SECTOR 1 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: 2.7 (2008 = 2.4 ; 2006 = 2.8) 1.2 The right to freedom of expression is practised and citizens, including journalists, are asserting their rights without fear. Panellists were in agreement that in Tanzania, freedom of expression is generally practiced without much fear. However, some panellists pointed out some instances in which threats were directed at journalists who had shown courage in exposing corruption. One panellist revealed, for instance, that within some newsrooms, editors and journalists had to guess the possible consequences of stories before they published them because they feared their media owners. Another provided an example of a story she once wrote quoting a senior journalist attacking media owners for interfering with editorial independence. “The story was not published”, she said. Panellists also cited the case of two editors at Mwanahalisi3 who were attacked by thugs in 2008, allegedly because of what they were reporting. They further pointed out that journalists also faced the fear of losing their jobs because of what they wrote: “There are also cases where journalists have to practice self censorship because there is no job security. Journalists write while fearing the owner, the wife or friends of the owner,” said one panellist. Another panellist said that the public was not aware that there is a constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. “People feel they have been oppressed for too long and therefore they end up venting their anger the wrong way, unaware of their right to freedom of expression”, noted one panellist, adding that if people had been aware, many more forms or avenues through which citizens could express themselves would be seen. 3 Mwanahalisi Managing Editor, Saed Kubenea and the paper’s editorial consultant Ndimara Tegambwage were attacked by thugs in the paper’s offices at Kinondoni area in Dar es Salaam in 2008. The thugs used machetes and poured a liquid believed to have been mixed with a caustic acid on the editors’ faces. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TANZANIA 2010 11