A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Public Administration (MPA) of Mzumbe University 2014Independent media is the lifeblood for a domestic accountable and transparent government and democracy. In Tanzania particularly, the media has not only influenced social economic development but it has also been very significant in influencing issues of governance like corruption and the ethical or political conduct of those in power. Despite, this growth in the media outreach in Tanzania, the media industry is faced with challenges including, operation on outdated legal framework, oppression by the state and exposure of journalists to criminal justice, corruption and lack of absolute media accountability. The main aim of the study was to examine the role of the media in influencing public accountability in Tanzania through a reflection how the media networks, the strategies used by the media, the policy actions used by the media in influencing public accountability, the challenges faced by the media in influencing public accountability in Tanzania and identification of the possible solutions to the challenges. The findings of the study indicate that the media uses networking forums in influencing public accountability through the media Council of Tanzania and other local and international media centre and this is equivalent to 44.6%, the media uses strategies to influence public accountability for instance through education and demand lobbying and all this is equivalent to 60.9%. Additionally, the media is involved in policy actions that guide the government on how to deal with issues of public accountability and their involvement is equivalent to 49.2% for instance the formulation of the corrupt Act, human rights and good governance Act and the elections expenses as well. Further the media is faced with challenges of technical and political nature and these include operation on outdated laws and policies, oppression of the media by the government and putting in place laws that restrict media privacy and publication of media discoveries and this id equivalent 100. Additionally there are possible solutions within which the challenges can be vii controlled and addressed which is equivalent to 57.2 and thy include review and enforcement of media friendly laws, development of skills for media personnel and effective net working of the media institutions as well.