Journalism Practice in Tanzania- Reflections from the Training and Media Regulation.

The study investigated the veracity of complaints and scepticism surrounding the practice of graduate journalists when they are employed in conventional journalism organizations in Tanzania. While there is a substantial set of appropriate literature involving theory and practice for vocational skills and competencies imparted to the candidates by the training institutions in the country, the study notes the existence of an argument that journalists who are exclusively trained on the job fare better than university or tertiary education graduates in the professional journalistic practice. It is this kind of argument that probably informed Banda's (2013) proposal for a compendium of new syllabi editions that reviewed and suggested how practical components can be included in journalism curricula. Moreover, the Media Council of Tanzania-MCT occasionally conducts several interventions and revisions of journalism programs for the training institutions so as to suit the media dynamics. The media sector, also, over the recent years, has tried to bridge the lacuna in journalism professionalism in various ways. This relentless stride, notwithstanding the massive transformations of media technologies, still causes the profession to suffer credibility woes from the public. The study agrees with the rest of African scholars that a major overhaul in the curricula training of journalists, an amplified ethical adherence of media practitioners, and a harmonized policy that favours press freedom for a democratic society be adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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