Papers hardly make profit: Should we let them die?

What you need to know:

  • A few days later, another shocking news about the shooting of retired Major General Vincent Mribata was reported. People are afraid. If an MP is not safe, if a retired army general is not safe from ‘the unknown persons’ who have been committing horrible crimes, what of a common man?

Looking at newspapers headlines in Tanzania one can easily be left in tears. For one there are too many stories that leave one depressed. Take for example, the shooting of opposition MP and a President of Tanganyika Law Society Tundu Lissu just outside his house.

A few days later, another shocking news about the shooting of retired Major General Vincent Mribata was reported. People are afraid. If an MP is not safe, if a retired army general is not safe from ‘the unknown persons’ who have been committing horrible crimes, what of a common man?

Then we had the stories of how Tanzania for years has been robbed of taxes enumerating from mineral exports. It’s all nauseating news.

Publishers and editors in Tanzania have been struggling to increase distribution revenue. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any newspaper with a daily run of over 100,000 copies. I stand to be corrected!

If we were to lump up together all the daily mainstream newspapers printed in Tanzania, can the print run reach half a million? If now we compare the print runs (not necessarily the newspapers sold), compared with the general population (45m+), it is very easy to reach the conclusion that, not even 1 per cent of Tanzanians read newspapers.

World over, thanks to the internet the death of newspapers has been predicted by many. In Tanzania, apart from Mwananchi Communications Limited newspapers through NMG that are listed in the Dar Stock Exchange, the rest are privately held, and so it’s hard to get profitability figures.

So it’s hard to tell about the profit and loss of those newspapers. But going by the number of newspapers that have closed shop in the last few years, the road is not so rosy.

Some newspaper workers in some firms go for months without salaries. Correspondents are not paid for over a year in some outlets. Workers have been laid off in some media outlets. Even for the yellow press things are not so rosy. But is there anyone there to speak for the media?

I’m talking like this because the government last month announced the commencement of print media outlets re-registration.

According to director of Information Services (MAELEZO) and government spokesperson Hassan Abbas, the registration fee is Sh1 million. Media outlets that will not register their newspapers and obtain new licences, risk being locked out as Dr Abbas said the deadline (October 15 this year ) will not be extended.

Newspapers still remain one of the most credible sources for news. Social media news cannot be trusted fully, and yes, for the sake of knowledge and developing our nation we need newspapers as a vital component of our posterity.

Yes, the radio and TV rules, but the serious newspaper is the foundation for building integrity in any democracy. As a nation, we have a long way, before we can say, that we should survive by online news only.

The government needs not only to think about how to control papers, but also about how to help them grow their distribution numbers by creating an enabling environment. According to 2014 World Press Trends Survey (World Association of Newspapers) print circulation has been on the rise in Asia, Latin America and Africa, but on decrease in Europe and America.

We need to ask ourselves what will we do as people, institution if we allow the death of local newspapers? For every serious newspaper that dies, it is a terrible blow for democratic accountability.

In 2005, Tanzania had about 42 national newspapers, what about today? Don’t ask me. Considering our population, daily newspapers’ circulation should not be less than a million copies.

Saumu Jumanne is an assistant lecturer, Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE)