The Tanzania media fund (TMF) is holding a stakeholders’ forum on media transparency and accountability.
Location:
Mlimani Conference Centre, Dar es Salaam.
Panelists:
Aidan Eyakuze – Serengeti Advisors
Hon. Zitto Kabwe – MP Kigoma North
Richard Mgamba – Sunday Guardian
Adam Simbeye – TBC
Ichikaeli Maro – Daily News
To follow the discussion via twitter:
Live update:
0945: TMF success story documentary – based on grants given to various media houses and journalists.
1005: Awarding of certificates to TMF fellows
1032: Debate moderated by Aidan Eyakuze
- Adam Simbeye (TBC) ponders and asks, “who are journalists accountable to? To themselves, the owners, or viewers/listeners?” He urges the public to keep a critical eye and fish-out the junk from the informative.
- Ichikaeli Maro (Daily News editor) was asked on the way she could describe her duty despite the government being her employer. She vehemently claims that the Daily News is not a government newspaper but is owned by the public and therefore stands for their interests. However, despite this she states that journalists should also weigh-in on the positive aspects of government work and not focus mostly on the negative.
- Richard Mgamba (Sunday Guardian) continues on the ‘accountability-to’ issue and reiterates that journalists should be accountable to the public first and later their owners. In the same note he continues and says that “accountability and transparency is a double-edged sword, the media houses as well as their reporters should all aim for the same goal”.
- The debate shifts to the theme about the rise of new media (blogs, facebook, twitter etc.) and how it is changing Tanzanian journalism. An unscientific audience poll shows that the majority have facebook accounts and a few (around 30%) use twitter.
- Hon. Zitto Kabwe (MP) – a tech savvy politician – weighs in and laments the fact that Tanzanians are attracted to fake news and not in in-depth, well-research news articles.
For more live-blogging visit:
1215: The meeting is closed.
Watch this space for summary, photos, and videos.
I was more than impressed by the shift you guys put in today @tahajiwaji, @vijanafm, @shurufu, @mikochenireport, @JamiiForums #mediaforum!
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I think the accountability question is a huge one. About the question of who journalists are accountable to, I think it is their viewers/readers/audience, which means it depends on the medium they are writing/producing for.
For example, if taking the case of a newspaper journalist, he/she is accountable to whoever buys their newspaper. If taking the case of a radio journalist, he/she is accountable to whoever is tuned into their show.
Yet, I can’t say for sure this is what people in the media see. I feel they see themselves as being accountable to the company they work/serve for. But isn’t the company just a facilitator?