“The problem that you face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created it.” – Albert Einstein By Fred Mwilima The doctrine of social responsibility in the news media emerged in the 1940s whose theory emphasized the responsibility of the media to the larger society. Under this theory, it is believed that information is not a matter of societal desire, but a matter of need. For members of the society to function well, they need to keep an eye and ear on the world they inhabit. It is here we must place the responsibility of the press in its proper position. With the establishment of the ‘New Era’ newspaper in 1992, many were doubtful or even inimical about its advent. But in my view, New Era could not have come at the right time. The 1990s were characterized by new ideas in the political, social and economic spheres. Many a journey commenced at this time. Some have proceeded to their logical destinations, others not. A journey starts with one step, but I would add that it starts with an idea which matures into a vision and later into a movement or established institution. As is often said, information is power, and its control is necessary for gaining and maintaining this invisible power. Those who control such power are eager to know about the threats and opportunities that affect their interests. They use this power to ward off the threats and safeguard the opportunities affecting those in positions of power. This applies to private, political or government-owned news organizations. To put it simply, the media – private, political or government-owned – is used as an agency of social control. In the 1990s there existed a gap of information flow between urban and rural communities. This, in my view, was one among other reasons for the establishment of ‘New Era’. Whether ‘New Era’ lived up to its missions, is for the leadership and the readers themselves to decide. In business, they say to outwit a competitor, you must continuously improve your services or even diversify for your own benefit and that of your clients. From its infant days, ‘New Era’ seemed promising to fulfil its mission. It had bureaus in almost every region: Khorixas, Opuwo, Keetmanshoop, Gobabis, Swakopmund, Tsumeb, Oshakati, Katima, Rundu, and others that I am not able to mention here. For a newly-established news media, this seemed a tall order. The milieu of news reporting was no longer the same. News was no longer about urbanites, but also about rural people. ‘New Era’ feature articles were about the lives of ‘real’ people, people who were in abject poverty and with little access to health services. The attempt to secede Caprivi from Namibia was first reported by ‘New Era’. This spoke volumes of its investigative journalism at that time. I can comfortably say that although there are those who thought ‘New Era’ reporters were mere political initiates, a quick look at the stories and editorials written at that time, would dispel the argument. Over years, things have changed and the 2007 ‘New Era’ differs in many respects from the ‘New Era’ in its infant days. It now has its own property, a modern complex in which any journalist would love to work. This alone has made the image of ‘New Era’ more visible. But if there is something that ‘New Era’ should shed, it is the political appointees of directors. First we must understand that good governance does not come from outside but from within. The concept that ‘to change others we may have to change ourselves first’, cannot be overstated. Real and meaningful change comes from within, and it is true that we may not change others, but we can always change ourselves. It is not the ideology or political orientation that is at stake here, but the provision of services and the survival of ‘New Era’ in a competitive market. I trust that management understands that the business of journalism is to present facts accurately and not to reduce stories to political considerations. It is my view that the media should not define matters in terms of where the power lies, who opposes who or what, where the special interests are, because when this happens, the larger truth of the story is often missed or ignored. Some journalists, in attempting to do their work, look to where the ball is and not to where it is not. The news media tends to focus on the poor when the poor make news, yet the poor are poor all the time. To report on the poor, news media reports may do justice if they looked to where the ball is not. In democratic societies such as Namibia, the news media prides itse;f on the entrenched freedom of the press and of expression. Such a society is usually characterized by a more diverse mix of public and privately-owned media outlets offering a variety of arts, news, information and entertainment. Transparency, openness and accountability to readers mesh perfectly with the conditions that promote a free press. This includes open access to economic information and public meetings, freedom of expression and protection from official harassment or interference. All mass media, whether independent or government-owned, are influenced by social forces, some of which are internal and others external. Three phases of influence may be identified here – forces within the media organization – hese are the directors, management, editorial and technical people. These have perhaps the most leverage of influence that has a direct impact on the performance and credibility. The second leverage of influence would include owners, advertisers, sources and the audience. The owners are the paymaster and would dictate the environment where their money is spent. Others bring in the much-needed dollar in exchange for services such as the advertisers, some of whom may become loyal to such an institution. The last external influence comes from government, pressure groups, investors and social or political institutions. Each of the three groups has different goals, priorities and relationships with other agencies. But it is my belief that internal influence has it own strength and weaknesses. While the external one has its own threats, it also has opportunities. The state in all nations serves as an organizing structure that can, to varying degrees, constrain or promote the free activity (or agency) of the media. This is the tension between structure and agency as it applies to media and the political world. But, depending on which orientation you would look at it, standard of performance is often set internally and according to organizational self-interest, though heavily influenced by external forces. A poor performance by any news media is often a reflection of inefficient management. It is a true saying that to communicate effectively, we need to put ourselves in our audiences’ shoes and see things from their point of view. Effective communicators identify clearly the specific audience they aim to reach and seek to understand what their audiences know, feel and do. This should underline the mission of the ‘New Era’. There is nothing more pathetic than a man with eyesight but with no vision.