SECTOR 2

2.10 Government does not use its power over the
placement of advertisements as a means to interfere
with editorial content.
There was unanimous agreement among panellists that government does use the
placement of its advertisements to sway editorial content.
“It is not a written, official procedure, but practically it does happen.”
Newspapers, like the weekly tabloid MwanaHalisi, that are critical of the
government, for example, do not receive government advertising support. While
the ruling party newspaper, Uhuru, which is “barely visible on the streets” and
has a very small circulation, is flooded with government adverts.
“Generally private newspapers do not get as many government adverts as
government-owned publications. There is a general assumption that this is related
to the quality of the content.”
A panellist noted that a newspaper containing government adverts is not
necessarily a positive sign, as government is known to default on payments for
advertising already published.

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:

2.2 (2010 = 2.1; 2008 = 2.0; 2006 = 2.4)

2.11 The advertising market is large enough to support
a diversity of media outlets.
Panellists felt the Tanzanian media operate in a very competitive environment,
where the pool of advertising revenue is not sufficient to support a diverse media
industry, and the demands of all players are not met. Most of the adverts are sold
to the mainstream media, based in Dar es Salaam.

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AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TANZANIA 2012

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