Mass media in Namibia

Mass media in Namibia includes radio, television, and online and print formats.

Overview

Although Namibia's population is fairly small, the country has a diverse choice of media; in 2010, two TV stations, 19 radio stations (without counting community stations), 5 daily newspapers, several weeklies and special publications compete for the attention of the audience. As of 2014, Namibia had 3 television stations, 13 newspapers, and 25 radio stations.{{sfn|Falola|2015}} Additionally, a mentionable amount of foreign media, especially South African, is available. Online media are mostly based on print publication contents. Namibia has a state-owned Press Agency, called NAMPA.Rothe, Andreas (2010): Media System and News Selection in Namibia. p. 14-96 Overall {{circa}} 500 journalists work in the country.{{Cite news | title=40 journalists lose jobs since 2016 | last1=Kahiurika | first1=Ndanki | last2=Ngutjinazo | first2=Okeri | newspaper=The Namibian | date=22 January 2019 | page=6 | url=https://www.namibian.com.na/74849/read/40-journalists-lose-jobs-since-2016}}

Compared to neighbouring countries, Namibia has a large degree of media freedom. Over the past years, the country usually ranked in the upper quarter of the Press Freedom Index of Reporters without Borders, reaching position 21 in 2010, being on par with Canada and the best-positioned African country.{{cite web |url=http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2010,1034.html |title=Press Freedom Index 2010 |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124050702/http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2010%2C1034.html |archive-date=24 November 2010 |access-date=12 December 2012}} The African Media Barometer shows similarly positive results.{{citation needed|date=June 2013}} However, as in other countries, there is still mentionable influence of representatives of state and economy on media in Namibia. In 2009, Namibia dropped to position 36 on the Press Freedom Index.{{cite web |url=http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=1001 |title=Press Freedom Index 2009 |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |accessdate=2017-08-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128213104/http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=1001 |archivedate=28 January 2012 |df=dmy-all }} In 2013, it was 19th.{{cite web|title=Press Freedom Index 2013|url=http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=1054|accessdate=24 June 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727023534/http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=1054|archivedate=27 July 2014|df=dmy-all}} In 2014 it ranked 22nd{{cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014 |title=World Press Freedom Index |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |accessdate=25 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214120404/http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php |archivedate=14 February 2014 |df=dmy-all }} In 2021, Namibia ranked 24th in the world{{Cite web|date=2021-05-03|title=World press freedom, 30 years after the Declaration of Windhoek|url=https://thegroundtruthproject.org/world-press-freedom-30-years-after-the-declaration-of-windhoek/|access-date=2021-08-18|website=The GroundTruth Project|language=en-US}}

Media and journalists in Namibia are represented by the Namibian chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa and the Editors' Forum of Namibia. An independent media ombudsman was appointed in 2009 to prevent a state-controlled media council.

History

The first newspaper in Namibia was the German-language Windhuker Anzeiger, founded 1898 by attorney George Wasserfall. It mainly reported on movements of the German imperial forces, the Schutztruppe. After the establishment of the newspaper the German colonial administration used it as a government gazette.{{Cite book | title=The Alternative Press in Namibia 1960–1990 | last=Heuva | first=William Edward | publisher=Rhodes University | date=November 1996 | url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/145041461.pdf}}

During German rule, the newspapers mainly reflected the living reality and the view of the white German-speaking minority. The black majority was ignored or depicted as a threat. During South African rule, the white bias continued, with mentionable influence of the Pretoria government on the "South West African" media system. Independent newspapers were seen as a menace to the existing order, critical journalists threatened.von Nahmen, Carsten (2001): Deutschsprachige Medien in NamibiaLinks, Frederico (2006): We write what we like: The role of independent print media and independent reporting in Namibia

Publications

File:Windhoek Observer offices.jpg newspaper, 2011]]

Current daily newspapers are the private publications The Namibian (English and other languages), Die Republikein (Afrikaans), Allgemeine Zeitung (German) and Namibian Sun (English) as well as the state-owned New Era (predominantly English). Except for the most widely circulated newspaper, The Namibian,{{sfn|Falola|2015}} which is owned by a trust, the other mentioned private newspapers are part of the Democratic Media Holdings.

Weekly publications are the tabloid Informanté owned by TrustCo, Windhoek Observer, Namibia Economist, as well as the regional Namib Times. Current affairs magazines include Insight Namibia, Vision2030 Focus magazine{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} and Prime FOCUS. Monthly publications are Sister Namibia magazine, the longest running NGO magazine in Namibia and Namibia Sport, the only national sport magazine. Furthermore, the print market is complemented with party publications, student newspapers and PR publications.

