Tanzania
3.6

Persons who have vested interests of a political or
commercial nature are excluded from possible membership
in the board, i.e. office bearers with the state and political
parties as well as those with a financial interest in
the broadcasting industry.

ANALYSIS:
This requirement does not even begin to apply because there is no
independent board controlling the public broadcaster in the first
place.
Apart from that, the public are generally ignorant of the whole
process and therefore not concerned over the composition of membership even though this could be detrimental to some of their interests.
SCORES:
Individual scores:

1, 3, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Average score:

1.3

3.7.

The editorial independence of the public broadcaster from
commercial pressure and political influence is guaranteed
by law and practiced.

ANALYSIS:
There is no editorial independence in Tanzania, be it in the public
media or private media houses. Every organisation has its unwritten policy which employees have to follow, and guidelines in the
news room, called “house style”. Committees are usually formed to
monitor adherence and make quality checks.
It was observed that some sensitive political issues may influence
editorial decisions and that the chief editor proofreads to confirm
African Media Barometer - Tanzania 2006

23

Select target paragraph3