Bachelor of Journalism and Media Technology Honours

Faculty of Computing and Informatics

Department of Journalism and Media Technology

Thesis Title: An analysis of the benefits and challenges of press commercializing: A case study into
Nampa’s financial problems and its commercialisation process

By: Josephina Tutaleni Simeon

216068517

Mini-thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of
Journalism and Media Technology Honours at the Namibia University of Science and Technology

Supervisor: Dr Wanja Njuguna

2023
DECLARATION OF ORIGINAL WORK

I, Josephina Tutaleni Simeon, declare that this mini-thesis titled “An analysis of the benefits and
challenges of press commercializing: A case study into Nampa’s financial problems and its
commercialisation process” is my own unaided work. Any assistance that I have received has been
duly acknowledged in the thesis. It is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Bachelor of Journalism and Media Technology Honours degree at the Namibia University of
Science and Technology. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination at this or
any other University.

Signature: ____________________ Date: ________________________

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AUTHENTICATION OF THE THESIS

I certify that this candidate has successfully completed all the research work for this degree and that:

1. the thesis conforms to NUST postgraduate rules as stipulated in the Yearbook 2022 and
submission of thesis for higher degrees;
2. the thesis includes a certificate indicating the extent to which the research has been
conducted by the candidate;
3. the thesis is properly presented and is prima facie worthy of submission;
4. instances of inadequate presentations were pointed out to candidate for corrections before
the thesis was submitted;
5. the candidate has completed an approved programme of study and research as required;
6. an abstract of not more than 300 words has been included in the thesis; and
7. soft copies of the thesis have been submitted to the NUST library’s open access digital archive.

Name of Supervisor:

Signature: ______________________________

Date: ______________________________

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RETENTION OF THESIS

I, Josephina Tutaleni Simeon, being a candidate for the Bachelor of Journalism and Media Technology
Honours degree accept the requirements of Namibia University of Science and Technology relating to
the retention and use of this thesis deposited in the Library.

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library will be
accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions
established by the Librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of theses.

…………………………. ………………………………..

Signature Date

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DEDICATION

I would like to thank God, my Heavenly Father for the strength and guidance in completing this mini-
thesis. I admit it wasn’t the easiest, but I persevered. I dedicate this thesis to my parents who have
been my pillar of strength and my friends, who supported me on this journey. I appreciate every
support I got.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge and appreciate my supervisor Dr Wanja Njuguna. Dr Njuguna instilled
hope and confidence in me during the execution of this study. I carried out this study during a hard
time in my life and she stood with me throughout. I also recognize the Nampa participants who
heeded to my call to participate in the study.

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ABSTRACT

Media commercialisation is an exercise that has been practiced by state media all over the world to
generate revenue for their financially ailing institutions and or to establish dominance in the market.
The practice can be dated back to the nineteenth century when the costs of running newspapers
started to increase and called for new ways of news gathering and processing as well as the
introduction of high-speed technologies to run the process (Bounds & Jagmohan, 2008, p. 87). This
has since become common in Africa with some countries such as Zambia’s national broadcaster,
Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), having been commercialised in 1993 to establish
the newly elected government’s dominance (Banda, 2006). The new government, the Movement for
Multiparty Democracy (MMD) replaced the United National Independence Party (UNIP) at the time.
The overall aim of this study was to investigate the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa)’s financial
challenges that have birthed commercialisation considerations. Using case study design and
qualitative research methodology, the study analysed the potential benefits and challenges that
commercialisation would have on the execution of Nampa’s mandates in a democratic Namibia. The
study found that Nampa’s commercialisation consideration is not merely a decision taken by the
agency, but it is a directive from government. Government directed Nampa to start making money
off its services to supplement its annual subvention from the state. The study also found that this
transition commenced. Nampa is in the process of transforming into a commercial news agency. This
transition is envisioned to present entrepreneurial opportunities to the agency. These opportunities
include partnering with local and international corporates and sponsorships. Similarly,
commercialisation could present challenges such is distortion in media content and encourage
biasness towards those who fund the agency. This research recommends that for this transition to
take effect, Nampa needs to address a few issues including increasing its men power, investing in
advanced communication technologies, and amendments to the standing editorial policy needs to
be made to incorporate its commercialisation element.

Keywords: Commercialisation, financial challenges, Namibia Press Agency, state media

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AV- Audio Visual

CRAN- Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia

MICT- Ministry of Information and Communication Technology

MMD- Movement for Multiparty Democracy

NAMPA- Namibia Press Agency

NBC- Namibian Broadcasting Corporation

PR- Public Relations

SABC- South African Broadcasting Corporation

TV- Television

UNIP- United National Independence Party

ZNBC- Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION OF ORIGINAL WORK .............................................................................................. ii

AUTHENTICATION OF THE THESIS ................................................................................................ iii
RETENTION OF THESIS ................................................................................................................. iv
DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................ v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................... vi
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................. vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................................ viii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction to chapter: ................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Background of the study ................................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Statement of the problem ................................................................................................................ 3
1.4 Research Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 3
1.5 Research Questions .......................................................................................................................... 4
1.6 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................................... 4
1.7 Delimitation of the research ............................................................................................................. 5
1.8 Limitation of the Research ................................................................................................................ 5
1.9 Definition of key terms ..................................................................................................................... 6
1.9.1 Commercialisation ................................................................................................................. 6
1.9.2 Commercial enterprise .......................................................................................................... 6
1.9.4 Marketization ......................................................................................................................... 6
1.10 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 7
2.1 Introduction to chapter..................................................................................................................... 7
2.2 History of media commercialisation ................................................................................................. 7
2.3 Globalisation and media commercialisation..................................................................................... 8
2.4 Reasons for commercialisation ......................................................................................................... 9
2.5 What is needed to commercialize?................................................................................................. 10
2.6 Gaps identified ................................................................................................................................ 11
2.7 Theoretical framework ................................................................................................................... 12
2.8 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 15
3.1 Introduction to chapter................................................................................................................... 15

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3.2 Research Design .............................................................................................................................. 15
3.3 Research Paradigm ......................................................................................................................... 15
3.4 Research Approach ......................................................................................................................... 16
3.5 Study Location................................................................................................................................. 17
3.6 Study Population and Sampling ...................................................................................................... 17
3.7 Data collection techniques and procedure ..................................................................................... 18
3.7.1 Interviews............................................................................................................................. 18
3.7.2 Content analysis ................................................................................................................... 19
3.7.3 Data collection instruments ................................................................................................. 19
3.8 Data analysis technique and procedure ......................................................................................... 19
3.9 Trustworthiness and validity ........................................................................................................... 20
3.10 Ethical Considerations................................................................................................................... 21
3.11 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND DATA ANALYSIS .................................................. 22
4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 22
4.2 Participant’s characteristics ............................................................................................................ 22
4.3 Genesis of Nampa’s financial challenges ........................................................................................ 23
4.4 Impacts of national budgetary constraints on Nampa ................................................................... 25
4.5 Nampa’s commercial consideration and its process ...................................................................... 26
4.6 Services Nampa will commercialize ................................................................................................ 28
4.7 Benefits and challenges of media commercialisation .................................................................... 29
4.7.1 Challenges of media commercialisation .............................................................................. 29
4.7.2 Benefits of media commercialisation .................................................................................. 31
4.6 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................................... 31
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................. 34
5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 34
5.2 Summary of the study ..................................................................................................................... 34
5.3 Correlation between findings and research objectives .................................................................. 34
5.4 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 36
5.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 37
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 38
APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................. 43
Ethical Clearance Certificate ......................................................................................................... 43
Permission letter to conduct research from Nampa .................................................................... 44

x
Consent form ................................................................................................................................ 45
Turnitin Receipt............................................................................................................................. 50
Data Collection Tools .................................................................................................................... 50

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1: Breakdown of Nampa subscriber fees

Subscriber Amount paid per month (N$)

Namibia Future Media Holdings N$10249.87

Hit Radio Namibia N$2870.02

Chanel 7 N$7000.00

MICT N$26482.04

Mula Mobile/ Shipi FM N$3500. 00

NBC N$72151.84

New Era Newspaper N$1600.00

Information provided by Nampa.

xii
Figure 1: Nampa’s budgetary allocation

Nampa's budget allocation

15.2

15

14.8
Allocation (N$)

14.6

14.4

14.2

14

13.8
2018.5 2019 2019.5 2020 2020.5 2021 2021.5
Years

xiii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction to chapter:

Chapter one introduces the study. It discusses the background of the study, problem statement,
objectives, and research questions, significance of the study, delimitations, limitations, definition of
key terms and the chapter summary.

1.2 Background of the study

The National Press Agency was founded in 1987 under the name ‘Namibia Press Association’ as
SWAPO’s partisan press agency (The Namibia Press Agency, 2021). The name was later changed after
independence in 1991 to what it is known as today, Namibia Press Agency (Nampa). With its
headquarters in Windhoek, Nampa has been having offices in Rundu, Opuwo, Khorixas,
Ongwediva/Oshakati, Gobabis and Swakopmund. However, four of these regional offices have closed
down as they were occupied by freelance journalists who have been relieved of their duties at the
agency.

