The dangers of reporting in Somalia

For much of its population, Somalia is a difficult and dangerous place to live. That’s particularly true for reporters.

Practicing journalism in a failed state means facing threats from any number of militia groups. That includes Islamist radicals from al-Shabaab as well as from armed groups loyal to Somalia’s internationally-backed government in Mogadishu.

At least 59 Somali journalists have been killed since the start of 1992- -the year after the fall of dictator Siad Barre threw the country into chaos.

But in spite of the extreme dangers and the absence of rule of law, Somalia has dozens of private radio stations, as well as its own TV stations and hundreds of print and online media outlets.

On this edition of Global Journalist, a look at the state of journalism in Somalia.

Our guests this week:

• Omar Faruk Osman, Secretary General of the National Union of Somali Journalists.
• Idil Osman, a teaching fellow at the University of Leicester. Previously, she spent 11 years covering Somalia for outlets including the BBC and Voice of America.