Tanzania, April 10 -- Ardent followers of international news should by this time have noticed that in big press conferences at the White House in Washington, 10 Downing Street in London and in developed countries in general, it is usually senior, long-serving reporters who ask questions. No wonder they normally ask tough and probing questions.

In contrast, press conferences in Tanzania are usually dominated by young journalists, some of whom are still very early in their careers.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would have been much better if a sizeable number of veteran journalists were in their midst to provide them with on-the-job coaching, or mentoring.

It's thus not surprising that sometimes there is a general lack of in...