Media freedom in Tanzania, in numbers

For World Press Freedom Day, (which is today), here are two charts drawing on global indexes of media freedom:

First, US-based Freedom House released their Freedom of the Press 2014 report this week. Here’s the data for East Africa, going back to 2010:

From Freedom House, lower scores mean more freedom

The report includes just one line about Tanzania, though a longer analysis will be published later:

“Tanzania experienced a 4-point decline, from 51 to 55, due to a significant uptick in attacks against the press and increased evidence of pressure on journalists by editors and owners to report along political lines, both of which have led to more self-censorship.”

Second, from the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders):

From the World Press Freedom Index (RSF/RWB), lower numbers are better

This chart shows a steep drop in Press Freedom in Tanzania in 2013. According to the 2013 report,

“Tanzania sank more than 30 places because, in the space of four months, a journalist was killed while covering a demonstration and another was murdered.”

In both cases, the trend in Tanzania is clearly downwards.