Nampa was established under an Act of Parliament of the Republic of Namibia, Act No. 3 of 1992 with
the sole mandate to distribute timely, and reliable news and picture services to local and international
consumers (The Namibia Press Agency, 2021). In 2012 the agency started distributing audio visuals as
well as public relations services to local and international subscribers. Most media house in Namibia
have continued to rely on Nampa for regional and international news.

Nampa was established as a non-commercial public enterprise/state owned entity as provided for in
the Public Enterprises Governance Act, 2019 Act 1 of 2019. The ACT defines state owned companies
as a companies in which the State is the sole or majority shareholder or a company created pursuant
to the provisions of a law in order to fulfil a public or regulatory function. They are not profit based
and they depend on the government to fund their operations.

However, Nampa’s mandates to collect and distribute local, regional, and international news services
to subscribers have been crippled since 2019, when government reduced the agency’s subsidy. 60%
of Nampa’s operations are funded through a government subsidy (Chata, 2022). The reduction in
funding affected the agency’s ability to maintain its operations.

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Between 2019 and 2022, government reduced Nampa’s funding by one third due to the economic
challenges the country has been battling with. Prior to the reductions, Nampa used to receive between
N$21 million and N$22 million from the government. This has however changed. In recent years, since
2019, the agency has been receiving between N$14 million and N$15 million in government subsidy
(Chata, 2022; Kahiurika, 2019).

Budget documents presented in the national assembly by the finance minister, Iipumbu Shiimi in 2021
indicated that Nampa received N$49 million in subsidies from the national budget between the years
2019 – 2022 (Namene, 2021). Namene (2021) further explains that Nampa’s annual expenditure,
including staff salaries, amounts to approximately N$30 million monthly, which, according to Chata
(2022), is more than the allocated subvention.

A story published by The Namibian Newspaper on 29th March 2021 stated that cumulatively, the
agency had 30 permanent employees which is inclusive of four in managerial positions: the chief
executive officer, the finance manager, the editorial and IT manager.

Nampa’s Chief Executive Officer, Linus Chata who is quoted in a story published by The Namibian
newspaper on 17th September 2019 said that the press agency’s finances were unstable, as their
budget was reduced by a third during the previous two financial years - 2017 and 2018 (Kahiurika,
2019). In the story, Chata explained that if the government failed to increase the ensuing year’s
budgetary allocation, things would turn for the worst for the institution as by the end of the 2019
financial year Nampa would have exhausted their meagre reserves. Chata (2022) explained that the
situation has not changed. The agency continues to receive between N$14 million and N$15 million
subsidy from government from government.

To cope with the limping newsroom operations, exacerbated by editorial staff shortages, Nampa
employed eight freelance journalists to supplement the remaining nine journalists. All the freelance
journalists who were placed at regional Nampa offices were relieved of their duties. The regional
offices in Kunene, //Karas, Hardap, Zambezi and Omaheke offices have no staff. The combined
Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Omusati, and Oshana office has also closed down after the journalist who
covered the four regions retired in 2021.

In light of the above, it was important to investigate if the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa)’s financial
challenges that have birthed commercialisation considerations.

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1.3 Statement of the problem

State owned media establishments in the twenty-first century are confronted with the very real
question of how to finance and sustain their large organizational structures created during the age of
abundant wealth (Nielsen & Levy, 2002). Nampa is one such institution. Financial constraints have
prompted commercialisation consideration in hope of solving these challenges. According to Baum et
al. (2020) relying solely on government subsidies may be one of the reasons behind the financial
problems a state-owned Enterprise (SOE) such as Nampa is facing due to unfunded policy mandates,
like excessive hiring or selling of products below cost. Chata (2022) agrees with (Baum et al, 2020)
saying that the agency is in a financial abyss as a result of its reliance on government for survival. The
agency he explained, also had a bloated management, which he said partly contributed to the financial
challenges.

At present the agency is in a financial abyss. Nampa is in a situation where relying on government
subsidy and on story sales alone cannot sustain its operations. This has prompted commercialisation
consideration to generate funds and keep the agency afloat.

Reviewed literature suggest more studies to be conducted to determine whether marketising

financially struggling state media is really necessary (Hanusch, Banjac, & Maares, 2019; Radebe, 2012;
Eagle, 2007).

The study seeks to investigate the genesis of Nampa’s financial challenges and how it has crippled the
agency’s editorial operations. It seeks to analyse the benefits and challenges of commercializing a non-
commercial public enterprise such as Nampa, looking at how this transition may impact the fourth
estate role of the agency. In the same vein, this study is purported at offering commercialisation
procedures and guidelines to the agency.

1.4 Research Objectives

The core objective of this study is to examine the benefits and challenges of commercializing a
financially struggling state-owned media such as NAMPA.
Sub-objectives:

1. Investigate the genesis of Nampa’s financial challenges and how it has crippled the
agencies editorial operations,
2. Analyse Nampa’s commercialisation considerations by shedding light on the benefits
and challenges of this transition

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 3. Interrogate the impacts of commercialisation on the fourth estate role of Nampa in a
democratic Namibia

1.5 Research Questions

Main question: What are the benefits and challenges of commercializing a financially struggling state-
owned media such as Nampa?
Sub-questions:

1. What is the genesis of Nampa’s financial challenges and how have these financial constrains
affected the agency’s editorial operation?
2. What does Nampa’s commercialisation consideration entail and what are the benefits and
challenges of this transition to the agency?
3. How will commercialisation affect Nampa’s fourth estate role in society?

1.6 Significance of the Study

Commercializing Nampa’s editorial services has been a conversation that has been going on at the
agency between 2019 and 2021. It gained momentum in 2021 when the situation got so dire that the
agency had to take stricter measures that dented the agency’s editorial mandate. The measures
imposed included laying off all freelance journalists, not filling vacant positions of staff members who
either left the agency for greener pastures or retired, closing down five regional offices and hawking
reporter’s vehicles.

These measures that were taken landed the agency between a rock and a hard place as far as editorial
operations were concerned. The newsroom is operating on a skeleton staff, with only seven reporters,
two audio visual producers, four sub editors, an editor and an editorial manger.

Despite all these, the agency has not invested in the research element of its commercialisation
consideration. Through engagement with the management, this researcher concluded that this
research is timely and will aid in this process.

This study was undertaken to inform the agency on the potential benefits and challenges of
commercialisation that will be used as a guide to inform their decision to marketize or not to marketize
their editorial services. Through data collected during the study, there will be provision of case studies
(evidence) of state media that commercialized their services and how they went about it by providing

4
tangible data for use depending on what the agency decides on the way forward and possible
procedures to go about this process.

1.7 Delimitation of the research

Delimitations of the study according to Theofanidis & Fountouki (2021) are in essence the limitations
consciously set by the researchers. Delimitations are concerned with the definitions that the
researchers decide to set as the boundaries or limits of their work so that the study’s aims and
objectives do not become impossible to achieve (Theofanidis & Fountouki, 2019). The duo argue that
they are in the control of researcher.

This study only focused on Nampa’s editorial service, meaning that other departments of the agency
are outside the scope of the study.

1.8 Limitation of the Research

Limitations of any particular study concern potential weaknesses that are usually out of the
researcher’s control (Theofanidis & Fountouki, 2019). In other words, limitations are restrictions that
are out of the researcher’s control.

The major challenge experienced during the course of this study was getting participants to take part
in the study. Two participants opted not to get involved in the study. Their contribution could’ve
strengthened the depth of data collected. It could’ve given a regulatory voice to the research and
deepened the understanding of the impacts of Nampa’s financial challenges on the operations of the
newsroom. This resulted in settling for three participants and content analysis. Nevertheless, this did
not compromise the integrity of the study. The study only focused on a few case studies and could not
obtain more information from other state media who commercialised due to the limited time
allocated to this study.

Another limitation of the study was the issuance of the required documents to carry out the research.
The issuance of ethical clearance certificate took a while, which slowed down the data collection
process. However, this didn’t not compromise the quality of the study; thus, the credibility of the
study was upheld.

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The researcher’s affiliation to Nampa is one that must be pronounced, because it could play a role in
the execution of the study. The researcher was an employee of the agency under the Audio visual
department. She, like many others, was relieved off her duties due to the agency’s financial challenge.
Nevertheless, to avoid the researcher’s biases, the study was treated with as much integrity as
possible by the researcher, which included upholding the ethical standards expected of any
researcher.

1.9 Definition of key terms

1.9.1 Commercialisation

Commercialisation refers to a replacement of forms of regulation based on public interest and related
standards with market standards that emphasize profit maximization (Banda, 2006).

1.9.2 Commercial enterprise

An entity which furnishes goods or services to the general public on a for-profit manner.

1.9.3 Non- commercial enterprise

An entity which furnishes goods or services to the general public in a not-for-profit manner.

