When discussions about media funding arise, they are often framed as a press freedom issue or the public’s right to know.
This is true.
However, it often overlooks a crucial reality: media funding is a business issue.
For many executives or marketing practitioners, advertising budgets are viewed primarily through the lens of that well-known corporate term “return on investment”.
The idea is that media houses are service providers selling audience attention while businesses are customers buying visibility.
This perspective, perhaps sensible, doesn’t tell the full story.
Fundamentally, information is a form of economic infrastructure.
Just as financial institutions move capital, media organisations move information.
Markets depend on the efficient flow of information. Investors require information to allocate resources.
Consumers need information to make the right decisions.
In turn, businesses rely on information to identify risks, emerging trends and opportunities.
Think about it like this: without credible information, markets become less efficient and uncertainty increases.
That logically leads to poor economic decision-making.
This is why media funding should matter to corporate Namibia.
There aren’t verified figures to quantify the decline of advertising (this also speaks to the information poverty in the country).
Reliable sources have, however, suggested that local advertising has dropped about 30-45% year-on-year for print publications.
According to Statista Market, advertising revenue that traditionally sustained journalism has increasingly shifted towards global digital platforms.
In 2023, The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia reported that the broadcasting sector experienced a 6% decline, while advertising revenue recorded a substantial decline of 26% compared to the same period in the previous year.
Journalism is a knowledge-intensive industry whose primary output is trusted information.
The quality of information available to society is directly linked to the quality of the journalists producing it.
If media institutions lack the resources to attract and retain talented professionals, the quality of public information inevitably declines.
This should be a serious concern for businesses.
Every major corporate decision relies on information.
Whether assessing consumer behaviour or managing reputational risks, executives depend on a functioning information ecosystem.
A 2021 study by Australia’s RMIT and Swinburne universities found that countries experiencing declines in press freedom also experienced a corresponding 1% to 2% decline in real gross domestic product growth.
In simple terms, weakening institutions that produce reliable information can have measurable economic consequences.
We cannot emphasise the role of investigative journalism enough but it is important to note that journalism’s value extends beyond exposing wrongdoing.
The media also informs citizens about other crucial areas. For most, these include economic developments and investment opportunities.
In an increasingly complex economy, citizens require reliable information to understand issues that involve savings, pensions, investments, taxation or economic policy.
Corporate Namibia, therefore, has a stake in the sustainability of the media sector that extends beyond advertising exposure.
When businesses invest in credible media platforms, they’re not just buying space for a campaign, they’re contributing to maintaining an information ecosystem.
The question facing Namibia is not whether media organisations need funding.
It is rather whether businesses recognise the role the media play in sustaining one of the most important pillars of our country’s economic infrastructure.
Ultimately, funding credible journalism is an investment in the quality of information on which economic growth depends.
Media funding, therefore, is not merely a public interest issue. It is a business issue that should matter to every boardroom in Namibia.
- John-Colin Namene is a journalist and a sales and marketing supervisor at The Namibian. He can be reached at john-colin@namibian.com.na
