2.5 Community broadcasting enjoys special promotion given its potential to broaden access by poor and rural communities. ANALYSIS: The NCC act stipulates that community radios should enjoy special support but this has never been put into practice except for the fact that NCC licence fees for community broadcasters are considerably lower than those for commercial broadcasters. There is no publicly funded agency or fund dedicated to support community broadcasting such as the Media Diversity Development Agency (MDDA) in South Africa. When government once tried to come to the rescue of a struggling community radio station in Eenhana the effort backfired. Everybody at the station then wanted to become civil servants instead of community broadcasters, and this caused even more trouble. The Namibian Community Radio Network (NCRN) is the only organisation that provides support, training and networking for community radio stations. It was initiated by MISA Namibia. SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: 2.6 2, 3, 2, 4, 1, 1, 3, 2 2.3 The editorial independence of print media published by a public authority is protected adequately against undue political interference. ANALYSIS: There is interference in the editorial independence of the state funded New Era and Namibian Press Agency (NAMPA), given the fact that both their boards are appointed solely by the minister of information and broadcasting. This and other factors lead to self-censorship by journalists in state print media with the result that New Era “is propagating the issues of the government.” SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: 2.7 1, 1, 1, 2, 1,1, 4, 3 1.8 Independent news agencies gather and distribute information for all media. ANALYSIS: The Namibian Press Agency (NAMPA) is state funded and controlled and not independent. There are no fully operational independent news agencies in Namibia. The Polytechnic of Namibia has launched a student news service by the name of Echoes News Service, but this has yet to become a fully operational, registered business entity. SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: So This Is Democracy? 2005 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 4, 1 1.9 -231- Media Institute of Southern Africa