1.9.4 Marketization

The restructuring process that allows state enterprises to operate as market-oriented firms by
changing the legal environment in which they operate (Gingrich, 2015).

1.10 Chapter Summary

The introductory chapter of the study unpacked the background to the study, its problem
statement, research objectives and research questions. It highlighted the significance of the
research, its delimitations and limitations, as well as definition of key terms. The next chapter
analyses past literature related to the study.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction to chapter

Chapter two reviews literature on media commercialisation. It discusses influencing factors that
pushes state media to commercialize and the process for this transition. The chapter further sheds
light on the gaps identified in the reviews literature and provides the theoretical base for the study.
The chapter provides reviews on: history of media commercialisation, globalisation and media
commercialisation, reasons for commercialisation, what is needed to commercialize, and gaps
identified.

2.2 History of media commercialisation

Media commercialisation means paid news (IPL, 2022 ). According to the IPL website, news is no
longer about reporting timely occurrences or events, it is now about packaged broadcast or reports
sponsored or paid for by interested parties.

Media commercialisation is not a phenomenon. The conversation on media commercialisation stems

back to the nineteenth century when authors, journalists, politicians, and sociologists differed in
opinions on media ownership as well as on corporate influence on the media (Silber, 2021).

Criticism of the press and its market affiliation gained momentum in the early decades of the
twentieth century (Bounds & Jagmohan, 2008). The overall argument at the time was that commerce
and the market were incompatible with democracy and freedom of expression. Bound, and Jagmohan
(2008) observed that attention was focussed at the pernicious influence owners, advertisers and
commercial interests exercised over the newspaper industry and the content of the press. According
to Bound and Jagmohan (2008) press commercialisation developed most rapidly in the United States.

During this time, newspapers in America and Britain were becoming more commercial (Bounds &
Jagmohan, 2008) with leading newspapers gaining large circulation and selling about one million
copies per day. At this rate the costs of running a newspaper was rising and called for a new way of
news gathering and processing as well as the introduction of high-speed technologies to run the
process.

Profits rose during the time as advertisers followed the readers and flocked to the press to promote
their goods and services, giving birth to oligopolies and monopolies in the press media. Men such as

7
Northcliffe and Rothermere in Britain and Pulitzer and Hearst in the USA became household names
(Bounds & Jagmohan, 2008) and their power over what people knew became a matter of debate.

Adding to Bound, and Jagmohan’s observation, Hodge, Freitas, & Costa (2021) posits that media
commercialisation remained on the agenda of governments from different ideological positions. They
avow that privatizing to commercialize, has remained on Brazil’s agenda since the country’s re-
democratization in 1985.

2.3 Globalisation and media commercialisation

A number of scholars are of the view that the new changes in the media are brought about by
globalisation (Banda, 2006). Globalization in its nature focuses on economics and the effects of
multinational corporations (Scholte, 2005). One cannot speak about globalization and leave out
neoliberalism. From the neoliberalism point of view, globalization thrives through privatization,
deregulation and liberalization (Scholte, 2005; Lyons, 2005).

The influence of globalisation on the media gained momentum in the 1980’s, when prevailing policies
of deregulation of the media in developing countries along with openness to private investment
occurred (MacBride & Roach, 2000, p. 289). The occurrence of free-market deregulation in the eighties
and nineties according to McChesney (2005), was noticeable in cable and digital satellite systems
around the world.

Researchers and scholars have tried to understand the influence globalization has on the media.
According to Matos (2012) globalization is seen to have changed the nature of the strong relationship
that exist/existed between the media and the state. Another study concurred with this observation,
“The tenants of globalization which are privatization, deregulation and liberalization, seek to limit
state intervention in the media allowing the industry to self-regulate and become more profitable.
Privatization of state owned media establishment has been on the agenda of these establishments.
This ideology is embraced by proposing transfer of public social sector to non-state sector using
deregulations to reduce state intervention and limit it to just the necessary,” (Hodge, Freitas, & Costa,
2021).

It is important to note therefore, that the state according to these scholars is becoming less important
in a globalizing world (Ndlela, 2007). Hodge, Freitas, and Costa (2021) in their study, “Discursive media
representation on telecommunications privatization”, explain that when privatization is spoken about,
emphasis is placed on the business model of the entity and less on the impact it will have on the

8
content. This view rectifies the idea that media in a globalized community is no longer a public service
(Ayumi, Freitas, & Costa, 2021).

McCarthy, Reeves, and Turner (2011) are of a different opinion, saying that elements such as
privatisation and commercialisation could create significant changes in the industrial relation.
According to them, privatization places management in a relatively strong bargaining position and can
force trade unions to accept concessions such as reduced employee numbers.

Prior to privatisation, relations between management and trade unions were relatively stable, with
most issues being settled without need to refer to external dispute-resolution bodies such as the
Labour Court or Labour Relations Commission (McCarthy, Reeves, & Turner, 2011).

DC McCarthy, Reeves, and Turner (2011) observe that privatization increases the introduction of
substantial employee and commission employees (only) as part of the transfer to private ownership.
This process involves significant changes in work practices including the introduction of cost-cutting
measures one of which is reducing employee numbers. “Detaching from the state with the aim to
commercialize not only will it affect the employees at the bottom of the hierarchy, but it also has an
impact on those who run these institutions. The media firm will have to restructure around market-
based business units and the number of managerial layers will reduce. Significant changes will be
made to place managers on a commercial footing, including the introduction of personal contracts,
the removal of management from collective bargaining and increased use of performance related
remuneration,” (McCarthy, Reeves, & Turner, 2011).

For McManus (2009), an unregulated media industry will not render the quality of news that
participatory government need to flourish. Corporate media promotes a global media culture that can
be packaged, advertised, and sold. Content that is not fit for the acclimatized world culture of the
market is shoved away (Artz & Kamalipour, 2012).

Globalisation according to the literature review have an influence on media commercialisation. The
tenants of globalizations as discussed in the above reviewed literature could potentially present
revenue generation opportunities for Nampa as well as challenges should the agency
commercializes.

2.4 Reasons for commercialisation

State owned media in the twenty-first century are confronted with the very real question of how to
finance their establishments (Nielsen & Levy, 2002). According to these two scholars, the fundamental
challenges facing news enterprises today are that they can no longer sustain the large organisational

9
structures and financing arrangements created during the age of abundant wealth, hence they opt to
commercialize. Thus, the media is required to take more entrepreneurial approaches to creating the
financial resources available for institutions (Nielsen & Levy, 2002). Papathanassopoulos (2009)
concurs with this by asserting that today’s journalism is heavily influenced by these constrains. This is
the position where Nampa finds itself (Chata, 2022). The annual government subsidy alone can no
longer sustain the agency’s editorial operations.

In 2019 the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) carried out a study to investigate the challenges
Namibia is experiencing adopting to digitalization. In their study, they argued that financial
sustainability of the media is one of the central challenges to journalism in democratic societies
(Remmert, 2019). Like other countries, Namibia is not exempted from this disruptive transformation
of the media environment brought about digitalization.

Media in countries such as Germany however remained tied to the state despite the financial
difficulties (Esser & Brüggemann, 2010). Despite the financial crises that affected the German press,
the infrastructure of the German press media still remained suited to providing for accountable
journalism as a core element of the democratic constitution of the German society (Esser &
Brüggemann, 2010).

2.5 What is needed to commercialize?

Developed countries such as the UK have created a safe environment for the media to commercialize
by proposing that commercial TV providers need to be freed from having to meet public service
obligations, because of the costs of these obligations and because of the view that access to digital
media is no longer scarce as to justify public benefit conditions on licensees (Berger, Banda, Duncan,
& R Mukundu, 2009). In Germany, successful lobbying has ensured that public broadcasters retreat
from exploiting online, so as to leave commercial interests with lesser competition in that sphere
(Berger, Banda, Duncan, & R Mukundu, 2009).

Even though media establishments over the years have been merging, in some instances with their
rivals to gain a larger audience, to become more profitable from corporate advertisers and to be better
positioned to compete with tech giants such as Facebook and Google (Barr, 2021), some scholars
argue that some commercial media establishments will still not merge to protect their commercial
interests and reduce competition for viewers (Gal-Or & Dukes, 2003).

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To save costs and avoid duplication of government activities, the Namibian government took a
decision to merge Nampa with New Era Publication Corporation (NEPC) (Namene & Iikela, 2021). The
merger according to the Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Emma
Theofelus who was responding to questions in the National Assembly in 2022, is still in the pipeline
albeit in an early stage (NBC, 2022).

2.6 Gaps identified

Despite these findings, there are still a number of gaps in the ongoing conversation on media
commercialisation. For Odunlami and Adaja (2015) more studies must be conducted to understand
the way forward. The duo is of the view that the way forward as far as media commercialisation is
concerned is not yet clear.

Furthermore, the reason why entrepreneurship has entered the media space is also not clear as some
scholars argue that some media establishments commercialize to be more profitable and save their
ailing instructions, while some commercialize for power and influence, and some for both
(Papathanassopoulos, 2009).

