Tanzania Media Foundation Seminar - Remarks by Ambassador
Ambassador Gilsenan addresses media owners and editors at opening of TMF Seminar
Mr Assah Mwambene, Director of Information (representing the Minister of Information, Culture, Artistes and Sports)
Mr Ernest Sungura, Executive Director of the Tanzania Media Foundation
Editors and media owners
I am very pleased to address event today which provides an opportunity for professionals involved in media to look at the opportunities and challenges that face the Tanzania media today and consider how TMF can support the sector.
The Embassy of Ireland has supported TMF since 2008, when it was still known as the Tanzania Media Fund. We renewed our partnership in 2015 with the legal and independent entity, known as the Tanzania Media Foundation. Ireland is very proud to be associated with the Foundation and we look forward to a continuing a partnership with you and with a maturing media sector.
The media in Tanzania has come a long way since liberalisation of the sector in the 1990s. It has diversified and professionalised and though there is more work and investment needed, there is a strong foundation to build on, to ensure that the media continues to play its role in contributing to a more democratic society.
Media is now a very diverse institution within society with radio, television, newspapers, social media and the internet bringing modern ideas and images from across Tanzania, the region and a globalised world. Citizens are now more likely to articulate their expectations in terms of ideas that they have picked up from outside their immediate community, through education but also via the media in its various forms. These new ideas and ambitions feed into political expectations and a clearer sense of the rights of citizens within a democratic state.
Through the media, we have seen increasing engagement of citizens in issues of public accountability. The media has played a critical role in uncovering cases of corruption, mismanagement of funds and poor service delivery. It has supported the government, civil society and the citizenry more generally in sustaining public attention on these issues and has provided a platform for state and non-state voices to be heard. There is nothing more frustrating and discouraging than a media capable of unearthing corruption while those in authority decide to take no action.
It is therefore heartening to see how the government has been able to work with and benefit from the level of plurality in the media sector. Through media coverage of mismanagement at the ports and with flow meters, for example, the government was able to react and hold the perpetrators to account.
The President rightly acknowledges the important role of the media in enhancing accountability and transparency. It is to be hoped that the 5th phase government will champion diverse voices in the media and encourage a wide variety national conversations to happen in an open and constructive manner.
The Tanzania media sector is maturing at a time when the traditional media is faced with many challenges from electronic media. It is now more difficult than previously for the traditional media to make money. In Europe, this is creating its own set of challenges in what is a reasonably mature and well financed industry. In Tanzania, this change is occurring at the same time that considerable investment is still required in public and private media houses and in the professional capacity of journalists.
Media managers and owners will face the temptation to divert energy and resources to the profitable form of entertainment journalism. This is perhaps already apparent in the printed press in Tanzania. It sells, and profit is important but a society will not flourish in the absence of a strong, independent and critical media investing in investigative journalism and critical commentary.
The role of social media will grow in influence in the coming years and those of you engaged as media professionals need to consider how the social media can be harnessed to support pluralism, democracy and to act in the public interest. The regulatory environment for the traditional media requires reform and this is, I believe, part of the work programme of this Parliament but the management of social media also needs consideration, both to protect the citizen journalists and to ensure that ethical behaviour in the social media can be assured.
In this regard, the implementation of the Cyber Crimes Act needs to be carefully monitored and dialogue maintained with government and political representatives on ways in which the law can be strengthened to support freedom of expression and public scrutiny of current affairs while balancing issues such as privacy and security. Developing regulations to accompany the Act in an inclusive and transparent manner could be an opportunity for constructive engagement between relevant stakeholders in order to address some of the concerns being raised.
The challenges in the sector are well known and in the coming five years, the Tanzania media houses, government and other partners need to cooperate closely to ensure that Tanzania has a free and professional media whose independence is protected by law and valued by society and government, avoiding capture by powerful political or corporate interests in society. Without this guarantee of independence, it is inevitable that powerful interests in both society and government will interfere with the media in pursuit of a narrow set of interests which may run contrary to the public interest.
As the key stakeholders in media, I wish you well in today seminar as you consider how TMF can best support you in your work and build a strong, independent, and critical media sector.