SECTOR 2 One Africa has 28 transmitters around the country and claims to be accessible to more than 90 per cent of the population in Namibia. The station’s signal is also available via satellite.8 TBN is licensed by the Namibian Communications Commission as a community television station. It is, however, American-owned and a rebroadcast of an American faith channel and thus is not owned by a Namibian, Christian community. Media ownership Schenzen Communications from China currently owns 36 per cent of the shares in One Africa. A South African company, Telkom Media holds 14 per cent, while the remaining 51 per cent are in Namibian hands: senior One Africa management as well as Namibian black economic empowerment investment companies. A report on media ownership in Namibia, commissioned by MISA and completed in June 2007, pointed to various cross-ownerships in the media market.9 For example, One Africa shareholder and MD Paul Van Schalkwyk also has shares in Venture Publications, which owns Flamingo Magazine and Travel News Namibia, INTV Film and Video Productions and the advertising agency Advantage McCann. Fresh FM, Radio Kudu and Omulunga Radio are also all in the same stable of stations, with MDs also being shareholders in their respective stations. In May 2009, The Namibian sold its shares in Free Press Printers, a joint-venture launched in 2006 between The Namibian and the Trustco Group, publishers of Informanté. Currently The Namibian is being printed by Newsprint Namibia, a company within the Democratic Media Holdings (DMH) group, owners of Republikein, Allgemeine Zeitung, Namibia Sun and Radio 99. Newsprint Namibia and John Meinert Printing are the two dominant printers in Namibia, with Newsprint now printing all the daily newspapers, as well as the Namibia Sun. The Windhoek Observer changed ownership during 2009 following the death of its founding editor Hannes Smith. It is now owned by Paragon Investments, headed by pro-SWAPO businessman Lazarus Jacobs and Desmond Amunyela. This led to a dramatic change in its political orientation from being a right-wing paper to a pro-SWAPO publication. The Paragon group also has interests in the hospitality, investment, retail and property sector, and owns the advertising agency, TBWA Hunt Lascaris Namibia.10 8 http://www.oneafrica.tv/node/7 9 Media Ownership and Legislation in the Republic of Namibia, 1990-2007 by Martin Buch Larsen. Windhoek, Namibia. June 2007. 10 http://www.paragonnamibia.com/new/group_structure.html AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NAMIBIA 2009 29