What is missing from this debate according to Gal-Or & Dukes (2003) and Eagle (2007) is sufficient
data on the impacts of capitalized media on consumers, particularly on children.

According to Eagle (2007) studies must be designed to compare the recognition, perception and
behavioral impact of persuasive communication on all age groups. The findings obtained from these
studies will then inform public policy decisions about whether there is a need for protection of
vulnerable groups from intended and unintended effects of persuasive communication commercials
(Eagle, 2007). In addition, a concurrent study must be done to establish policy instruments used by
media regulators in addressing commercial media (Blasco, & Sobbrio, 2011).

In further research, attention must be placed on the impacts of commercialisation on other

journalistic beats as current studies focus more on hard news journalism and pay little attention on
other beats that have close relations with commercial interests (Hanusch, Banjac, & Maares, 2019).
This according to them will give a more balanced understanding on media commercialisation and its
effectiveness in a democratic state (Hanusch, Banjac, & Maares, 2019; Radebe, 2012).

In its vastness, country specific research is required media commercialisation. Every country must be
treated as a unique case and must be investigated exclusively (Khajeheian, 2013). Gicheru (2014)

11
supports this observation saying that scholars, innovators, and policy makers are challenged to come
up with country specific solutions and not attempt to ‘cut-and-paste’ prescriptions.

Guiding these studies, Ayumi, Freitas and Costa (2021) adds that both qualitative and quantitative
research must be conducted to raise new questions as well as answers for this cause; establish moral
limit to the market, or limit to market commodification; to contribute to the development of research
models in media entrepreneurship.

Chibita (2010) advises scholars to continue the conversation on media entrepreneurship to best
secure diversity in the African media that leans towards citizenship rather than just consumerism.

2.7 Theoretical framework

This study is anchored on the Democratic-Participant Media Theory. The theory which emerged
because of the dissatisfaction of the Libertarian theory, and social responsibility theory, was
propounded by Dennis McQuail in 1987 (Odunlami & Adaja, 2015; Bajracharya, 2018).

Dele Odunlami, and Tokunbo Adaja used this theory for their “Media Commercialisation, Public
Interest and Sustainable Development in Nigeria” study in 2015. The study is premised on the
economics of the media, its production and consumption. The two scholars looked at the impacts of
commercial considerations in the Nigerian media. The paper x-rays the emerging issues in the wake
of media commercialisation in Nigeria and their implications on public interests and sustainable
national development with suggestions on the way forward (Odunlami & Adaja, 2015).

This theory is relevant to the study because it confirms that indeed the media commercialise due to
various issues affecting it. Nampa is financially challenged, which prompted commercialisation
consideration. The theory highlight the impacts commercialization could have on Nampa’s editorial
operations. These impacts according to Folarin (1998) include making the media too elite, too rigid in
structure, too slavish to professionals’ ideas and susceptible to the whims and caprices of those
funding it.

The theory further provides pathway for Nampa to avoid these impacts to remain relevant. The
Democratic-Participant Media theory proposes that commercial influences must be removed for the
media to be democratic and be easily accessible or participatory (Bajracharya, 2018).

In as much as Nampa aims to generate revenue from marketising its services, the theory calls on the
agency to de-emphasize economic benefit and concentrate on mass participation (Odunlami & Adaja,

12
2015). Attention according to these scholars must be given to the needs, interests and aspirations of
the masses and media conglomeration and monopoly must be broken to give way to pluralism,
decentralization and small-scale media enterprises.

In all this, it is evident that the theory reflects the research objectives of the study. It touches on the
reasons behind media commercialization as well as the impacts of this transition could have on Nampa
and how to avoid them.

2.8 Chapter Summary

This chapter has indicated that media commercialisation is not a new phenomenon. The history of
media commercialisation can be dated back to the nineteenth century when costs to sustain media
establishments were becoming expensive. The chapter looked at globalization and its influence on the
sustainability of media establishments.

What stood out from the reviewed literature is the impacts of commercialisation on the media.
According to Banda (2006) commercialisation will affect the fourth estate role of the media. A
commercialized media will only serve its advertisers and subscribers Gal-Or & Dukes (2003). This will
create distortion in media content and undermine editorial independence.

Commercialisation will further impact employee/employer relations from the top to the bottom of
the hierarchy. A commercialized entity will implore cost cutting measures which may include
employing short contract employees that can provide the service required DC McCarthy, Reeves, and
Turner (2011).

Some scholars in their work support corporate media. They are of the view that commercialisation
will presents entrepreneurial opportunities for the media, because they eliminate the need for multi-
million dollar presses (McManus, 2009). They argue that a commercial media will still maintain their
statutory mandate in society (Netanel, 2001).

Even though studies have been conducted in the field of media commercialisation, more studies still
need to be conducted to determine whether commercializing state media is the answer to financially
struggling media establishments (Odunlami & Adaja, 2015). Literature reviewed suggests that the way
forward as far as media commercialisation is concerned is not yet clear, hence, the need to conduct
both qualitative and quantitative studies to develop theories and raise new questions and answers
that interrogate the exact reason why entrepreneurship has entered the media.

13
Chapter two further touched on the theoretical backing of the study. The study is anchored on the
Democratic-Participant Media theory. The theory is relevant to the study because it outlines the
changes commercialisation could bring to the agency’s editorial services as well as pathway to avoid
them.

The subsequent chapter describes the methodology underpinning the study.

14
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction to chapter

In the preceding chapter, the researcher reviewed literature on media commercialisation adding the
theoretical framework of the study. This chapter expounds on the research methodology which was
employed to solve the research problem. The chapter deliberated on the research design, paradigms,
approach, the population and sampling, data collection and analysis techniques and procedures, as
well as ethical considerations.

3.2 Research Design

Wky (2012) defines research design as the overall plan for connecting the conceptual research
problems to the pertinent (and achievable) empirical research. The research design articulates what
data is required, what methods are going to be used to collect and analyse this data, and how all of
this is going to answer the research question (Wyk, 2012).

For the purpose of this study, the case study design was used to gain an understanding of the genesis
of Nampa’s financial challenges that is pushing the agency to commercialize its services. A case study
research design according to McCombes (2022) is a detailed study of a subject, such as a person,
group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies typically involves qualitative
methods, but quantitative methods are sometimes also used.

This design is good for describing, comparing, evaluating and understanding different aspects of a
research problem (McCombes, 2022). This design was appropriate for the study because it guided the
researcher to get a holistic review and in-depth understanding of the forces behind commercialisation
consideration by Nampa for example the financial challenges affecting the agency. In the same vein,
it generated knowledge relevant to the context of the study (Tanyan, 2021). Similarly, it offered the
researcher an opportunity to use multiple data collection methods.

3.3 Research Paradigm

In order to achieve the objectives of any study, researchers must choose a research paradigm that is
well-matched with their beliefs about the nature of reality. Research paradigms are frameworks or
view points of the researcher (Babbie, 1998). They provide ways of looking at life and are grounded
in sets of assumptions about the nature of reality (Babbie, 1998).

15
This research adopted the interpretive philosophical worldview. Those who draws from this worldview
are of the belief that there are multiple realities and these realities can be explored, and constructed
through human interactions and meaningful actions (Levers, 2013). For Wilson (2013), interpretivists
are often interdependent with their research and their research is truly subjective. Interdependent in
this context means that the researcher interacted with research participants.

To gather all the necessary information for this study, the researcher interacted with the Nampa
management and editorial staff to get their views and opinions. This paradigm is suitable for this study
because it allowed the researcher to make meaning of Nampa’s financial realities through
conversation with participants and text studies. Information shared by the participants aided the
researcher to understand the depth of the agency’s financial abyss and its impacts. Meaning of
Nampa’s financial realities was further generated through the studying of Nampa’s budgetary
allocations.

3.4 Research Approach

Having chosen the interpretive paradigm, the study, therefore employed the qualitative research
methodology. Qualitative research is the process of collecting, analysing, and interpreting non-
numerical data, such as language (Mcleod, 2019). The qualitative methodology is used to understand
how an individual subjectively perceives and gives meaning to their social reality (Mcleod, 2019). The
strength of the qualitative method allowed the researchers to explore diverse perspectives and
uncover relationships that exist between Nampa’s financial positions and its commercialisation
process.

This methodology is relevant to this study because it provides textual description of Nampa’s financial
abyss and gives a detailed report of the benefits and challenges of Nampa’s commercialisation
consideration. The only way to understand the agency’s financial position and the impacts of its
commercialisation consideration was by employing qualitative methods that allowed the researcher
to actively engage with the participants to get their insights on the problem and the extent at which
it has affected the operations of the agency. Qualitative methods also allowed the perusal of various
texts to get the facts of this transition and testimonies of state media that have followed this route.
The qualitative methods employed in this study are interviews and content analysis. This methodology
gives the researcher an opportunity to get valuable information such as in-depth opinions and views.

