No News is Bad News - Tanzania EJC has been working with its partner, the Tanzania Media Fund since early 2015 implementing data journalism courses for journalists and providing training, supporting data-driven story production and access to its on-line resources and data journalism handbook. These efforts have increased the use of data/statistics among trainees and overall awareness among media outlets. A try-out BASELINE workshop was conducted in Tanzania between 22-24 February. Together with similar workshops in Bangladesh and Indonesia, this was designed to obtain baseline information and simultaneously test and refine the instrument we are using for this purpose. The results of these three workshops are currently being processed, and the baseline information will be included in the next update. STRATEGY FOR L&A: EJC will implement activities focusing on creating data journalism experts and mainstreaming knowledge within Tanzanian newsrooms and training institutions; EJC will support Tanzania's contribution and participation within the larger, global open data movement and Open Data Partnership Programme; EJC will organise forums to reflect, take stock and set a course for future L&A actions on open data in the region; EJC will strengthen the capacity of media to interact and strategically network with CSOs and key international stakeholders involved in the open data movement. STRATEGY FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FOR L&A: EJC will partner with the Tanzania Media Fund to support L&A activities aimed at increasing government accountability, transparency, press freedom, access to open data and attention to gender based discrimination. This will be accomplished by focusing on the following key themes: Strengthen the capacity of Tanzanian journalists and media outlets to engage in data driven accountability journalism through training, mentorships and master classes, with special emphasis placed on engagement and recruitment of women journalists; Support and improve journalists' role as civil society watchdogs by increasing their capacity to produce high-quality investigative and accountability reporting and reporting on issues that directly challenge gender-norms and discrimination. GENDER EQUALITY will be approached through two kinds of interventions: Increasing awareness among BP organisations of the necessity of instituting gender policies and exploration of a developing a formal gender policy in order to ensure that current hiring practices, communications and all in-house materials/resources reflect gender sensitivity; Gender mainstreaming will be reflected in content production during capacity building on all levels: speakers, experts, sources of information and topics on gender will be highlighted and utilised in all interventions including small grants TORs programs. Specific safety/security situation of female journalist will also be focused on. SAFETY ASPECTS will be approached through two kinds of interventions: Safety and security measures (physical and cyber) will be mainstreamed into internal policies as well as external capacity building training materials; TMF will continue to play a ‘neutral platform’ role for press freedom/journalism safety/security civil society organisations to L&A on these issues. media professionals, national and rural media outlets, CSO stakeholders CONTEXT ANALYSIS: Tanzania is classified as a low-income country; ranked 159 out of 187 countries in the Human Development lndex. Although a multiparty state, it has been ruled by Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) since independence in 1961. Tanzania’s relative political stability has provided a solid foundation for economic growth, and raised its profile in the region and the world. The media industry in Tanzania has grown rapidly since its liberalisation in the early 1990s. The media sector now consists of a combination of actors with diverse interests. There are more than 800 registered newspapers, more than 120 radio stations and 26 registered TV stations with concentrated ownership by business tycoons, politicians and religious. The Freedom of the Press Index have categoriSed Tanzania as "partly free" since 2002, with little change in scores. Although there has recently been a move to address outdated media laws, two newly introduced bills - Media Services Act and Access to Information Act- have been widely criticiSed as draconian. The Electronic and Postal Communications Act is now used to suspend publications, which were free to publish online before the law was enacted. Access to information Bill has already passed the Parliament and is now waiting a Presidential signature for it to become law. The Media Services Bill, which was initially defeated, will be read for the second time in October 2016. The planned law is aimed to oversee the media’s professional and ethical conducts, licensing of journalists, confiscation of assets of offending media house and granting wide-ranging enter-and-search powers to junior police officers. PROBLEM ANALYSIS: The country has witnessed new laws being enacted such as the Statistics Act, Cybercrime Act and Access to Information Act. The Media Services Bill will be read again in the parliament before the end of 2016. Media stakeholders are not comfortable with some clauses as they impinge on freedom of expression. Once laws are passed in parliament, the media’s only recourse for appeal is to challenge them in the High Court. Some of the clauses in the Cybercrime Act for instance, are now being challenged in the High Court as unconstitutional. Financial and legal support is needed to challenge undemocratic laws in the High Court in order to ensure media and journalists to fulfil their role as change catalysts Tanzanian media content focuses largely on urban stories and political issues, giving ordinary citizens little opportunity to express their views. There is low usage and not much diversity in terms of sources and perspectives, limiting the media's ability to perform its watchdog role. Low capacity of journalists is a major part of the problem as well as a lack of influential women journalists. Strengthening media journalists’ ability to develop well researched, evidence-based reporting is crucial in order to serve the interest of the public and hold authorities to account. The media in Tanzania is facing lack of editorial independence, low professionalism and financial instability. Graduates often enter the job market with few practical skills and ill-equipped to analySe and creatively manipulate complex data to tell meaningful and engaging stories. Regular utiliSation of online resources and data remain stubbornly uncommon. Transforming the media sector needs to begin from inside the newsroom through mentorship programmes and training in quality media content production, business, marketing and newsroom management and leadership. Nurturing of young talented journalists and manufacturing of evidence-based stories would enhance professionalism, attract audience/readership, and increase revenues to improve financial stability. Attention to overall media sector sustainability can strengthen its editorial independence and professionalism.