritrea use satellite dishes.