the debate around a code of conduct/ethics, and has had some success this year with agreement to participate in such a meeting from all the country’s editors, through the Editors’ Forum, with the exception – not surprisingly - of Namibia Today, the SWAPO newspaper. Namibia Today apparently objects to three clauses of the code of conduct that relate to issues of partiality, balance and objectivity. After its launch in 2002, the code of conduct, developed by MISA, was publicly denounced by Namibia Today and thereafter received very damaging publicity on the NBC’s current affairs television programme ‘Talk of the Nation’. As a result of this, together with the fact that MISA was driving the process and was seen to be generally antagonistic towards the government, the code of conduct was not adopted by the media sector. Reviving the self-regulatory body is regarded as a priority to prevent the government from enforcing a state-controlled regulatory body. There was consensus that MISA and the Editors’ Forum should pursue the issue, without waiting for the participation of Namibia Today. A media council failed to take off in the mid-1990s, while the position of a media ombudsman, created in 2002 to monitor adherence to the code of conduct, became defunct a few months later due to a lack of public response. In future, the sustainability of the media council should be addressed first. There was consensus that a media council is important to protect the professional integrity of the media, and that an advocacy campaign around the formation of both the media council and the code of conduct needs to be undertaken. SCORES: Individual scores: 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 4, 3, 1, 3 Average score: 2.0 (2005 = 2.3) 4.2 The standard of reporting follows the basic principles of accuracy and fairness. ANALYSIS: The media’s reporting appeared to be accurate and fair, despite some instances to the contrary. It was noted that court reports in the daily newspapers are especially accurate because they are written by “senior and very skilled journalists”. Regular corrections in the daily newspapers are indicative of the media attempting to be accurate, while journalists also make it clear when they have not been able to get comment. “The media is regularly castigated for not being balanced and fair and having a hidden agenda, but this might possibly be a result of people in high places not making themselves available for comment.” It is important to take into account the difficulties surrounding access to public information in Namibia and how this impacts on the media’s ability to report accurately and fairly. So This Is Democracy? 2007 -214- Media Institute of Southern Africa