Self-Regulation of the Tanzanian Media

A very good friend of mine, Dr. Ayub Rioba, just defended his PhD Dissertation on Media Accountability in Tanzania’s Multiparty Democracy at the University of Tampere last week Monday.

Ayub Rioba defending his PhD Dissertation “Media Accountability in Tanzania’s Multiparty Democracy: Does self-regulation work?” at the University of Tampere 29.10.2012.

Rioba is a journalism lecturer at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He started his academic career at the Makerere University with a BA in Mass Communication. Later Rioba did his M.A. in Journalism at the University of Cardiff. Rioba also writes columns for Tanzanian newspapers, such as the Raia Mwema, and is known for his critical and fearlessly truthful commentary on the Tanzanian society.

A few days ago the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland’s Development Communications Group published an article by freelancer Terhi Friman on Rioba. Many of my Tanzanian friends in Finland and back in Tanzania have expressed their wish to understand the contents of the article; therefore I have taken the freedom to loosely translate the article. (Original article in Finnish can be found here.)

Journalism Profession not Alluring Tanzanians

A fresh dissertation claims that journalists in Tanzania are being paid poorly, corruption is thriving, and the media is not doing enough to improve democracy in the country.

Tanzania’s media is doing well in numbers. The country has 54 newspapers at the moment, out of which 10–12 are dailies. The amount is big. For example in neighbouring Kenya, there are only three newspapers. In addition there are also numerous radio and TV stations.

However, quality of the media is another case.

Musoma-born Ayub Rioba researched Tanzanian media and its self-regulation in his doctoral dissertation for the University of Tampere.

Social media is being used widely in Tanzania, even though smartphones and Internet connections are expensive. According to Rioba, many people still find a way to use the Internet – the Tanzanian way.

“We are not like you Finns. When a Tanzanian steps into a daladala, he will instantly tell four or five people what he read in a blog or other news on the net. This is how information moves forward. Even though according to the statistics only 4% of the population have Internet, it doesn’t reflect the reality.”

Unprofessional journalists

Journalists in Tanzania are being paid poorly and the profession is not very popular anymore. Rioba teaches journalism at the University of Dar es Salaam and he also writes for a few newspapers. He knows that young people would rather choose a job in the field of PR than journalism.

Corruption is thriving everywhere in the society, including the media.

There are many unprofessional journalists in working life. Media owners have a say in many things.

According to Rioba, the country’s history does not show in the way the media deals with issues. The media has adopted a Western way of reporting, even though the people’s mindset is still bound to the African culture.

On the other hand, the media is under the constraints of corruption and conflicts of interests. And nothing is being done about that. According to Rioba, there are many journalists who do not act as responsible professionals.

”Everywhere in Tanzania people are talking and they have the courage to express themselves. In that sense freedom of speech is being fulfilled. People want to state their opinions.”

Ineffective self-regulation

Laws as well as a voluntary self-regulatory council, the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), regulate media in Tanzania.

In theory, all of Tanzania’s media functions under MCT, and other African countries have used it as a model in their own countries.

According to Rioba, MCT could be used to improve the quality of journalism in Tanzania, but it is basically toothless. MCT has worked hard and it has arbitrated cases brought to it, but its work is ineffective.

According to Rioba’s dissertation, the liberal democracy, which has characterized Tanzania’s reform process since the 1980s, has hindered the country’s development. Tanzania has been listening to the dictates of international financial institutions and donors, and it has not been noticed that liberal democracy does not fit the country.

What works in the United States or the United Kingdom does not work in Tanzania. According to Rioba, for example, the Nordic social structure would suit Tanzania better.

(Terhi Friman)

The day before. Can you hear the clock ticking?

I’m going back to Tanzania tomorrow! After 4 years of suffering in the Kingdom of the United and another year in Land of the Finns, I am more than ready to pack my 23 kilos for 6 months, and go back to Tanzania. Well that is, if they let me into the country. Let’s see.

Did you know that...The green on the flag represents the vegetation of the country, and the golden colour stands for the rich mineral deposits found in Tanzania. The black color symbolises the native Swahili people, while the blue on the flag symbolises the lakes, rivers and the Indian Ocean.

Now the only issue, is that I’m sat here learning how to use WordPress, instead of organising my earthly possessions, which are too many. Perhaps I’ll be all ready tomorrow. Btw, the 9/11 anniversary hype is on full swing on Al-Jazeera at the moment. The thought of planes being hijacked or blown up is not one that I’d like to be thinking about. *Erase thought.*

So to the point. I have decided to start a proper cliché travel blog. After my poor Finnish skills have been put to test for the past four months in one of the leading Finnish newspapers, I am taking a break, and writing with my poor English and Kiswahili skills instead.

I am spending the next six months in Mwanza, a.k.a The Rock City, in Tanzania. I’ll be officially on an exchange programme, but worry not, I’ll try to get time for other things as well. Like blogging and drinking Konyagi.

Konyagi - not Cognac

Without undermining your knowledge of the Tanzanian geography, here’s a map of Tanzania for you. (By the courtesy of Lonely Planet).

See Mwanza? It's riiiight there - up there! By the shores of Africa's biggest lake: Lake Victoria.

Oh, and just to annoy you a bit more – here’s a map of Africa I found on Google.

So I think you can get an idea of where Tanzania is now on the map. It's right there, where someone kindly drew "Me" for me. Cute.

Back to me now. I am now enrolled as a Master’s student in Journalism at the University of Tampere, as well as a Master’s student in Mass Communications at the Saint Augustine University of Tanzania. In short, SAUT. I’ll tell you all about my study plans in due time. I’m sure you’re dying to know – me too!

Unfortunately you can’t find my name on SAUT’s “Students selected for post graduate studies” page anymore, and seeing that the hyperlink option is not working, I shall not insert *here* a link to SAUT*s website. Perhaps you can google it. Labda. ( = maybe in Swahili).

Stay tuned – I might even get into the habit of blogging. And procrastinating.