To get a concise understanding of the news agency’s financial constraints, the researcher needed to
study Nampa’s budgetary allocations from government and how it continued to drop since 2019 to

16
2021. The researcher achieved this by discussing the agency’s budgetary allocations between 2019 to
2021 with the participants as well as studying budget documents for the period under review.

3.5 Study Location

The study was conducted at the Nampa headquarters in Windhoek. This is where all the respondents
were located and the only source of data that was needed to complete this study.

3.6 Study Population and Sampling

The population of a given study refer to individuals who possess specific characteristics of interest to
the study (Shukla, 2020 ). In other words, the study population entails the total number of people who
participated in this research. For this study, the total target population was eight participants. It
included staff members of Nampa, plus former Nampa staff members, plus the Ministry of
Information, Communication and Technology (MICT). Newspaper articles and national budgetary
documents formed part of the population.

The sample group on the other hand is the subset the population consisting of a predetermined
number of selected sampling units from the population (Alvi, 2016). There are two types of sampling,
the probability and non-probability. Probability sampling according to Taherdoost (2016, p. 20) means
that every item in the population an equal chance of being included in the sample. There are three
techniques under probability sampling namely random, systematic and stratified (Taherdoost, 2016,
p. 20).

Non-probability sampling is the opposite of the probability sampling (Bhardwaj, 2019). The items in
the population have no equal chance of being included in the study sample (Bhardwaj, 2019). Unlike,
probability sampling, non-probability sampling also has four techniques namely quota, snowball,
convenience, and purposive sampling (Bhardwaj, 2019).

This paper employed the nonprobability sampling method to select the participants. The non-
probability sampling is the most preferred compared to the probability, because a sample is selected
for a specific purpose and the selection depends on the research problem. For the sake of this study,
for instance, the sample is unequal because only certain participants were chosen, because they are
responsible for the operations of the newsroom and are the most affected by the agency’s financial
constraints and will be affect should the agency commercialize.

17
For this reason, the sample included a representative of the Nampa management who spoke on behalf
of management. It also included a gatekeeper who gave an overview of the operations of the
newsroom under these realities and a Nampa journalist spoke about their experience working in an
environment that has been changed to keep the agency afloat. A former journalist who was dismissed
due to the financial challenges was also included in the sample. An MICT employee was included in
the sample because of regulatory contribution to this transition.

The population and type of sample is fitting for the study because it involves all the parties needed to
answer the research questions.

3.7 Data collection techniques and procedure

Data collection is a systematic process of gathering or collecting data. To collect data, the study used
two tools namely interviews and content analysis. Current and former Nampa staff were interviewed
at different times according to their availability. National budget documents were studied, with the
special focus on the period between 2019 and 2021. The researcher chose this period because these
were the years when the impacts of the reduction in government subsidy began to take a toll on
Nampa’s editorial services.

3.7.1 Interviews

Interviews, according to George (2022), are qualitative research methods that relies on asking
questions in order to collect data. Interviews involve two or more people, one of whom is the
interviewer asking the questions and the other the interviewee answering the questions.

There are several types of interviews namely, structured, unstructured and semi structured interview.
This study employed the unstructured interviews. Unstructured interviews are the most flexible type
of interviews (George, 2022). This type of interview flows naturally based on the participant’s previous
answers. The questions and the order in which they are asked is not set.

This method was chosen appropriate for the study because of its flexibility. It allowed the researcher
to gather detailed information on the subject matter such as? and to observe participant’s reactions
as they respong to the questions.

18
Unstructured interviews are by definition open-ended. This flexibility can help you gather detailed
information on your topic, while still allowing you to observe patterns between participants. Nampa
staff were interviewed using both verbal and non-verbal techniques. These two modes were used
because of the availability of participants. Some participants weren’t available for face-to-face
interviews due to their work schedule. Alternatively, the researcher proposed they send WhatsApp
recordings of their answers to the interviews questions.

3.7.2 Content analysis

Content analysis is a research method for analysing written verbal or visual communication messages
(Cole, 1988). For this study, the researcher analysed Nampa’s budgetary allocations between 2019
and 2021. This was done to compare the relationship between what the participants said and what is
on paper.

3.7.3 Data collection instruments

Interviews and a voice recorder were used to collect data. The researcher opted for interviews as they
aided her to get detailed explanations of Nampa’s financial challenges and its commercialisation
consideration. Face- to-face and non-verbal interviews were used to collect data. Interview requests
were sent to the sample group via email. The email contained the background and purpose of the
study. Interview questions and consent forms were attached to the email. Some members of the
sample group accepted the interview request, while some rejected. Others didn’t respond at all. A
voice recorder was used during the face-to-face interviews to record the conversation. This exercise
was carried out for backup and verification purposes. The researcher obtained consent from the
participant to record the interview. The participants who couldn’t make it for the face-to-face
interview, send WhatsApp voice recordings of their responses, while others mailed their responses.

3.8 Data analysis technique and procedure

The study used the qualitative content analysis technique. Qualitative content analysis is a qualitative
analysis method that focuses on recorded human artefacts such as manuscripts, voice recordings and
journals (Crosley, 2021). The researcher was not required to interact with the participants at this stage
in the research process, however where she needed clarity she could fact check with the participants.
The researcher analysed the data collected through the perusal of text and recorded interviews.

19
At this stage of the research, the researcher organized the data collected. She proceeded to
review/examine the data and established sets of themes that were be used to categorize the data.
Furthermore, these themes were linked to different parts of the mini- thesis. The data was broken
into these themes: causes of Nampa’s financial challenges, impacts of Nampa’s financial challenges
on the agency’s editorial services, Nampa’s commercialisation transition, benefits and challenges of
Nampa’s financial challenges on the newsroom, services to be commercialised, and benefits and
challenges of commercializing Nampa’s content.

This analysis was useful to the study as it analysed large amount of verbal data collected and it also
has an element of quantitative that was used to make sense of the figures shared during interviews
as well as from text examination (Schreier, 2012).

3.9 Trustworthiness and validity

Trustworthiness is the corresponding term used in qualitative research as a measure of the extent to
which the data and data analysis are believable and trustworthy (Thomas, 2010). Thomas (2010)
writes that assessing the accuracy of qualitative findings is not easy. For this research however, there
are possible criteria and strategies that can be used to enhance trustworthiness of the study. This
include credibility, dependability, confirmability of the findings by other researchers and triangulation.
Credibility was ensured by Nampa’s participants checking into findings. This was done by presenting
the data collected to the participants to check for accuracy (Thomas, 2010).

Dependability was achieved through auditing which consists of the researcher’s documentation of
data. The numerical data was audited by a participant from Nampa. According to Thomas (2010)
auditing of the research documentations requires the data and descriptions of the research to be
elaborate and rich. Dependability can also be enhanced by altering the research design as new findings
emerge during data collection (Thomas, 2010). For Confirmability of the findings by other researcher,
the researcher archived all collected data in a well-organised, retrievable form so that it can be made
available to them if the findings are challenged (Thomas, 2010). Triangulation was obtained by using
various sources of information (Carter, Bryant-Lukosius, DiCenso, Blythe, & Neville, 2014).
Furthermore, the validity of the study was achieved by respondent validation. This process involved
testing initial results with participants to see if they still ring true.

20
3.10 Ethical Considerations

The researcher interacted profoundly with the participants, thus needs to abide by ethical
considerations to avoid causing harm or infringing the rights of the participants.

Autonomy or respect for persons is an ethical clause that must be respected be all researchers.
Researchers must respect that individuals make their owned informed decisions whether to
participate in the study or not. For this study, the researcher provided the research population with
sufficient information they need to know before agreeing to participate in the study. The researcher
send them an email consisting background information and the purpose of the study. A description of
the study comprising of the purpose of the study as well as what it seeks to achieve, accompanied the
participation request which was disseminated via email. Having understood the basis of the study, a
consent form was handed over to the participants to sign and give the researcher consent to conduct
this study. They were also presented an opportunity to withdraw from the research any anytime.
Furthermore, a letter from the Nampa was requested to seek access to the agency. Permission was
granted.

Confidentially is ensuring that the information obtain from the participants is not used to harm them
or used outside the scope of the research. For this reason, information gathered was solely used for
the purpose of this study.

Anonymity to ensure that the participants are protected from any harm, the researcher opted not to
use the participant’s personal identity, but rather identify them by numbers. The researcher used
pseudonyms to protect the identities and positions of the respondents, e.g. participant 1.

3.11 Chapter Summary

This chapter discussed the research methodology and presented the research instruments employed
to conduct this study. The study used the case study design, the interpretive philosophical worldviews.
A qualitative methodology was employed to collect data. The research approach informed to data
collection tools and techniques. The study population and sample as well as the test for
trustworthiness and validity was also discussed in this chapter.

The next chapter presents and analyses the data collected.

