Tanzania does not have extensive press freedom. Transparency in media ownership is a problem as well. This is making for a rather frustrating experience in attempting to map politics in Tanzania. While business people with close connections to the ruling party own lots of newspapers, self-censorship and opaque ownership structures make interpreting the news a bit of a challenge. Instead of naming people, articles use terms like “certain people.” Moreover, vague discussions of issues make it difficult to determine substantive differences on issues from personal vendettas. A free press and clear knowledge of who owns what would make my job a lot easier. Ugh!

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