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Tanzanian NGO bemoans little coverage on Africa’s growth

Tanzanian NGO bemoans little coverage on Africa’s growth
By Masuzyo Chakwe in Dar es salaam, Tanzania
Wed 17 Feb. 2010, 04:00 CAT

A TANZANIAN educational NGO has observed that the media in Africa report very little about the positive developments on the continent.

During the Right to Know, Right to Education media engagement capacity building workshop on Monday, Haki Elimu executive director Elizabeth Missokia said very little about the positive developments in Africa was written about in the media.

Missokia said what was usually seen in the media were the negative issues happening on the continent like corruption, famine and disease.

She said issues of developments in the mining and agriculture sector got little publicity.

“The stories we read are about corruption, famine, tribalism. We see a lot of this in Tanzania where even the local TV carry foreign programmes, soaps and movies,” she said

Missokia said there was more of the western world and less about Africa in the media.

She also said most media in Africa were faced with challenges of government intervention and control.

Missokia said most of the media houses including those in Tanzania could not afford producing local and developmental programmes and as a result relied on foreign media.

She said most of the powerful media houses especially television, radio and newspapers were owned by a few business heavy weights who directed what should come out and what should go on air.

Missokia said there was also a lot of corruption in the media where journalists covered assignments where they would get something.

She also said there were assassinations, violence, attacks and threats on journalists in most countries.

Labels: ELIABETH MISSOKIA, NGOs

posted by MrK @ 3:35 PM