Radio

{{See also|List of radio stations in Africa#Namibia|Telecommunications in Namibia#Radio and television}}

Radio was introduced in 1969 with Radio Owambo, an FM channel destined for the indigenous Ovambo people. However, people in Namibia already owned short wave radio sets to receive international channels, such that FM radio broadcasts were initially not widely received.{{cite journal |last1=Mosia |first1=Lebona |last2=Riddle |first2=Charles |last3=Zaffiro |first3=Jim |year=1994 |title=From Revolutionary to Regime Radio: Three Decades of Nationalist Broadcasting in Southern Africa |journal=Africa Media Review |publisher=African Council for Communication Education |volume=8 |issue=1 |url=http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/African%20Journals/pdfs/africa%20media%20review/vol8no1/jamr008001002.pdf}}

Today the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) is the public broadcaster and offers a "National Radio" in English and nine language services in locally spoken languages. The nine private radio stations in the country are mainly English-language channels, except for Kosmos 94.1 (Afrikaans) and Radio Omulunga (Ovambo).

;Current

[https://www.99fm.com.na/ 99FM - Namibia]
Kanaal 7/Channel 7
Katutura Community Radio{{sfn|Europa|2003}}
JACC FM
NBC{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13890725 |accessdate= 29 July 2017 |title= Namibia Profile: Media |work= BBC News |date= 23 June 2011 }}
UNAM Radio, University of Namibia
[https://www.radiowave.com.na/ Radiowave FM]
Fresh FM
Kosmos FM
Eagle FM
NBC Local Language Raio
[https://hitradio.com.na/]

;Defunct

Voice of Namibia, 1966-1990

Television

Television service in Namibia started in 1981 with rebroadcasts of programs of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The service was at least a day late as the cassettes had to be flown in from South Africa, and it was available only in the capital Windhoek. Later TV was also available in Oshakati and in Walvis Bay, and over time local content was added.{{cite web

|url=http://www.klausdierks.com/Chronology/123.htm

|title=Chronology of Namibian History, 1981

|last=Dierks

|first=Klaus

|author-link=Klaus Dierks

|publisher=klausdierks.com

|accessdate=30 October 2017}}

Local TV Channels:

References

Bibliography

{{cite book|author=William Heuva|title=Media and Resistance Politics: The Alternative Press in Namibia, 1960-1990|year=2001|publisher=P. Schlettwein |location=Basel |series={{illm|Basler Afrika Bibliographien|de}} |isbn=978-3-908193-10-4

}}

{{cite book |author=Carsten von Nahmen |title=Deutschsprachige Medien in Namibia: vom Windhoeker Anzeiger zum Deutschen Hörfunkprogramm der Namibian Broadcasting Corporation, 1898-1998 |isbn=999164024X |publisher= {{illm|Namibia Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft|de}} |location= Windhoek |language=de |year= 2001

}}

{{cite book |title=Africa South of the Sahara 2003 |series=Regional Surveys of the World |publisher= Europa Publications |year=2003 |issn= 0065-3896 |chapter= Namibia: Directory: the Press |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1KBP7QbalX0C |page= 744+

|isbn=9781857431315 |ref= {{harvid|Europa|2003}}

}} (Includes broadcasting)

{{cite book |title=Media environment in Namibia, 1990-2007 |author= Martin Buch Larsen |location=Windhoek |publisher= Media Institute of Southern Africa |isbn=9789994568239 |year= 2007

}}

{{cite book |title=Media System and News Selections in Namibia |author= Andreas Rothe |location=Münster |publisher=LIT Verlag |isbn=9783643111944 |year= 2011

}}

{{cite book|editor1=Toyin Falola|editor-link=Toyin Falola|editor2=Daniel Jean-Jacques|title=Africa: an Encyclopedia of Culture and Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjoVCwAAQBAJ |publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-666-9 |year= 2015

|chapter= Namibia: Media |page=909

|ref= {{harvid|Falola|2015}}

}}

{{citation |url= https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/namibia |title= Namibia |work=Freedom of the Press |oclc=57509361 |year=2015 |publisher=Freedom House |location=USA

|ref= {{harvid|Freedom House|2015}}

}}

External links

{{cite web |url= http://library.stanford.edu/africa-south-sahara/browse-topic/news-country |editor=Karen Fung, African Studies Association |title= News (by country): Namibia |work=Africa South of the Sahara |via=Stanford University |location=USA |quote=Annotated directory }}
DMOZ. Namibia: [https://dmoztools.net/Regional/Africa/Namibia/News_and_Media/ News and Media]

Namibia