Its
seamless role during the bitter struggle for Africans’ independence is not well
sung.
Today marks the 82nd anniversary of the Pan-African paper, The Ethiopian Herald. The oldest paper that has been voicing the voiceless Africa. As we mark the day, we also contemplate about innovation, a phenomenon that is driving our world at a dazzling speed, significantly impacting the way we live.
Herald did not only witness the most important turning points in the history of Africa. It was also the driving force for the creation of those crucial unfolding. Establishment and growth of UNECA cannot be imagined without Herald. When UNECA inaugurated in Addis Ababa in 1958, Herald also became a daily paper, except Mondays, from a previous weekend paper. The brainchild of Pan Africanism, the OAU/AU, came to view
in just five years after UNECA took shape. Herald advocated for the creation of a united Africa, and has continued to reinforce Africa's unity.
The activities behind long-established papers such as Herald, at the newsroom and in the printing house is never the same though. Both the process and outcome are becoming more and more efficient due to the ever-evolving tech-driven solutions.
From accessing information at the click of the button, to online
interviews, design and layout works to web-printing, newspapers and magazines
have shown tremendous transformations both in content quality and appearance.
In less than two decades, Herald turns digits to a hundred. No one will tell whether
or not we happen to witness the day. And no one knows whether the print media will
perish or flourish in the next decades. It is unpredictable to determine the
type of gadget we use in those days both to disseminate and access information.
We can say one thing for certain.
Reading cannot be
substituted with other ways of receiving information and knowledge. There are
solid reasons to back the assertion. But let’s quote this from The University
of the People, accessed on July 2, 2025.
Reading is a neurobiological process that works out your brain muscles. As you do so, you can help to slow down cognitive decline and even decrease the rate at which memory fades. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley have even found that reading reduces the level of beta-amyloid, which is a protein in the brain that is connected to Alzheimer’s. Who knew that reading could have physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits?
Prominent researchers /writers such as Bahru Zewde (Professor Emeritus at AAU), late Prof. Richard Pankhurst published various works on it. Authors like Abe Gubegna edited the paper.