Government public relations in Ethiopia have been strengthened over the past three years.rnThe Ministry of Information has repeatedly underlined that the role of public relations inrninforming the public through the media must be strong and sustainable. One can easilyrnsee the contribution of public relations in the daily news-making process when reading orrnlistening to news.rnFor several governmental and non-governmental organizations, the primary rolernof public relations is to promote the activities of the organization. The media on the otherrnhand are expected to use diverse sources in order to present different sides of the story.rnThis typically leads to a tense relationship between journalists and public relationsrnofficers.rnNonetheless, there is a symbiotic relationship between the two professions (mediarnand public relations). Public relations need the media as a channel to broadcast itsrnmessage, while the media need public relations to get access to source material.rnThis research has interrogated two issues. The first is the extent to whichrnjournalists in Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) use public relations information, and thernsecond is what impact the relationship between ENA and public relations offices has inrnthe news-making process. The research has used qualitative methods by means of datarnanalysis, in-depth interviews as well as database material analysis.rnThe study shows that ENA do not consult other sources to crosscheck therninformation it receives from governmental public relations.rnThe study shows that the relationship between ENA journalists and publicrnrelations officers is a protective one because ENA journalists do not crosscheck therninformation they receive from the latter and public relations departments are almost thernonly way to access government information. The research also identified internal andrnexternal factors as reasons for the failure to crosscheck public relations information.rnJournalists cited lack of professionalism; trust in public relations; deadlinernpressure; competition; and amount of news expected as internal factors that impede torncrosscheck public relations information.rnrnJournalists being powerless; geographical distance and poor infrastructure; publicrnrelations â€˜dictatorshipâ€™ and gender issues were identified by journalists as external factorsrnthat hold back the critical investigation of public relations information.