Browsing by Author "Kweyamba, Audax"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The impact of the media on the democratization process in Tanzania in the 1990.
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 1999) Kweyamba, Audax
    This study is about media and democracy. It specifically assesses the impact of the media on the democratization process in Tanzania in the 1990s. The study was conducted in Dar es Salaam and the fieldwork research was carried out between December 1998 and March 1999. The study was premised on two hypotheses. The first hypothesis was that the media have had an impact on the democratization process and the second hypothesis was that the media impact (or lack of it) on the democratization process is a product of intra as well as extra media environment. The study findings and analysis essentially confirm the two hypotheses of the study. Whereas it is revealed that the media (particularly the private media) have had a recommendable and encouraging impact on aspects of the democratization process, such as public accountability and responsibility, elections (the case of the 1995 first multiparty general elections), and on coverage of political and democratic issues in general; it is also evident that the media's impact on building democratic civic competence is generally low. Public understanding of democratic civic rights and duties as well as democratic norms and processes is generally low. The major explanation for the low democratic civic competence is lack of explicit and special civic education campaign. The study findings further indicate that although there are other intra and extra media explanations for the media's impact (or lack of it), the prevailing media legal and regulatory framework is the major stumbling block to the media's impact on the democratization process; since it is still largely authoritarian. The framework hampers genuine actualization of citizens' right to information, freedom of the press (media) and freedom of expression in general, although these basic freedoms and rights are clearly stipulated in the national constitution (the URT Constitution of 1977 and in its subsequent amendments) and Tanzania is also a party to extra territorial conventions, covenants and declarations which recognize these basic rights and freedoms (e.g. the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948). It is also revealed by the study that although the media have a remarkable impact on the specific aspects of the democratization process (which we noted above) and on keeping the general public informed of the day to day socio-economic and political happenings and events within and outside the country, there are other intra and extra media factors apart from the prevailing media legal and regulatory framework which explain the impact of the media on the democratization process. Such factors include: increased violation of media ethics (particularly by the print media); lack of explicit and special regular programmes in the media industry which cover democratization issues and thus a generally low prioritization or agenda-setting of democratization by the media. Other limiting factors of the media's impact on the democratization process include low exposure and accessibility of opposition political parties to state-owned media; negative campaign strategy employed by political parties during elections, which denies the electorate of some important information such as party policies and programmes; a generally low democratic practice in the media industry particularly in terms of journalists and media workers' participation in day to day activities and in key decisions of their media houses. It is on the basis of the entire findings and analysis of the study that some recommendations are put forward as part of the effort towards uplifting the media's impact on the democratization process. Such recommendations include: urgent need for a conducive media legal and regulatory framework, need for civic education campaign, need for a special training programme to the media industry on basics of democracy, to mention only a few.