21
CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND DATA ANALYSIS

4.1 Introduction

The previous chapter reported on the methodology employed in the study. This chapter presents and
discusses the findings of the study. In the presentation, these are the issues that are covered in the
chapter: an in-depth analysis of Nampa’s financial challenges, the impacts of the financial challenges
on the newsroom operations and the main reason behind Nampa’s commercialisation considerations.
This chapter will present the finding of the interviews first, followed by the presentation of Nampa’s
budgetary allocation.

4.2 Participant’s characteristics

The sample for this study comprised of five participants, namely, a representative of the Nampa
management, a gatekeeper, a journalist who is currently employed at Nampa, a former journalist who
got dismissed as a result of agency’s financial challenges and a representative from MICT.

Only three participants responded to participate in the study. The participants include a
representative from the Nampa management, a journalist currently employed at Nampa and a former
Nampa journalist. The participant who would’ve given an overview of the impacts of the financial
challenges on the newsroom didn’t respond to the participation request, while MICT opted not get
involved in the study siting that Nampa is an independent agency and they should attend to the study
independently.

The three participants were interviewed for the study. Participant 1 is a representative from the
Nampa management. The participant gave an in-depth analysis of the genesis of the agency’s financial
challenges. Participant 1 spoke on the impacts of the financial challenges on the operations of the
entire agency, shedding more light on the newsroom. This participant gave a different perspective on
the agency’s commercialisation consideration.

Participant 1 further divulged on the opportunities and challenges marketising the agency’s news will
present.

22
Participant 2 is a current journalist employed at the agency. This participant spoke on behalf of the
journalists at the agency on the conditions they’re working under as a result of the cost cutting
measures.

Participant 3 is a former Nampa journalist who was employed on a freelance contract. The participants
along with seven others were dismissed due to some of the cost cutting measures employed by the
agency to save funds. The participant’s involvement in the study was to give their thoughts on
Nampa’s commercialisation consideration.

4.3 Genesis of Nampa’s financial challenges

The background of this study has touched on the genesis of Nampa’s financial challenges. The
response from the respondent revealed that Nampa continues to depend heavily on government
subsidy. 60% of the agency’s operations depends on government subsidy. The participant noted that,
before 2019 the agency has been receiving more funding compared to the last three years. The
continuous reduction in subsidy took the agency by surprise as they didn’t anticipate it.

Participant 1 further explained that reliance on government for funding and the Act upon which the
agency was established is the cause of the agency’s financial challenges. Nampa was not established
to make a profit. The participant highlighted that the Act upon which the agency has been established
state that government will fund the execution of the agency’s mandate. “For the last three years, we
have been receiving N$14 million from government and prior to that we were receiving between N$21
million and N$22 million. The N$14 million we have been receiving per annum is a one third reduction
on our subsidy. The reduction in our subvention has been influenced by several factors such as the
economic climate in the country, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the prolonged draught among others.
So basically our financial wars as an agency started when government reduced our subsidy. So, prior
to the reduction we were in a comfortable position. The continuous reduction took us by surprise. We
were not prepared for it” (Participant 1, 2022).

Participant 1 further noted that additional funds to supplement the agency’s budgetary allocation
were supposed to be generated from story sales, however the stories are sold at a very low rate.
Cumulatively, subscribers pay N$144436.67 for stories per month. The subscribers include the
Namibia Future Media Holdings, Hit Radio Namibia, Chanel 7, MICT, Mula Mobile/ Shipi FM, the
Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and the New Era Newspaper.

23
Table 1: Breakdown of Nampa subscriber fees – what is your source of below?

Subscriber Amount paid per month (N$)

Namibia Future Media Holdings N$10249.87

Hit Radio Namibia N$2870.02

Chanel 7 N$7000.00

MICT N$26482.04

Mula Mobile/ Shipi FM N$3500. 00

NBC N$72151.84

New Era Newspaper N$1600.00

The agency’s financial challenges were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic when four off its
subscribers cancelled their subscriptions citing financial challenges. The three subscribers include The
Namibian newspaper, Namibian Sun, the Republikein newspapers and the Allgemeine Zeitung
Newspaper.

This study found that, national budgetary allocations presented by the Ministers of Finance, Calle
Schlettwein and Iipumbu Shiimi in the National Assembly between 2019 and 2021 indicates that
government allocated between N$14 million and N$15 million to Nampa between 2019 and 2021.

For the 2019/20 financial year Nampa received N$15 million, while in the 2020/21 financial year the
agency received N$14 million. Government allocated N$14 million subvention to Nampa for the
2021/22 financial year.

24
 Nampa's budget allocation
15.2

15

14.8
Allocation (N$)

14.6

14.4

14.2

14

13.8
2018.5 2019 2019.5 2020 2020.5 2021 2021.5
Years

Figure 1: Nampa’s budgetary allocation

4.4 Impacts of national budgetary constraints on Nampa

The agency’s biggest expense is the wages, which is mostly affected by the subvention reduction. Due
to the financial challenges, the agency was unable to employ staff to fill vacant positions of editorial
staff members who have either retired or left the agency for greener pastures. At present, the agency
has eight journalists, two news editors, four sub editors and an editorial manager. Six journalists have
since 2017 left the agency and have not been filled until 2021.

The shortage in staff resulted in a limited production of news stories and the production of the Nampa
news bulletin. The news bulletin which was supposed to run every evening at 19h00, but instead, was
now limited to a few days of the week depending on the availability of the two remaining audio visuals
producers. If either took leave, the bulletin was halted for that duration. The remaining journalists
were requested to help out with audio-visual content, however it wasn’t viable due to their
demanding workload.

Participant 2 who in 2022 was employed at the agency indicated that the skeleton newsroom has
made it difficult to carry out tasks efficiently, because the work load has increased. “Right now the
work load has increased for us. We have to cover extra beats outside the scope of our work. That has
caused us to neglect our beats. The freelancers left without warning. One day the newsroom is full
and the next only a handful of us are left,” (Participant 2, 2022).

25
The respondent continued to explain that the skeleton newsroom led them to a position where they
question their job stability. Participant 2 notes that the thought that one day they may be informed
that the agency is closing or that they are laying off some staff has deviated their focus. They spend
most of the time applying for employment elsewhere to ensure that they are covered when a scenario
such as that occurs or to leave the agency before things get worse.

Prior to the severity of the agency’s financial abyss, Nampa owned 10 vehicles which the editorial staff
used to reach the most destitute areas of the country as per their mandate. The vehicles include four
Volkswagen sedans, five 4x4 bakkies, and a van. These cars have thus far been sold except the van.
The agency used the funds generated to purchase two Toyota Etios and a bakkies.

The agency now has four vehicles, which are all used at the Nampa headquarter in Windhoek.
Journalists in the regions, which is Otjozondjupa, the two Kavango regions and the Erongo region are
left without cars, covering stories at own costs (Participant 2, 2022).

The agency also rented out one of its buildings and the top floor of the building they were operating
from in Windhoek.

4.5 Nampa’s commercial consideration and its process

The research found that Nampa’s commercial consideration is not merely a decision taken by the
agency, but it is a directive from government. Government instructed the agency to start behaving
like a commercial entity (Participant 1, 2021). The participant confirmed that the agency is in the
process of transforming itself into a commercial entity. “This has become a law. We are currently
classified as a commercial entity. Previously we were classified as a non-commercial entity. It is time
we start looking for money from within instead of depending on government. We were directed to
make money from our services. We were directed to start selling whatever product we have so that
we recoup possible profit. We were told that we are no longer only going to get money from
government because government is no longer able to sustain that.” (Participant 1, 2022).

Similar to Zambia, government provided a leeway for Nampa to commercialize. In 1993 the new
government elected in Office in Zambia passed the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation
(Licensing) Regulations to liberalize the broadcasting sector for private investment (Banda, 2006). The
then new government, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) replaced the United National
Independence Party (UNIP).

26
For Nampa, this transformation to commercialisation does not mean Nampa will detach completely
from government. Participant 1 distinctively noted that even when the agency fully commercializes,
it will still remain a public enterprise. Banda (2006) supports this relationship saying that a commercial
undertaking can still be under state control.

Although the agency has a plan in place to commercialize its services, participant 1 said that this
transition is not easy because of the legal implications involved.

“Our current act is very clear that were established to exist as a news agency, to supply news and
information to our subscribers and that word subscriber is very significant in the law. Whatever we
produce we don’t give it directly to consumers out there. The media is supposed to get news from us.
The question now is, is that subscription base enough to make money? The rates that we charge for
our services are ridiculous.” (Participant 1, 2022).

Participant 1 further noted that going commercial means that the agency has to revisit its subscription
prising model. Revising the subscription fees could result in the existing subscribers withdrawing their
subscription. This is where the challenge lay, leaving a gab in the agency’s transition process. “Our
subscribers are not obliged by law to subscribe to our news. So if you make it unaffordable for them,
they simply withdraw,” (Participant 1, 2022).

The task at hand is to find alternative ways of reaching out to the general public and to the general
corporate. This will shape the kind of services the agency will be offering (Participant 1, 2022).

Despite this challenge, Participant 2 is of the view that commercialisation is the way to go as far as
fund generation is concerned. This participant questioned the success of this transition.

