When Dereje Desta came to the D.C. area in August 2001, he
discovered two things: It was home to the largest population of people from his
home country of Ethiopia, and they did not have a newspaper.
With 20 years of journalism and newspaper reporting
experience from his home country, he decided to start his own paper, Zethiopia.
The paper is produced from his office in Fairfax, Va., where there is also a
large and growing Ethiopian community.
Desta said he began by talking to people around the
community to find out what was going on and distributing his newspapers in
local shops, churches and grocery stores.
“The population is so big and diverse,” Desta said of the
Ethiopian community.
Ten years later, the newspaper is going strong and has
expanded from print to a multimedia company based in D.C. But while mainstream
media is all abuzz about digital content and keeping the Web site fresh, Desta
says the digital product is important, but the print product is vital.
“There are significant numbers [of Ethiopians] who can
access the Internet,” Desta said. “But not all of our community uses the
Internet.”
Zethiopia is a bimonthly newspaper printed in Amharic and
English that provides relevant news to the Ethiopian community. Desta said he
focuses on local issues as well as things going on back home that the people
want to know about.
“We work hard to provide information they need,” Desta said.
“We cover every issue without any interests.”
Desta said that journalists are much more regulated in
Ethiopia, but a journalist in America is free.
“Can’t compare,” he said, taking a long pause. “Two
different things.”
Desta also sees distance between his own community and the
mainstream. Though they occupy the same areas, like the popular U Street
Corridor where the block of Ninth and U streets is designated “Little
Ethiopia,” he said there is a disconnect between the communities.
Desta found there is much interest in ethnic communities,
how they do business and how to build stronger communities. But when it comes
to news coverage, they are only covered a handful of times a year.
Recently, Desta contributed to WAMU’s “9th and U” project,
part of their Global Perspective program, as a means of giving an accurate representation
of the community.
Too often, Desta said, he finds his people identified in a
negative light, like in headlines involving crime — Ethiopian robber,” for
example.
Desta said he will continue to do his part building
partnerships with media organizations outside of his community and keeping his
people informed.
“Just because you see that in the mainstream community,
that’s not how we all are,” Desta said.
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