IPP Media was this weekend shining in the Excellence in Journalism Awards Tanzania (EJAT) 2023, with five of its journalists emerging prize winners at a ceremony held in Dar es Salaam.

Sanula Athanas was declared winner in education reporting in the open category, while Halfan Chusi won in the investigative reporting category while fellow Nipashe reporter Christina Mwakangale secured second place in the environmental and water sources protection reporting category,

Simon Rogers and Benjamin Mzinga from ITV were awarded in the television category for human rights and good governance reporting.

Gracing the awards, Deputy Speaker Mussa Azzan Zungu encouraged journalists to stick to professionalism and accuracy to help mitigate conflicts and promote peace in society.

“Journalism is more than a machete; if a pen is misused, it can undermine the peace of a nation. Journalists should concentrate on the truth, especially in today’s technologically advanced world,” the veteran legislator noted.

He also urged media stakeholders to table to the government legal provisions that infringe on aspirations of the industry, for review, asserting that the legislature is ready to create an enabling environment for journalists to perform their duties effectively. 

“The government is responsive, and Parliament will act fairly to meet the needs of the public, as journalists are part of this process,” he said, praising journalists who met the criteria for the awards after passing through a panel of judges led by prominent activist and ex-Daily News staff member Halima Sharif.

The chairperson for the EJAT 2023 panel noted several challenges encountered during analysis of the 1,135 submissions, particularly regarding press conferences as sources.

“Many of the submissions were based on press conferences. Among the criteria we considered were those with accurate and specific sources. It is essential for reports to be based on reliable sources,”she stated.

Ernest Sungura, the Media Council of Tanzania (MCI) executive secretary who chaired the awards organising committee, announced an increase in submitted works for 2023, reaching 1,135 compared to 893 for EJAT 2022, 606 in 2021 and 396 in 2020.

City journalists led this time with 290 entries, followed by Arusha with 81, Mwanza with 74, Iringa with 72 and Mtwara with 49 submissions, whereas Pemba North had 36, Pemba South 43 and Zanzibar Urban West  had 29o submissions.

Of the 72 journalists participating in the competition, 45 were men and 27 were women, just over a third of all entries at 37.5 percent. The nominees included 25 from print media, 14 from television, 13 from online media and 20 from radio, the key organiser affirmed.