Election media monitoring tool provides lessons
Media ombudsman John Nakuta presented the final 'Media and Elections Monitoring' report yesterday, highlighting that the project not only helps analysts better understand the factors driving election reporting but also identifies assumptions that should be challenged or delved into going forward.
The project was supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's FES-Media, with data analysis conducted by Survey Warehouse's Christie Keulder, while Natasja Beyleveld's team at NaMedia gathered and compiled the data.
Keulder said the analysis of media coverage during the election period revealed that Namibian political parties continue to rely on traditional tactics, expecting voter support simply because they hold media events.
“Young people do not do that,” Keulder warned, noting that the youth require new, more proactive strategies.
Namibian political parties must adopt active communication strategies that align with modern trends, such as engaging through social media and other modern methods, he said.
Moreover, parties can no longer afford to be active and engage with media and voters only every four years when seeking election, Keulder added.
Looking at the 2024 media monitoring data, Swapo featured in 10 339 media reports, many of which covered its activities, including media events, from June 2024 up to the presidential and parliamentary elections in November.
Similarly, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) appeared in 4 756 reports, Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) in 2 915, the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) in 2 474, the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) in 2 028, and Affirmative Repositioning (AR) in 1 770.
Media’s role explored
Both Keulder and Nakuta said the media could do more to investigate political parties and share that information with the public.
Frank Steffen, chairperson of the Editors’ Forum of Namibia (EFN), countered that argument, stating: “Political parties seem to abdicate their responsibility by expecting the media to run their campaign.”
Steffen argued that the media can only report on parties if they respond to questions and actively participate in public discussions.
Steffen added that there is a concern that many Namibian parties are authoritarian by nature, which leads normal party members to always toe the party line. This poses a challenge to the media, he said.
The project was supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's FES-Media, with data analysis conducted by Survey Warehouse's Christie Keulder, while Natasja Beyleveld's team at NaMedia gathered and compiled the data.
Keulder said the analysis of media coverage during the election period revealed that Namibian political parties continue to rely on traditional tactics, expecting voter support simply because they hold media events.
“Young people do not do that,” Keulder warned, noting that the youth require new, more proactive strategies.
Namibian political parties must adopt active communication strategies that align with modern trends, such as engaging through social media and other modern methods, he said.
Moreover, parties can no longer afford to be active and engage with media and voters only every four years when seeking election, Keulder added.
Looking at the 2024 media monitoring data, Swapo featured in 10 339 media reports, many of which covered its activities, including media events, from June 2024 up to the presidential and parliamentary elections in November.
Similarly, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) appeared in 4 756 reports, Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) in 2 915, the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) in 2 474, the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) in 2 028, and Affirmative Repositioning (AR) in 1 770.
Media’s role explored
Both Keulder and Nakuta said the media could do more to investigate political parties and share that information with the public.
Frank Steffen, chairperson of the Editors’ Forum of Namibia (EFN), countered that argument, stating: “Political parties seem to abdicate their responsibility by expecting the media to run their campaign.”
Steffen argued that the media can only report on parties if they respond to questions and actively participate in public discussions.
Steffen added that there is a concern that many Namibian parties are authoritarian by nature, which leads normal party members to always toe the party line. This poses a challenge to the media, he said.
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