WINDHOEK - New Era is one of the few media houses in the country that had no complaints laid against it with the media ombudsman last year.

Even more interesting is the fact that New Era because of the professionalism of its journalists and editorial department, as well as factual and objective reporting has also not been cited in any litigation for defamation or malicious reporting. About 21 complaints relating to accuracy, fairness and balanced reporting were laid with Media Ombudsman Clement Daniels.

The Editors’ Forum of Namibia (EFN) contained these statistics in a news release on Tuesday.

The Editors’ Forum of Namibia met last month in Windhoek for its annual general meeting (AGM).

“A total of 21 complaints were received, which represents a marked increase from the eight complaints reported at the 2013 Annual General Meeting. A perceived lack of accuracy and/or unfairness remains the main ground for complaints, with editorials and web content for the first time also being the subject of complaints,” said Media Ombudsman Clement Daniels.

Complainants have a choice to either refer a complaint to the office of the media ombudsman or to the courts.

The number of complaints does not necessarily mean that the complainants are correct in claiming that the paper has breached the editors’ code of practice.

At the meeting, Daniels stressed the need for legislation to insure access to information, adding that although such legislation still does not exist, access to information is a universal human right which can and should be demanded even without legislation.

At Friday’s meeting, members of the forum expressed concern about the decision to discontinue The Week That Was and other NBC shows, allegedly because of perceived concerns that they may be used as platforms for unfair criticism in an election year.

By Mathias Haufiku