EDITORIAL: Is the newsroom undemocratic?

Journalist Wonder Guchu set the cat amongst the pigeons recently when he described local newsrooms as among the most undemocratic workplaces in the country.“You can’t raise your concerns without repercussions. If you speak out, you don’t walk away unscathed — you’ll be nailed for it. So people find it unnecessary to endure stress and depression when they have other options,” he said.His claims, if ventilated and found to be true, are a serious indictment on the fraternity. This is more so because we have been at the forefront of exposing this very behaviour when it involves other businesses outside the press industry.To adopt the very behaviour for which we rap others over the knuckles daily smacks of double standards and a total lack of accountability on our part. Naturally, the newsroom is devoid of many luxuries, but free speech can never be one of them. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" was French philosopher Voltaire’s illustration of the imperative to grant a voice even to those who may be wrong.The economies of scale are very thin within the local media business. It’s one of the least profitable businesses in town. So, the inadequate remunerations and other incentives could be understood contextually. But democracy, the bedrock of the media’s own existence, ought to be the one luxury that the newsroom has in abundance. The 'Fourth Estate' label bestowed upon us is not just a fancy title. It refers to media in its explicit capacity to influence politics – including the sustenance of democracy everywhere in the country.

EDITORIAL: Is the newsroom undemocratic?

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Namibian Sun 2026-03-26

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EDITORIAL: Is the newsroom undemocratic?

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Namibian Sun 2026-03-26

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