How government-owned and private-owned newspapers fight corruption in Tanzania: a case study of Habarileo and Mwananchi newspapers

This study shows the comparison and contrast of how the government and private newspapers fight corruption in Tanzania. The study was guided by three research questions: (a) What is the difference in quantity of corruption articles between HABARILEO and MWANANCHI; (b) where do HABARILEO and MWANANCHI focus most between petty and grand corruption; (c) how HABARILEO and MWANANCHI newspapers frame corruption articles? This case study design employed not only the non-probability sampling but also systematic random sampling. Information was collected using content analyses, documentary analysis and qualitative interview. This researcher used Karl Pearson’s Correlation, case summaries, figures and descriptive statements in data analysis. The findings show that the private newspapers in Tanzania allocate more space to the corruption articles than the government newspapers. The findings also indicate that both the government and private newspapers in Tanzania cover more of grand corruption but less of petty corruption. This study also found that both government and private newspapers in Tanzania are not only less investigative but also not systemic in their corruption coverage. The study concludes that both the government newspapers and private newspapers in Tanzania perceive petty corruption as partially accepted norm but grand corruption as intolerable norm. The study also concludes that private newspapers represent the watchdog role of media in fighting corruption than the government newspapers. The researcher recommends that the government newspapers should sharpen their media house policies in fighting corruption. The researcher also recommends that as media in Tanzania perceives grand corruption intolerable.