Africa

Tanzania

{This graph represents scores that have been modified by CIMA so that higher scores indicate a better media situation. It is intended to show trends over time; each index measures significantly different factors of press freedom. To see an explanation for how this graph was created, click here.}

IREX Score: 2.34	[IREX Methodology]
{Higher is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 4.00}

IREX Description:

Adding to the voices, the media sector in Tanzania continues to expand as well, drawing more and more interest from investors. All the growth has created more jobs for graduating journalists, while others are leaving their trades to join the media sector—in sharp contrast to the trend in many other countries. The 2009 Tanzania MSI panel noted several encouraging signs: the increasing ranks of the media, the growth in training facilities, and the overall expansion of the media sector.

Despite these reasons for optimism, the Tanzanian media sector has issues that hold it back from moving up the sustainability scale. A core problem is that many of the country's journalists are centered in cities and larger towns. Media infrastructure (reliable power sources, Internet access, computers, etc.) are also concentrated in urban areas. In addition, the plurality of media voices has not always equaled balance or professionalism. Further, a majority of journalists remain vulnerable professionally, whether because of their work as freelancers, their poor pay, or their exploitation by media house owners and managers.

Pressure and protests from local and international journalists have continued to stave off passage of the government's proposed new media bill, which the media community views as a major threat to press freedom. By the time the MSI went to press, consultations with all bill stakeholders had concluded, with the expectation that soon the bill would be reintroduced to parliament for consideration. Even without this bill, harsh laws from the colonial era remain on the books; all with the potential to suppress freedom of speech.

Read more on IREX’s site…

Freedom House Score: 48 (Partly Free)	[Freedom House Methodology]
{Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 100}

RSF Score: 13.00	[RSF Methodology]
{Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to ~120}

Reporters Without Borders Description:

Tanzania is one of Africa’s top 10 respecters of media freedom. The local media is very diverse and includes quality newspapers. But fairly strict laws can lead to censorship.

Journalists and media outlets can be prosecuted for reporting news deemed “contrary to the public interest” and for “sedition.” In January 2010, the newspaper Leo Tena was shut down for publishing alleged pornography and the investigative weekly Kulikoni was suspended for three months because of a report about the army without the matter going before the regulatory authority, the Media Council.

In semi-autonomous Zanzibar, press laws are stricter and local government monitoring more severe, though the situation has eased in recent years. Censorship and harassment have become less and the population has free access to the mainland media.

Africa

Tanzania

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