Similarly, Participant 3 agrees that commercializing with the aim to become financially self-reliant is a
good initiative. This participant however warned that commercialisation will only work for Nampa if
the agency is able to generate funds through its services and if the services that the agency renders
are able to pull in clientele.

Textual content analysed reveals that Nampa is not the first state media in Africa, narrowly in Southern
Africa to commercialize (Banda, 2006). State media has been commercializing and some of the routes
they’ve taken is not farfetched from Nampa’s transition plan.

Banda (2006) in his article, Negotiating Distant Influences: Globalization and Broadcasting Policy
Reforms in Zambia and South Africa, made reference to two distinct routes the Zambia National
Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation had taken to
commercialize their services.

27
At this point it is important to understand that privatization and commercialisation has different
impacts on the relationship the media establishment has with the state. Privatization does not allow
for continued state ownership of businesses, while commercialisation does (Banda, 2006).

ZNBC avoided privatization as an option for capitalizing. Instead it chose to commerecialize units of its
services. Commercializing of some of its broadcasting services came with the introduction of new
commercial content that was intended to generate revenue.

They introduced a new commercial radio channel, radio 4, which was intended to raise advertising
revenue. Commercial rates were introduced for television advertising and they later extended it for
political advertising (Banda, 2006). Zambia deemed commercialism as more influential than
privatization.

In South Africa, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) privatized some public radio
stations by selling them to private owners (Banda, 2006). The station split into a private and
commercial broadcaster. For SABC both privatization and commercialisation was important (Banda,
2006).

4.6 Services Nampa will commercialize

Nampa identified an avenue that they plan to commercialize. They looked at commercializing the
Audio Visual (AV) services if the agency. The agency has already started doing marketing videos for
corporates and it has been going well.

Realizing how lucrative this can be, participant 1 said, the agency decided to strengthen the AV
division. Participant 1 noted that the “money spinner’s in advertisement and in catching viewership.
The participant added that corporates are interested in how much crowd the agency can draws to its
news. The participant added that the law does not prevent the agency from this practice.

The agency has thus far launched an application with the Communication Regulatory Authority of
Namibia (CRAN) to obtain a Television (TV) license. “Our idea and hope is that if we obtain our own
TV license, with the kind of products we have, we can open an avenue for viewers in the country
complement to what NBC and One Africa is doing. We are confident in our products. Our news casting
is of good quality, the visuals are powerful and the content we are going to be producing will be
different from others. Therefore, we can be able to attract viewers to our program. We believe that if

28
we do so, the corporates will want to be seen so logically they will want to place their advertisements.
That’s where the money is.” (Participant 1, 2022).

The other avenue the agency planned to capitalise on is its Public Relations (PR) services. The PR
website of the agency report on Namibian corporate social affairs. They plan on doing this by
attracting a large following. The agency has pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram under the
handle “Namibia Press Agency Public Relations News”.

Should government not increase the agency’s subsidy, the future looks oblique, because the
operational costs keep on increasing. The agency the participants said, is hopeful that with time all
the agency’s initiative will begin to bear fruit.

4.7 Benefits and challenges of media commercialisation

Having established Nampa’s commercialisation status and following the routes taken by ZNBC and
SABC, this transition comes with benefits and challenges.

Commercialisation has attracted international media business interest for ZNBC such as obtaining 30
% shares in MultiChoice Africa. ZNBC received funding through advertising, sponsorships, and shares
in MultiChoice Africa, making it a competitor to the commercial broadcasters (Banda, 2006).

ZNBC has in the long run not lost its categorization as a “public broadcaster” because its programming
did not adhere to the remit of public-service broadcasters, namely, contributing to a democratic
and/or pluralistic society; contributing to a national culture and language; providing high-quality
programming; and meeting high journalistic standards (Betzel & Ward, 2004).

For SABC some scholars contended that SABC’s content became somewhat dependent on cheap
entertainment programs from the U.S.A (Berger, 2001).

On the positive shift, the SABC’s privatization program contributed to creating plurality between the
SABC and the commercial radio stations around the country. This enabled the expanded
communicative space in South Africa (Banda, 2006).

4.7.1 Challenges of media commercialisation

Unfolding realities in the media space have revealed that commercial considerations have vitiated the
statutory mandate of the media as the fourth estate (Odunlami & Adaja, 2015). This challenge has

29
been exacerbated by digitalization identified across the media spectrum (Madichie, Bolat, & Taura,
2020).

Gal-Or & Dukes (2003) maintain that commercial media is distinguished from state media in the sense
that it only serves two sets of customers, the advertisers and subscribers. Radebe (2012) supports this
argument saying that commercial media is biased towards those who fund it. Reflecting on his
personal experience, Radebe (2012) says that, “There were many times we were forced to cut an
advertisement or cut a story or remove something from the website because an advertiser didn’t want
to be associated with it and, as a result, our financial livelihoods as media practitioners was
threatened,” (Radebe, 2012).

Similarly, Blasco and Sobbrio (2011) expressed that commercialisation has raised concerns on the
possibility of advertisers creating distortion in media content. Advertisers show some degree of
concern over media content as they only value the characteristics of the media consumer (Blasco &
Sobbrio, 2011). In the context of target advertising, this may create distortions since advertisers may
want, for example, news contents to cover only issues preferred relevant to large groups. At the same
time, since media content also concern consumer products, advertisers may value the information
since this may influence the demand for their products (Blasco & Sobbrio, 2011). Hence Blasco and
Sobbrio (2011) contend that advertisers may want media to produce favorable news reports, creating
biasness in media news reports.

As commercial pressure intensifies advertisers influence on news gathering and distribution

undermines the independence of the editorial staff, and thus the contribution of the news media to
democracy (Tomaz, Fidalgo, Grönvall, & Trappel, 2022). Internal separation remains a reality in most
newsroom, but economic pressure has made these boundaries more porous (Tomaz, Fidalgo,
Grönvall, & Trappel, 2022).

Chibita (2010) is rather concerned about how media capitalism is sending the African tradition to an
early grave by appropriating the ‘global’ languages such as English or French in some form or another
to expand their catchment area. According to Chibita (2010) the rapid expansion of commercialisation
of the media industry have raised concerns about the need to safeguard the African media industries
from being flooded out by Western cultural products which are often cheaper, backed by superior
technological and distribution capacity and in a ‘global’ language like English. She also stressed that
commercial media reduces voice popularity in the media and is westernizing the media.

30
4.7.2 Benefits of media commercialisation

Netanel (2001) opposes all these arguments saying that despite all these imperfections, the
commercial media play and will continue to play an important “Fourth Estate” role in liberal
democratic governance. He sustained that liberal democracy requires an institutional media that
possesses the financial strength to reach a mass audience and engage in sustained investigative
reporting, free from a potentially corrupting dependence on state subsidy (Netanel, 2001).

Lee (2015) who did a study on Media and Commercialisation and Authoritarian Rule in China, shared
in the opposing argument saying that Marketised media promotes regime stability. “A Marketised
media in fact helps the authorities to solve dictatorship as it allows the authoritarian rulers to obtain
feedback about public opinion while simultaneously enhancing the ability of the regime to guide public
opinion in a direction that is beneficial to rule the Chinese communist party,” (Lee, 2015).

Some scholars found that commercialisation have presented entrepreneurial opportunities for the
media. McManus (2009) explored that the breakdown of business models of mainstream media, the
rapid adaptation of broadcast internet connections and the development of low cost digital broadcast
equipment creates exciting opportunities for establishing new low cost media, because they eliminate
the need for multi-million dollar presses, increasingly expensive paper, and fleet for delivery trucks
which all together consume about two third of their average newspaper’s revenue (McManus, 2009).

McManus (2009) further added that Marketised media eliminate the requirement for a government
license and multi-million-dollar transmitter to disseminate news in video and audience format;
reduces the cost of newsgathering and presentation.

4.6 Chapter Summary

This chapter unpacked the genesis of Nampa’s financial challenges, its commercialization
consideration and possible implications on Nampa’s role in Namibia.

Nampa finds itself in a financial abyss due to its reliance on government. This was worsened by the
COVID-19 pandemic that forced other media establishments to withdraw their subscription, thus
reducing the agency’s income. Additionally, the subscription rates are very low and have not been
generating enough money to supplement the agency’s annual subvention.

Operating with a lean budget has not been easy for the news agency. Human capital was mostly
affected by the budget cut. The agency didn’t fill vacant positions for the past three years. Added to

31
this, during the period under review, journalists left the agency due to retirement or greener pastures.
The agency relieved all its freelancers to save costs. All together, these positions have not been filed
to date, 2022.

A lean newsroom affected productivity and added extra responsibilities to the remaining editorial
staff. It led to the neglect of reporting on beats or areas of specialization where the positions are
vacant. At present, the only beats that have a reporter assigned to it is the sport beat, the environment
beat and the multi-media beat. These reporters have thus far turned in general reporters, reporting
on all issues to ensure that all the other beats are covered.

