No manifesto, don’t blame the media

HERE we go again. Another campaign season, another round of political parties pointing fingers at journalists for not covering their rallies or simply that they are bias.

The drama is so predictable, we are almost tempted to add it to the election calendar: Nomination Day, Campaign Launch, Media Blame Day.

Let us get one thing straight: Journalists are not magicians. They can’t conjure a story where there is no substance.

Nor are they celestial beings with the gift of divine insight. If a party hides its manifesto under lock and key or whispers its policies in a village somewhere only accessible by its ‘chosen few’, how exactly do you expect the media to cover it? The press doesn’t attend your rallies to guess what you meant by “hope” and “change.” If your party slogan is as vague as “Better Days Ahead” but you offer no plan, no roadmap and certainly no explanation-guess what? You won’t make the headlines.

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A vague promise is not a policy, and shouting “We are the future!” into a microphone doesn’t make it so. And let us not even get started on those “briefcase parties.” You know the ones. But come campaign season, they are shocked that the media is not giving them the same airtime as major parties. Here is the thing: The media doesn’t report on ghosts. If your presence is limited to three wards and a WhatsApp group, why would national outlets follow you around like you are a rock star?

Put in the work. Build the presence. Develop policies. Then maybe you will get the coverage you think you deserve. Some parties are so allergic to serious engagement that their entire strategy could be summed up as “flatter the voters and hope for the best.” One recent gem? A party boldly promised that once elected, it would take all Tanzanian journalists to Canada.

Now, we are not sure who cooked up that idea, maybe someone really missed maple syrup, but here is a wild thought: Tanzanians are probably more interested in better roads that don’t swallow their cars, hospitals that don’t run out of medicine and taps that actually pour water.

Flying the entire press corps overseas might be a logistical flex, but it is hardly going to win hearts and minds outside a newsroom. The irony is, the same parties that avoid publicising their manifestos or holding serious policy discussions are the first to cry foul when the media doesn’t treat them like serious contenders.

It is like showing up to an interview in your pajamas and blaming the employer for not hiring you.

Dear political parties: You want coverage? Give the media something to cover. Make your policies public. Engage the electorate beyond tribal or regional lines.

Show you have a plan to improve lives not just passports for journalists. And if your idea of nation-building involves chartering flights to Canada, at least try to explain how that solves the price of maize, addresses hawkers menace in the streets.

In the end, journalism is a mirror, not a magician’s wand. If your image doesn’t show up, maybe it is time to stop blaming the mirror and start improving the reflection.