Evaluating the competitive strategies used in the newspaper industry in Tanzania

The objective of this study was to determine strategies used by newspaper companies in Tanzania so as to be competitive in the industry; identify customer preference on newspaper readership and to determine specific elements that customers like to find in newspapers. A descriptive research design was used, in which both simple random and judgmental sampling were used. The study relied on the use of primary data through administering questionnaires, and 4 editors and 50 newspaper customers in the Dar es Salaam Central Business District were the target populations. The findings show that improvement of quality and level of investigative reporting has been seen as the major competitive strategy by newspaper companies. Also, newspaper owners tend to poach well-connected, qualified and experienced journalists. Besides, companies increasingly embark on rigorous promotion of their products by sponsoring social events. However, there is high preference on newspaper readership of both English and Kiswahili newspapers, although English papers are less preferred. It also appears that the three strongest newspapers are Mwananchi, The Citizen and Tanzania Daima. Also, what customers like the most in newspapers is coverage of more regional stories. The recommendation to newspaper companies is that company owners have to uplift the quality of newspaper products so as to enhance their competitiveness within the stiff market. Also, owners have to ensure that they have better mechanisms in place to retain their qualified and experienced journalists since the wave of poaching them is now on the rise.