SECTOR 2 2.3 The editorial independence of print and online media published by a public authority is protected adequately against undue political interference Tanzania has two state-owned newspapers, Daily News and Habari Leo. Both newspapers and their online versions are widely viewed as mouthpieces for the government in power and part of the state machinery. Consequently, they lack editorial independence. Panellists described a culture of bias, self-censorship and ‘sunshine’ journalism in state-owned newspapers. Among other things, editors and journalists of the Daily News and Habari Leo systematically kill stories unfriendly to the government and silence critical and opposition voices. A 2018 content analysis of the Daily News showed that the paper did not publish a single story critical of the government during the entire year. One panellist said, ‘Once you accept a job at the Daily News, you know automatically that there are some stories you cannot touch.’ Though panellists agreed that state-owned newspapers lacked editorial independence, some were of the view that the lack of independence was not necessarily a problem. One panellist argued strongly that as part of the state machinery, state-owned newspapers ought to be viewed as tools in the hands of the authorities to promote government action. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: Score of previous years: ✓✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ 1.9 2006: 2.4; 2008: 1.8; 2010: 1.9; 2012: 2.3; 2015: 1.8 2.4 Transparency of news media ownership is guaranteed by law and enforced Media ownership in Tanzania is easily verifiable as the authorities keep a public record of company owners and shareholders under the Companies Act. Citizens can access this record from the Business Registrations and Licensing Agency for a fee. However, panellists said the directory of business owners might not always reveal the actual owners of media outlets. ‘Individuals can form companies and companies form companies so that to know who is truly behind a news service, you still have to dig deeper,’ said one panellist. Another panellist added that it is possible that the true owners of media houses use other individuals and companies as fronts. 28 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TANZANIA 2019