Only a few media companies have a predominant market position and thus a potentially high influence on public opinion in Tanzania. Whereas the regulatory framework should in theory safeguard media pluralism and prevent media concentration, it shows considerable gaps in practice. Moreover, the legal environment restricts data collection and research. These are some key results of the three-month long investigative research that the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have jointly conducted. The resulting "Media Ownership Monitor" maps who owns and ultimately controls Tanzanian mass media. The detailed results of the study were unveiled in Dar es Salaam today and are now available to the public at tanzania.mom-rsf.org in English and Swahili. The website features a database of major media outlets, companies, their owners and affiliated interests, including comprehensive information about the media landscape in the country.
"The study has not only provided crucial information on trends of media ownership in Tanzania but has also showed us gaps which we need to work on so that we have a truly pluralistic and diverse media landscape, which is important for our democracy," said Kajubi Mukajanga, Executive Secretary at Media Council of Tanzania, on the rationale of the study.
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