MEDIA QUALITY YEAR BOOK APPEALS FOR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE
The Yearbook on Media Quality in Tanzania for 2018 has been launched with appeals for more efforts to improve the performance of the media.
The 40 page Yearbook produced after an extensive research on various aspects of media coverage has established the performance of the media in the country is still wanting. Its launch was held at Courtyard Hotel in Dar es Salaam on February 15, 2019.
This is the second Yearbook on Media Quality in Tanzania as the first was a pilot project in 2017 which also came with similar result of dismally performance.
Twelve national media houses , Citizen, Daily News, The Guardian, Mwananchi, Nipashe, TBC Taifa, Radio Free Africa, radio One, Clouds FM, TBC1, ITV and Azam TV were involved in the research for the 2017 Yearbook.
This time around for the 2018 Yearbook, the number of media outlets doubled.
For print media titles sampled were The Citizen, Daily News, The Guardian, Jamhuri, Mwananchi, Nipashe and Zanzibar while for National Radio – TBC Taifa, Radio Free Africa, Radio One, Cloud FM ZBC (radio), Micheweni FM and Zenji FM.
Community or local radios which were sampled are CGFM, Dodoma FM, Highlands FM, Arusha 1 FM and Pangani FM and TV – TBC1, ITV, Azam TV and Ayo TV and blogs and forum – there was Jamii Forum and Michuzi.
The report notes that the increased number of samples was a result of suggestions by stakeholders after the 2017 Yearbook.
1,886 units from 7 newspapers, 12 radio stations, 4 TV stations, I blog and 1 online Forum were sampled for the Yearbook 2018.
According to the Yearbook, the most covered topics in the media were economic issues of which had 29 per cent units on infrastructure, oil and gas, transport, telecommunications business while development issues with 28 per cent coverage were on health, education, agriculture and environment.
Contentious issues – sensintive topics in social problems, conflicts, gender issues, good governance were only 16 percent while accidents and crime and court cases were 12 percent. Political coverage trailed with a paltry 11 per cent.
Five media outlets with Jamhuri at the top emerged as leading in the quality ranking of the Yearbook.
Others are Mwananchi newspaper, Micheweni FM , CG FM and Azam TV.
Speaking during launch of the Yearbook, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Tanzania Florence Tinguely Mattli said she strongly believe that better quality in media performance will lead to more readers and advertisers and that media quality is useful tool for a vibrant media
She expressed the hope that the findings of the Yearbook will be used widely for further improvement.
Those who have been ranked in low category in the Yearbook should not be discouraged but should be inspired to do better next time, she said.
Ambassador Mattli was also of the opinion that there was need for introducing prizes for the best performers next time.
She underscored that quality media is crucial for spurring development and even support government initiatives in the fight against corruption.
It was imperative for the government as well to understand the challenges the media faces, she said adding that the final beneficiaries of a vibrant media are the citizens.
Pili Mtambalike, a media consultant and former Programme Manager of the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) spoke of the media situation in the country highlighting the shrinking space in the operations of the media under hostile environment where manhandling of media practitioners and denial of information was the order of the day.
MCT Board Member, Edda Sanga, also spoke during the launch.
The research of 2018 Media Quality Yearbook was headed by Christophh Spurk of Bern Switzerland and Abdallah Katunzi of the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
MCT had offered extensive support for the research.