Tanzania
4.2

The standard of reporting follows the basic principles of 		
accuracy and fairness.

ANALYSIS:
The media generally are not doing enough to get the other side of
the story. There is too little analysis and in-depth coverage of issues of national importance. It is common practice to come across
misleading and sensational headlines in news prints in particular in
the tabloids. The government owned Daily News seems to be on a
better footing as regards accuracy.
The reporting seems to focus on minds of leaders. Newspapers focus
a lot on politics and reporting is not issue driven. Using of stringers
was cited to be a root cause to this reporting phenomenon.
Furthermore, there is no diversity of expert writers contributing to
the papers. Apparently it is always the same political analysts who
are given space. One of the reasons cited was that a lot of people
do not dare to come forward and express their opinion(s) in writing. Another underlying cause is the decline of quality teaching and
research at the university which does not produce top experts as
expected.
SCORES:
Individual scores: 			

2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Average score:			

2.8 (2006= 2.1)

4.3

The media cover the full spectrum of events, issues and 		
cultures, including business/economics, cultural, local and 		
investigative stories.

ANALYSIS:
The standard of professionalism is still low. A study conducted in 2007
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African Media Barometer - Tanzania 2008

Select target paragraph3