Tanzanian Media Environment- Current Access, Potential for Growth and Strategies for Information Dissemination  

By Gayatri Murthy, InterMedia

This report uses AudienceScapes data from a nationally representative survey of Tanzania to describe how people of different social groups gather, share and access information through mass media – radio, television and newspapers. We also focus on whether the presence of mobile phones can further augment information dissemination using SMS and mobile radio. Media access and use trends are broken down by region and we profile both national and regional media outlets.

Notably, this report assists development professionals in crafting their communication strategies through mass media conduits. With knowledge of not only how much access to information Tanzanians have, but also what information sources they rely on and trust the most, development practitioners are better equipped to create strategies suited to the local context of their target audience.

The data presented in this report are based on a nationally representative survey conducted in July 2010 among Tanzanian adults age 15 and older. Using the 2002 Tanzanian National Census as the sampling frame and a stratified random sampling design, a nationally representative probability sample of 2,003 respondents was selected. The estimated margin of error is +/-2.2 percent with a 95 percent confidence interval. The survey was administered through face-to-face personal interviews; the data are weighted by gender and age groups.

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Report Summary- A Detailed Overview of the Main Findings

Report  Methodology

This report is divided into the following sections:

Chapter 1 “Media Access and Use”:  Common determinants of access (such as regional distribution, income and available infrastructure); key issues in Tanzanians’ media use habits, particularly use differences between income levels and location of residence (urban or rural).  Plus, profiles of those Tanzanians who lack access to various mass media and analysis of obstacles to access. 

Chapter 2 “Media Outlet Preferences in Radio, Television and Newspapers”:  Audience and programming profiles of specific media outlets.

Chapter 3 “Regional Guide”: Region-by-region breakdown of media use in general, and popularity and reach of specific stations, channels and newspapers.

Chapter 4 “News and Information Access and Sharing”: How do Tanzanians access information? What are their opinions on the information sources accessible to them? How do they share the information accessible to them?

Appendix 1: Detailed information on the demographic breakdowns of audiences for various media outlets.

Appendix 2: Profiles of media use in each region of the country.

For more information contact

Gayatri Murthy
Email: murthyg@intermedia.org
Phone: 202-652-2269

Peter Goldstein
Email: goldsteinp@intermedia.org
Phone: 202.434.9584

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Picture Courtesy: Tristam Shandy via Flickr