MCT, six associations agree to institute annual media awards

The Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) and six media associations have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish prestigious awards to acknowledge the excellence of journalism in Tanzania.
MCT executive secretary Kajubi Mukajala said in Dar es Salaam that Tanzanian journalists working in print and electronic outlets and freelancers would be eligible by submitting their work to the awards committee for consideration. He said the criteria for judging individual category awards would be worked out by experts in the field but would include general observations on whether the article or programme had provided new knowledge and understanding on issues which are interesting, attractive and presented in journalistic style.
Other criteria would be ethical considerations including truth, accuracy, decency and balance.
Mukajanga said MCT had appointed a local media consulting firm, Shaba and Associates, to manage and organize the annual Journalist of the Year awards and an agreement between them was signed recently in Dar es Salaam . According to the firm`s chief executive officer, Richard Shaba, the agreement aimed at putting in place a mechanism that would recognize and reward journalists annually.
Under the agreement, MCT and its partners would each year recognize and reward excellence in journalism by giving awards to individual journalists specifically aimed at encouraging professionalism and ethical reporting in the media. Apart from recognizing and awarding excellence in journalism, MCT and its partners wished to explore the possibility of recognizing individuals and organizations who had contributed in various ways towards upholding and promoting press freedom and freedom of expression in general.
The media organizations collaborating with MCT are the Media Institute for Southern Africa-Tanzania (MISA-Tan), the Tanzania Media Women\'s Association (TAMWA) and Tanzania Sports Writers Association.
Others are Journalists Environmental Association of Tanzania (JET), Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF) and the Association of Journalists Against Aids of Tanzania (AJAAT).