Namibia Press Agency

{{short description|National news agency of Namibia}}

File:Namibia Press Agency Logo.svg

The Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA) is the national news agency of the Republic of Namibia. It was founded in 1987 under the name Namibia Press Association as a SWAPO partisan press agency,{{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}} and resuscitated after independence under its current name in 1991. Its operation is regulated by the Namibia Press Agency Act of 1992.Rothe, Andreas (2010): Media System and News Selection in Namibia. p. 70 The state owned agency is responsible for news distribution and picture services to local and international customers.{{cite book

|last=Shrivastava

|first=KM

|title=News agencies from pigeon to internet

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHujEBLJcvIC&q=%22was+established+in+1991+as+a+national+news+agency+responsible+for+the+distribution%22&pg=PA220

|accessdate=6 June 2011

|year=2007

|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd

|isbn=978-1-932705-67-6}} Up until now, the agency offers text and picture services, but no audio or video material. About 20 journalists and 30 other staff members work for NAMPA. Aside from its Windhoek headquarters, the agency has offices in Swakopmund, Gobabis, Ongwediva/Oshakati, Opuwo and Rundu. Most media in Namibia rely on the services of NAMPA, especially for international news.

In October 2002, the Committee to Protect Journalists asserted that NAMPA has "...long practiced self-censorship on contentious issues", while also accusing the Agency of being a government mouthpiece.[http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2002/Namibia_oct02/Namibia_oct02.html Undoing press freedom in Namibia] October 2002