SECTOR 4 When launching a complaint through this procedure, the aggrieved party must agree not to take legal action. The Ombudsman, Media Complaints Committee or the appeal judge will be able to order that a correction or apology be published or broadcast. Fines cannot be imposed. “If people are after money, they must go to court.” Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country minimally meets aspects of the indicator. 3 Country meets many aspects of indicator but progress may be too recent to judge. 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator. 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator and has been doing so over time. Average score: 1.9 (2005 = 2.3; 2007 = 2.0) 4.2 The standard of reporting follows the basic principles of accuracy and fairness. Analysis: The standard of reporting in Namibia, overall, has improved over the past few years and “most stories are fairly accurate and balanced”, but it is still “not satisfactory”. The tabloid Informanté was criticised for publishing “20 per cent truth, 80 per cent sensation”. The fact that the newspaper has lost numerous defamation cases in the past two years is indicative of inaccurate reporting. The tabloid publishing an article headlined ‘Sex tourism’ alongside a photograph of a Himba woman was mentioned as an instance of grave unfairness. “Informanté does not have a good name. They tend to bring out some big stories, but they don’t do it very accurately and tend to take a stance, and ‘hang’ public figures before they have all the facts.” Media practitioners often fall short in exhausting all possible sources, often due to time pressure to meet deadlines. This results in one-sided articles. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NAMIBIA 2009 59