Ethiopia's paper landlords

international newsmakers, Addis Ababa has relatively little in the way of newspapers -- no dailies of note -- or even newsstands to offer news consumers. But don't be fooled. This is a city of voracious readers where even the poor are indulged. In fact, some corners of Addis are reserved for newspaper passions, Arat Kilo being one legendary neighbourhood. And by persisting, there you may stumble upon the city's secret: consumers too poor to buy a copy of a newspaper but able to rent a read.

Arat Kilo is not only the home of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's spacious palace and the country's Parliament building but also of flat-broke citizens with rich news-reading addictions.

"Paper landlords" offer "news seats" to readers who gather on the edge of a road, in a nearby alleyway, even inside a traffic circle. And for years, these "paper tenants" have happily hunkered down, reading a copy of a newspaper quickly and then returning it to watchful owners nearby. And even today's deteriorating economy and "press-phobic" government has not significantly slowed this frenzied exchange.Read More