A Sharp Eye On Ethiopia

He helped recruit other exiles, including Dereje Desta, the publisher of a District-based newspaper, Ze Ethiopia, and Genet Metike Alemu. Alemu freelances for Voice of America and makes a living as a receptionist at Providence Hospital, a job she cheerfully says has taught her skills -- filing, faxing -- and kept her verbal skills up to snuff.

"Of course, it is different from journalism," she said.

Perhaps no one feels more reborn through ETN than Eyassu, who spent 25 years as an editor and writer for various media in Ethiopia. He tried his hand as a foreign correspondent when he arrived in Northern Virginia in 1994, but it paid poorly. When ETN came calling, he was so overjoyed that he offered to work for free.

"It's hard to leave a career behind, let alone to bus driving," said Eyassu, 59, a ground transportation supervisor at Dulles International Airport. He has recently taped four episodes as host of an ETN political debate show.

The ETN crew emphasizes often that the network will be no mouthpiece -- not for the opposition, not for the state, not for anything but the truth.

Yet disdain for the Ethiopian government is evident in the studio. Lule refers to Meles as "a despot in the desert."

Abdul Kamus, an Ethiopia native who is executive director of the African Resource Center in the District, said America's fast-growing Ethiopian community needs quality media to help it adjust. But he is skeptical that a television network run by exiles can be objective.

"People will be free to speak their mind, yes, of course . . . Will they be neutral? I doubt it," Kamus said. "The majority [of Ethiopians] here would like to hear negative aspects of Ethiopian politics. They don't want to hear anything positive about the government."

Lule rejected Kamus's prediction, insisting that the network will be a "marketplace of ideas."

Beyene, for one, is brimming with them. After years of admiring late-night hosts David Letterman and Bill Maher as they take swipes at political leaders, Beyene is giddy about having an opportunity to do the same.

"When you are here, your thinking is much broader. Now I am thinking wide," Beyene said. "I wish I got this chance to perform this in Ethiopia."