Fresh plan to make journalism a ‘respected’ profession

Dar es Salaam. Information, Communications and Information Technology minister Nape Nnauye yesterday emphasized five factors that continue to undermine the media industry in the country, urging all institutions involved in the sector to devise ways to address them.

Mr Nnauye said the industry was not yet a respectable a profession as it should be, something that the government has seen and came up with a law that would help establish high standards by ensuring that practitioners at least hold a diploma in related studies.

Mr Nnauye made the remarks as he opened the 60th anniversary conference of the University of Dar es Salaam, which focused on looking at the contribution of its School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) to the media industry in the country.

He explained that the government was making great efforts to open up various opportunities aimed at improving the information industry but there were still many unsettled challenges.

“We have not yet succeeded in making the media industry a profession as dignified and respected as any other. The wages and interests of journalists are still low. We are in an environment where journalists do not have contracts, they are not paid their dues on time,” he explained.

He noted that declining investigative journalism, decreasing information coverage about Africa by African journalists and the negative impact brought by the advent of technology, which has resulted to a plethora of citizen journalism were other impediments.

Mr Nnauye, however, challenged colleges and institutions that offer training in journalism to evaluate their contribution to the development of the media industry by focusing more on what the market in the industry wants so as to strengthen the sector.

During the discussions, Information Department director Gerson Msigwa said there was a need to review the curriculum of journalism courses to match current market demands.

“Let’s look at how we admit these students when they come here based on their different talents. We need to ensure that whatever they are taught here is what they find in the practical training environment,” he said.

He pointed out that another issue that was important was for students to be taught how to access resources to enable them to employ themselves and not to rely on employment.

Mwananchi Communications Ltd (MCL) managing director Bakari Machumu recommended emphasis on research to help the media industry as well as colleges to start teaching leadership courses to journalists.

“You can have a very good writer, you promote him as an editor with the expectation of getting good results but instead of building he goes ahead to kill the talents of others,” he said.

“I suggest colleges to also start teaching media/newsroom leadership and how the business is done in the industry so that one does not only end up being a writer but also knows how the business is run,” said Mr Machumu.

For his part, Azam Media Group managing director Tido Mhando challenged the college to put emphasis on practical training to better equip graduates before entering the market which requires people who work effectively.

“The college should develop the ability of people to do practical training so that they can enter the work world beinng ready. Not all companies can offer training programmes for new employees,” he noted.

The Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) director general Ayoub Rioba said due to globalisation, a journalist should not end up learning journalism alone instead he should learn to make journalism a business in the sense of running the media.