SECTOR 4 On the whole, panellists agreed that the media should do better in following the basic principles of accuracy and fairness. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: Score of previous years: ✓✓ ✓ ✓✓✓ ✓ ✓✓✓✓✓ 3.0 2005: 3.0; 2007: 3.6; 2009: 3.3; 2011: 2.5; 2015: 3.1 4.2 The media follow voluntary codes of professional standards, which are enforced by independent/ non-statutory bodies that deal with complaints from the public Most media houses follow the Code of Conduct developed by the EFN in 2007. The self-regulatory code is enforced by the media ombudsman (who is appointed and paid an allowance by the EFN) and provides for a complaints commission and appeals process. It also deals with issues such as ethics, gifts, principles and around how trips are paid for. The enforcement of the code is only applicable to members of the EFN. ‘Our code hasn’t formally been endorsed though and the EFN Board is taking this further.’ CRAN provides regulation with respect to the broadcasting sector and NBC has its own code of ethics. Initially, the EFN Code of Conduct only dealt with complaints related to the print media, with CRAN focusing on broadcast regulation. However, the Communications Act, in a first for the world, fundamentally endorses self- and co- regulation, thereby creating the space for such. ‘The code is very unique and is currently used as a model for the rest of the world and Africa; in particular because unlike other codes, it regulates all forms of media – print, online and broadcasting. There is a challenge though in terms of freelancers who don’t belong to any media house, as there have been some serious complaints against some freelancers: but the code doesn’t apply to these guys.’ Other loopholes with respect to the enforcement of the code include newspapers such as Informanté, which operate under the radar in terms of broadly applied codes of conduct in that it is not a member of the EFN; CRAN’s Code of Conduct is 49 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NAMIBIA 2018