Print Media Monitoring Report
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Print Media Monitoring Report January – June 2013 Print Media Monitoring Report © Media Council of Tanzania, 2013 ISBN 978 - 9987 - 710 - 39 - 3 ii Media Council of Tanzania Contents Preface ......................................................................................... v Methodology ............................................................................. vi Abbreviations ........................................................................... vii Chapter One ............................................................................... 1 Ethical Performance ................................................................. 1 Presumption of innocence ....................................................... 1 Identifying victims of sexual violence ..................................... 2 Captions ....................................................................................... 3 Apology ....................................................................................... 3 Hate Speech ................................................................................. 3 Rapid Response Media Monitoring January-June, 2013 ........ 6 Appendix: Sampled articles ...................................................... 13 Chapter Two .............................................................................. 15 Gender Reporting ................................................................... 15 Gender- Based Violence (GBV) ................................................ 16 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) ............................................ 17 Reproductive Health ................................................................. 17 Women Empowerment ............................................................. 18 Health .......................................................................................... 19 Girls’ Education ........................................................................ 19 Inheritance Law ......................................................................... 19 Pregnancy Precaution ................................................................ 20 Homosexuality ........................................................................... 20 Quantitative Analysis ............................................................... 21 Appendix: Sampled stories ...................................................... 25 Chapter Three ............................................................................. 27 Corruption Reporting ............................................................... 27 Qualitative Analysis ............................................................... 27 Balance and Fairness .................................................................. 28 Truth and Accuracy ................................................................... 28 News type ................................................................................... 29 Sources ......................................................................................... 29 Length of the stories .................................................................... 30 Coverage Areas ......................................................................... 31 Print Media Monitoring Report iii Page Placement .......................................................................... 31 Quantitative Analysis ............................................................... 31 Appendix: Sampled stories ...................................................... 33 Chapter Four ............................................................................... 35 Court Reporting ........................................................................ 35 Judgemental Headlines ............................................................ 35 Gender-Based Violence ............................................................. 36 Access to Courts ........................................................................ 36 Truth and Accuracy .................................................................... 37 Backgrounding of stories ........................................................... 37 Contempt of Court ..................................................................... 37 Sources ......................................................................................... 37 Photographs ................................................................................ 38 Coverage Areas .......................................................................... 38 Page Placement ........................................................................... 38 Quantitative Analysis ................................................................ 38 Appendix: Sampled articles ...................................................... 40 Chapter Five ............................................................................... 41 Constitution Reporting ............................................................ 41 Introduction ............................................................................... 41 Scope ........................................................................................... 41 Coverage ..................................................................................... 43 Pie chart ...................................................................................... 43 Types ............................................................................................ 43 Types of artcles .......................................................................... 44 Length .......................................................................................... 44 Page Placement .......................................................................... 44 Sources .......................................................................................... 45 Themes ........................................................................................ 46 Constitutional Review Process ................................................ 47 Natural Resources ..................................................................... 47 Union .......................................................................................... 48 Governance ................................................................................ 48 Recommendations ..................................................................... 48 Conclusion ................................................................................. 49 Appendix: Sampled articles ...................................................... 40 iv Media Council of Tanzania Preface Print Media Monitoring is one of the core activities conducted under the Media Council of Tanzania’s annual work plans. It con- forms to the vision and mission of the Council, which was founded as a self-regulatory body with the express aim of creating an environment in which the media could contribute to the cre- ation of a more democratic and just society. The Council’s role is essentially to evaluate the media fraternity’s professional and ethical performance as stipulated in the 2010 Code of Ethics for Media Professionals in Tanzania drawn up by MCT. As a matter of routine, reports gathered from the monitoring process are shared out with stakeholders, including schools or fac- ulties of journalism and media practitioners. From a professional point of view, this is meant to make improvements in areas where there are problems with performance and consolidate areas where performance is good. The core focus as far as media monitoring is concerned has been, and continues to be, on performance with regard to media ethics and press freedom. The monitoring covers particular thematic areas, depending on circumstances, thus making the process change from time to time. During the period under review, MCT made daily monitoring of four more thematic areas: gender, corruption, the Constitution and court reporting. Print Media Monitoring Report: January - June 2013 v Methodology The monitoring involved reading newspaper articles critically and analyzing pictures and other illustrations, including cartoons. The findings were later posted to a special database from which to get statistical information for analysis. The monitoring team used the descriptive qualitative research method to analyze the data collected during the period under re- view to determine the strengths or weaknesses therein and see how best to intervene for improved performance in the future. The analysis of the data was guided by the need to see how the media fraternity adhered to the MCT’s 2010 Code of Ethics as well as similar codes drawn up by international media bodies to which Tanzania subscribes. Among other things, in its coding activities, the monitoring team looked at how news stories, features and other journalistic pieces and illustrative material (photos, cartoons, etc.) in various issues of several Tanzanian newspapers were sourced and placed. vi Media Council of Tanzania Abbreviations BAHAKITA – Baraza la Habari la Kiislamu Tanzania CBO’s – Community-Based Organizations CCM – Chama Cha Mapinduzi CHADEMA – Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo CRP – Constitution Review Process EJAT – Excellency in Journalism Awards Tanzania EAM – Ethics and Arbitration Manager EPAs – Economic Partnership Agreements ES – Executive Secretary EU – European Union FGM – Female Genital Mutilation ITV – Independent Television MCT - Media Council of Tanzania NGOs – Non-Governmental Organizations NMB – National Microfinance Bank PCCB