As in any commercial and even non-commercial undertaking, financial stability is of importance in maintaining freedom in decision making (Anthony, 2009; Kilimwiko, 2001; Maugo, 2001, 2012; McChesney, 2004; Matumaini, 2009; Nangai, 2011; Rweyemamu, 2011; White, 2012). This applies with equal force to the Tanzanian media. Clearly, the growth of the advertising industry in Tanzania has aided the survival of the local media outlets (Rioba, 2008). This has resulted in the media enlarging and building the capacity of their marketing and advertising departments (Rizutto, 2008). The downside is that big advertisers can and do jeopardize the media’s editorial independence. Advertisers’ pressure results in shifts in the media’s first loyalty from society to advertisers (LHRC & ZLSC, 2013; Maugo, 2001, 2012; Nyamnjoh, 2004; MCT, 2011b, 2012; Shivji, 2011; White, 2012a, 2012b). In attempting to tease out the influence of big advertisers on editorial content of the Tanzanian print media, the present study focused on five widely-read but philosophically diverse newspapers. In-depth interviews were conducted with media managers/editors from the five newspapers - Mwananchi, Majira, Tanzania Daima, The African and The Guardian - to surface the attitude of these media managers towards reporting on big advertisers that were identified as Vodacom, Airtel, and Tigo. Apart from being national newspapers in terms of coverage, the sampled newspapers have wide circulation and are privately-owned media organizations. The study also involved content analyses of the July 2010 to June 2013 editions of these newspapers to determine how news stories on these big advertisers were framed. The study's findings indicate that news story frames favour big advertisers and negates “editorial independence” due to the media's dependence on big advertisers in spite of managers claims that their primary loyalty is to the public. Based on these findings, it is recommended that media professionals abide by their codes of conducts in order to increase credibility of their media organisations, attract audiences and as a corollary advertising revenue. Further research on the framing of stories on big advertisers and the issue of ownership is also recommended.