Media boom, media freedom and the legal environment in mainland Tanzania

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Periodical article

Title:	Media boom, media freedom and the legal environment in mainland Tanzania
Author:	Mwakyembe, Harrison
Year:	1998
Periodical:	Lesotho Law Journal: A Journal of Law and Development
Volume:	11
Issue:	2
Pages:	249-268
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Tanzania
Subjects:	freedom of the press media policy
Abstract:	The media explosion which occurred in Tanzania in 1992 following the introduction of a multiparty system of government is delusive in the absence of fundamental reforms in the legal framework governing media freedom. Constitutional amendments made in 1992 did not address the question of the freedom of the press or media, and most of the laws which had for so long impaired freedom of expression remained in place. The author looks at the constitutional framework governing freedom of expression and the media in Tanzania, media legislation (Newspapers Act, 1976; Tanzania News Agency Act, 1976; Broadcasting Services Act, 1993), and issues of defamation and privacy and the role of the judiciary. He concludes that a totally new or innovative approach by the Tanznaian courts in the determination of libel cases is badly needed. Notes, ref. (Slightly modified version published in: Eastern Africa Law Review, vol. 20/27, (2000), p. 32-48.)