Staff of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) marked World Press Day with a meeting that focused on media ethics, press freedom and self-regulation. Reporters, editors and executives discussed the role of the media in serving the public and preserving credibility.

Lazarus Jacobs, the Chairperson of NBC’s Board of Directors, said the media’s duty is not to expose people but to tell the truth. “We’re not here to expose anybody. We are here to tell the truth, the inconvenient truth, the uncomfortable truth, because at the centre of the work that we are doing is credibility,” he said. Jakobs added that commercial media must serve all citizens, whether urban or rural, rich or poor, majority or minority, and reflect society’s diversity by providing educational content, preserving culture and language, and ensuring marginalised voices are heard.

Quoting Dr Martin Luther King, Jacobs warned that media freedom must be demanded rather than passively accepted. “Freedom will not be voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed. Freedom, media freedom, won't be voluntarily given to us. We must demand it,” he said.

Namibian Ombudsman Sadrag Shihomeka addressed the media code of ethics, stressing the need for accountability when offences are repeated. “The code made it clear that if a media house keeps on repeating and committing the same offence several times, that media needs to be unified,” he said.

NBC Director General Menesia Muinjo highlighted the country’s strong press freedom ranking as a national achievement in which the broadcaster plays a key role. “Press freedom and the country's ranking are national achievements. And in that national achievement, we play such a key role in it,” Muinjo said, noting NBC’s contribution over the 35 years since independence.