The agencies financial challenges took a toll on its modes of transportation. The agency sold all its 10
vehicles and used a portion of the profit made to buy four vehicles which are all stationed at the
headquarter in Windhoek. Reporters in other parts of the country cover stories at own cost
(Participant 3, 2022).

The study found that Nampa’s commercialisation consideration is not merely a decision the agency
took to generate revenue, but a directive from government to help it become financially self-reliant.

The transition into a commercial entity commenced. The Agency launched an application with CRAN
to obtain a TV license. This is part of Nampa’s commercialization plan. The agency is looking at
capitalising on its AV production. Whilst awaiting the approval of the license, they have already began
producing promotional videos for corporates.

Despite this progress, the agency encountered challenges with the transition. This transition came
with the implementation of new subscription rates. Nampa is left with the question whether the
subscribers will still remain on board with the revised rates. The legal implication involved is another
aspect that is challenging the transition. The Agency was established by an Act of parliament and thus
the Act doesn’t allow it the be profit driven.

The identified services that the agency plan capitalise on is envisioned to bring about possible
opportunities and in the same vein challenges. Analysed text revealed that commercialization can
bring about international business interest for the agency (Banda, 2006). It can bring about
international partnerships that will generate profit for the agency. The news agency will receive
funding through advertising, and in some instances sponsorships (Banda, 2006). Added to the
entrepreneurial opportunities Netanel (2001) writes that a commercial media will continue to play an
important “Fourth Estate” role.

32
Despite the argument by (Netanel, 2001) commercialization impacts statutory mandate of the media
as the fourth estate (Odunlami & Adaja, 2015). Allowing entrepreneurship in the media create
content distortion as the content produced will be targeting potential advertisers and investors.

This study found that commercialising Nampa’s services will not affect the agency’s relationship with
the state. Nampa will still be under the control of government; the only difference is that it will not
solely depend on government for survival. This relationship will only be affected should Nampa opt to
privatize (Banda, 2006).

The next chapter summarises and concludes the study.

33
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

In the fourth chapter, this study discussed Nampa’s commercialisation consideration. This chapter
concludes the study and suggests recommendations on Nampa’s commercialisation process.

5.2 Summary of the study

Chapter one provided an overview of the study by focusing on the problem statement, the objectives
of the study and the research questions. The chapter further focused on the significance of the study,
delimitations and limitations.

Chapter two shed light on the literature review on the concept of media commercialisation. The
chapter detailed the theoretical framework that forms the foundation of the study. This section of the
research focused on the concept and history of media commercialisation and its impacts on the fourth
estate role of the media.

Chapter three unpacked the research methodology of the study. It covered the research design,
research paradigm, and approach and study location. This section covered the sampling procedure,
sampling size, data collection tools, data analysis, ethical consideration, validity and trustworthiness.
This study adopted the mixed-method methodology and case study design. The data collection tools
employed was semi-structured verbal and non-verbal interviews.

Chapter four presented the data collected by the researcher. The chapter at hand, which is the last
chapter, concludes the study by proposing recommendations and identifying areas for further
research. To summarise the findings, chapter five tests the extend at which the research objectives
were met.

5.3 Correlation between findings and research objectives

Objective 1: Investigate the genesis of Nampa’s financial challenges and how it has crippled the
agencies editorial operations

34
This objective has been achieved through engagement with participant 1 and 2. The two participants
reconfirmed the events that led to agencies financial challenges. Upon investigation the researcher
found that the agency’s annual budgetary allocation is not the only contributing factor to the agency’s
financial challenges. The rates at which the subscribers pay for stories is relatively low. The researcher
notes that the funds generated from story sales cannot maintain the operations of the newsroom, let
alone supplement the budgetary allocation.

Through both verbal and non- verbal interviews with the participants, the researcher established that
these financial challenges have crippled the newsroom production.

Man power in the newsroom has been affected the most. Not being able to fill vacant positions and
dismissing all freelance journalist has left a big void in the newsroom. Specialised journalists are forced
to take on more stories by covering stories outside their beats.

Objective 2: Analyse Nampa’s commercialisation considerations by shedding light on the benefits and
challenges of this transition

Objective 2 has been achieved optimally. The researcher found a twist to Nampa’s financial
consideration. The study found that this consideration didn’t in fact emanate from brainstorming
meetings, but instead it is a directive from government. The researcher found that the Nampa has kick
started with the transition. What is pending is the revisit of the Act upon the agency is established and
the attainment of a TV license. The agency has a plan in place of the services it is commercializing.

The study found that this transition comes with possible opportunities and challenges. The
opportunities include partnerships with corporates, sponsorships, and competitiveness on the
commercial scale. This the researcher notes, will put the agency in a more independent position.

The challenges that could emanate from this transition is that the agency could lose its categorisation
as a public/ state media (Banda, 2006). This change in categorisation is influence by the type of content
the agency will be producing. If the content is not largely aimed at informing, educating and
entertaining the public the agency will lose its status.

The other challenge the researcher picked up after investigation is that the agency fears to losing its
subscribers after it commercializes. This transition will come with new subscription fees. The
subscribers are not legally bound to the agency; they can withdraw if they can’t afford the new rates.

Objective 3: Interrogate the impacts of commercialisation on the fourth estate role of Nampa in a
democratic Namibia

35
This objective has been accomplished. Through content analysis the researcher found that
commercialisation will indeed have an impact on the Nampa’s fourth estate role. Researchers found
that a commercial media that is driven to attract clientele will produce content that is attractive to
entities that funds it. This will create distortion in the content and influence the type of stories to be
reported on. The advertisers will have a say on what goes on air based on their market interest.

5.4 Recommendations

Based on the findings summarised above, the following recommendations are proposed:
 Nampa has identified avenues that they are commercializing, namely, its AV and PR services.
The agency needs to clarify what type of content it will be producing. Will it be a mixer or
news and commerce or entirely commerce? It needs to give a breakdown of its programs that
will be put on the TV channel upon approval of the broadcasting license. At present the agency
does not disseminate news directly to the public, but through subscription. This clause needs
to me made clear as the agency commercialises.
 The transition is a new shift in the operations of Nampa. Amendments to the agency’s
organizational policies need to be made to incorporate its commercial element. The
amendments will include the revision of writing styles, and clause that protects the agency
from commercial exploitation among others.
 With the current staff complement, the researcher questions the agency’s capacity to run a
commercial TV station. Nampa needs to address a few issues including increasing their men
power. With its current number of employees, I question the capacity of the staff to handle
the transformation and therefore believe that Nampa needs to repopulate but not only
repopulate but look into bringing on board new and current knowledge that understands
digital communication, marketing as well as a thorough understanding of public relations.
Staff migration has impeded the agency’s strategic planning and will therefore seriously
affected their progress towards full commercialisation.
 Additionally, the agency should start looking into investing in communication technologies
that will disseminate information fast and efficiently. For example, investing in LIVE streaming
technologies,
 Researchers are encouraged to follow Nampa’s transition process closely as its process can be
emulate by other public media should they decide to commercialize in the future.

36
  More studies need to be conducted on media commercialisation to ask new questions that
contribute to media commercialisation in southern Africa. Further studies will also contribute
to the development of theories in media entrepreneurship.

5.5 Conclusion

Chapter five concluded the study. It provides a summary of all the study chapters and tested
whether the objectives of the study have been met. In conclusion, the study extensively discussed
the findings and proposed key recommendations to Nampa’s commercialisation considerations, its
process, benefits and challenges. Confidently, the proposed recommendations will be presented to
Nampa with the hope that they would be considered in this transition.

37
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APPENDICES

Ethical Clearance Certificate

43
Permission letter to conduct research from Nampa

44
Consent form

45
46
47
48
49
Turnitin Receipt

Data Collection Tools

Unstructured interview questions: Nampa gatekeeper

1. How has the agency’s financial situation affected the operations of the newsroom and AV
Unit?
2. Some of your journalist/s were dismissed. What void did this create in the newsroom and AV
Unit?
3. What measures have you implored to cope under these conditions?
4. The agency has had commercialization considerations as one of the means to generate
funds. What are your thoughts on this?
5. Apart from commercialization. What else do you think should be done?
6. Any concluding remarks?

Unstructured interview questions: Nampa Journalist

1. It is no secret that some of your colleagues were laid off as result of the ongoing financial
challenges the agency is experiencing? How has this affected you as a journalist at the
agency?
2. Do the ongoing financial challenges put you in a position where you question your job
security?

50
 3. The agency has had commercialization considerations as one of the means to generate
funds. What are your thoughts on this?
4. Apart from commercialization. What else do you think should be done?
5. Any concluding remarks?

Unstructured interview questions: former Nampa journalist who has been dismissed due to the
financial abyss

1. What was your role at agency and where were you stationed before the dismissal?
2. Can you talk to us about the contributions you and the team of freelancer did towards news
coverage during your term at the agency?
3. The agency has had commercialization considerations as one of the means to generate
funds. What are your thoughts on this?
4. Any final remarks?

51