ADVERTISING AND MEDIA

MEDIA

The Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA) was established in 1991 as a national news agency responsible for the distribution of local, regional and international news.

In spite of its small population, Namibia has a varied and lively press with 13 newspapers. Five of them, including the state-owned New Era, are dailies with a national distribution, another five are independent weeklies; there is one biweekly, and there are about a dozen monthly magazines.

The country’s oldest newspaper is the Allgemeine Zeitung, published daily in German. The weekend edition has a cultural section and once a month a tourism supplement. Die Republikein for the Afrikaans speaking population is also published daily.

The most popular daily is The Namibian, published in English. It is appreciated for its well-balanced reporting and moderately critical commentary. The Windhoek Observer is a weekend tabloid style paper. The Namibia Economist is a weekly online publication.

There are more than 20 private and community radio stations and five commercial television stations (MultiChoice Namibia, Downlink Namibia, Paragon Investment Holdings, Channel 4, and Digital Cable TV), most of them based in Windhoek.

The state-owned Namibian Broadcasting Corporation NBC, with radio services in ten different languages plus three television channels, is the dominant player in the broadcasting sector. One Africa Television is a fully commercial, free-to-air station which receives no state subsidies.

Private broadcasters and independent newspapers usually operate without official interference.

There are numerous advertising agencies & services in Namibia, handling overall marketing and branding strategies and sales promotions for their clients. They offer advertising, media, brand consulting, design, corporate communication and digital services.

FILMMAKING

Namibia is a gem for those in search of the unexplored and the wilderness. The bizarre desert scenery and savannah are spectacular backdrops for filmmaking.

The filmmaking industry in Namibia has the potential to contribute to the country’s revenue in a major way, and if managed properly can create prosperity for all its participants in the future.

Film is the only art form that combines multiple disciplines for the creation of one end product. It requires creative people to write and develop concepts and story lines, technical crews during production, service providers to facilitate, performing artists like actors and musicians to implement the vision and create sound landscapes, as well as visual artists to design the backdrops for the stories to be told.

Film also fuels other sectors, e.g. the hospitality industry, catering, telecommunications, transport and tourism. Artists and related industries can thus benefit hugely from the film industry if they become fully aware of the opportunities presented by every product to be created.

The Namibia Film Commission (NFC) is a statutory body that was established by Parliament (Act 6 in 2000) to support, encourage and promote film productions as well as the development of the film industry in Namibia. Friendly and competent staff is dedicated to manage any kind of inquiries and helps to put ideas into action. The NFC liaises between foreign and local production companies and assists in obtaining permits from government agencies, i.e. work permits or permits for filming in national parks, or in hiring security services. As for production service providers, who supply local crews and technical services, location scouts, aviation services, transport, accommodation, catering or telecommunications, the Commission provides visiting producers with a list of experienced and reputable companies.

The NFC assists filmmakers to obtain the obligatory permits.

Any commercial filming or photography in Namibia requires the permission by the NFC. The application form for a “Namibia Filming Permit” needs to be submitted to the NFC three weeks before the planned arrival. An administrative fee of N$ 500 applies.

All foreign crews must have a valid temporary work permit to work on a film set in Namibia, even if it is for only one day. Application forms are available from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration.