TV stations. It was noted that it is easy for TBC to undercut its competitors because it receives subventions from the Government. SCORES: Individual scores: 2, 1, 1, 3, 2, 3, 3, 1, 3 Average score: 2.1 (2006= 3.2) 2.10 Private media outlets operate as efficient and professional businesses. ANALYSIS: The panelists noted that there is still a problem of qualified staff in the various media outlets. Most media owners prefer to use untrained personnel because they can pay them less. Also most private media houses even the big ones do not invest in the training of their staff. At times even if a staff member secures training at no cost to the employer, he or she might not be given permission to go for the training. There have been cases whereby a journalist has been forced to resign in order to go for further training. MISA’s experience shows that private media houses are not cooperative when approached to release their journalists for even short term training, which is done for them for free. These trainings are meant to enhance professionalism. Private media tend to poach trained journalists from the public media houses which usually invest in training. It was also noted that most private media houses lack organizational management and do not have schemes of service. Retention of staff is a major challenge and the media industry is characterized by high labour mobility; a trend that does not augur well for efficiency. Also there is no transparency in the recruitment of journalists and posts are seldom advertised when there is a vacancy. Instead, some of the media houses recruit from their relatives and cronies. In this way the media outlets may not necessarily get the best staff available in the market. It was also noted that there is a need to separate the financial management of the newspapers from the editorial because experience has shown that good editors are not necessarily good managers particularly in financial matters. SCORES: Individual scores: 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 2 Average score: 2.11. 1.9 (2006= 1.8) State print media are not subsidized with taxpayers’ money. ANALYSIS: State media like Zanzibar Leo newspaper receives Government subsidy. Daily News and its sister paper Habari Leo are run by a parastatal company but it was not clear if it also gets direct So This Is Democracy? 2008 -234- Media Institute of Southern Africa