Editors' plea to government over high printing costs

Zanzibar. Newsprint prices have risen by 110 percent in two years, meaning that what used to cost a media house $400 (Sh926,400) for a tonne of printing material now costs $920 (Sh 2,130,720), laying a heavy production burden on Tanzanian media houses. However, in that same period and for the past 10 years, no newspaper that has increased the price of their product despite the rising costs.

This trend is not sustainable and something needs to be done; this is an excerpt from Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF) vice chairman, Mr Bakari Machumu’s presentation at the TEF annual general meeting in Zanzibar yesterday.

“We need to come together as a media fraternity and engage the government to consider lifting taxes on newsprint imports in order to mitigate the increasing production costs. The 10 percent levy should be revised,” said Mr Machumu, who is also the Managing Director of Mwananchi Communications Limited.

He said the media plays an important role in informing the public on matters of national interest. As editors and leaders of the media sector we need to make this a national agenda.

He added that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war will further compound the misery on print business due to the fact that Russia is one of the leading producers of newsprints.

In 2021, Tanzania imported newsprint worth $10 million (Sh23 billion). This call comes ahead of budget reform sessions that will shape the next national budget, meaning that the proposed recommendations can be part of the reforms.

Shedding further light on the gloomy nurture of the print business, Mr Machumu said that newspaper circulation numbers have gone down by 70 percent in the recent past, with advertising decreasing by close to 50 percent.

“A newspaper that used to sell 100,000 copies in the past now only manages to circulate 30,000. What used to be generated as advertising revenue has been reduced by half,” he expounded.

He expressed that this means the print business is witnessing a substantial decline in its core business and sources of revenue, with part of the downfall also attributed to digital disruption and other factors.

“In light of this, we need to broaden our revenue streams beyond print,” he advised.

Machumu’s remarks were seconded by veteran journalist Theophil Makunga, who similarly expressed concern over the changing times for the print business. “We need to figure out a lasting solution,” said Makunga.