Rooted in Namibia

Tomorrow the Allgemeine Zeitung, the beloved daily newspaper for many German-speaking Namibians, celebrates 100 years of news reporting in the country.Founded on 22 July 1916, the newspaper has spanned ten decades of Namibia’s history, reporting on two world wars, rapidly changing social and political landscapes, and successfully enduring sizeable technological changes within the world of print media.The first edition, under the name “Der Kriegsgebote” (The War Envoy), to hit the streets in the winter of 1916, was printed under the helm of editor Hans Berthold, and was to appear three times each week.Initially, the newspaper’s main focus was to report on the First World War, operating under heavy censorship, one of the many political moments of turmoil the paper would still operate under. The name ‘Allgemeine Zeitung’ was first used following Germany’s defeat in the war, in July 1919. The newspaper was bought in 1937 by the publishing house John Meinert Limited and it was during this time that it first became a daily paper.Each planned edition has made it to the streets, despite several near-misses, such as a devastating fire in August 1975, which ruined the building in which the typesetters puzzled together each paper through a laborious manual process on a daily basis.But, with the help of another newspaper, the Suid-Wes Afrikaner, who offered their typesetters, the paper made it to the streets just in time.Bahati Traut, the AZ brand manager who has worked at the newspaper for 40 years, says the past four decades have seen many inevitable changes in her work environment.“It’s been quite an adaptive process. The family environment has turned into a corporate environment.”NMH stableToday, the paper operates under the Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) umbrella, offering German-speaking Namibians their daily news digest alongside an Afrikaans and English daily newspaper on top of three other community publications.For Traut, while the media industry and Namibia, has undergone significant changes, paired with a number of obstacles, the readership of the paper has remained fundamentally the same.“Our readership profile hasn’t really changed. We still have a core of loyal readers, and the older German community remain our biggest readership,” she explained.Traut says some of the most notable changes she witnessed first-hand, includes the way in which newspapers are produced, from laborious typesetting processes, where letters were individually set on metal trays, to the digital layout systems used today. Online presenceDigitally, the Allgemeine Zeitung has proved to be a great hit. In 2000, the newspaper went online, offering content to a wider audience, through a website and a little later, a newsletter.In 2006, the Allgemeine Zeitung homepage reached a milestone: In six years, the website registered two million individual visitors and the newsletter was sent to 2 100 subscribers. In June 2015, the website received 750 000 hits and reached nearly one million in the next month. The record for individual visitors was reached in October 2013, with close to 100 000 individual visits. Meanwhile, 5 000 subscribers get their daily dose of Allgemeine Zeitung newsletters. “Being part of all of this, the ups and downs, I am proud to say I am part of the AZ. I really hope the AZ continues for many more years,” Traut said. She says it is important to remember that the role the Allgemeine Zeitung plays in the community, has remained unchanged.“The AZ is there for the German-speaking community, to inform them of everyday news. It has played this role since the beginning, 100 years ago.”Adapting to changeMany of the long-time personnel say that the passage of time has brought along changes, some welcome and others less so. All of these changes, however, inescapable.Deputy editor Eberhard Hoffmann has been with the paper, at various times, since 1975. He has permanently been with the paper since 1996, after a few detours at other jobs. “Once you have worked at a paper, it doesn’t leave you. You look at it differently, and the personal interest remains.”During his time, he has seen “formidable” changes, in the media industry as well as the country itself. Hoffmann says that in 1975, the most technologically advanced employee was an executive secretary, who owned an electrical typewriter, as opposed to the old-style typewriters used by journalists and others at the paper.“That was a very significant thing. She was very privileged,” he remembers with a smile.He witnessed the transformation of typesetting, and the change from lead-based to film technology to put together pages. Then, in 1996, the newsroom transitioned to using floppy disks – in a non-networked environment – the floppy disks were moved from one computer to the next. Nevertheless, the digital age had arrived.Dirk Heinrich, award-winning journalist and photographer, was the first professional photographer employed by the Allgemeine Zeitung, who had until then depended on journalists to secure visuals.Heinrich recalls the challenges faced as a photographer, without a relevant educational background at the time, trying to gain experience and recognition.“In those days, it was a lot more difficult to get a photograph into the paper. You had the development process, photos were all black and white, which presented its own unique challenges.”When photography went digital, photographers had to scramble to catch up on the newest technologies. “When the darkroom fell away, suddenly everything changed. Everything was in colour. It was a totally different medium. We had to learn everything from the start, and we had to adapt very quickly.”For Heinrich, the earlier years of his career represented a time of immense teamwork, and close working relationships, at the paper and with colleagues at other media houses, underlined by the fact that the newspaper had to be on the street at noon. “Deadlines were a lot stricter then than now.”Moreover, journalists from different news organisations regularly came together, offering support and feedback on work.“There was a press club, where even someone inexperienced like me could mingle with the big names, where you would be acknowledged and your work was respected.”The way journalism was practiced was also different then, requiring reporters to be out in the field and out of town, in contrast to what he describes as today’s tendency for young journalists to practice “desktop journalism”.Heinrich believes that to some extent, journalism standards have dropped, and that the focus has shifted from quality, investigative, ethical and neutral journalism to different priorities.Nevertheless, Heinrich says that the Allgemeine Zeitung has competed with the best and has been internationally recognised for its high standards, especially during the independence struggle, when the world momentarily paid close attention to the country.“On the one hand, our work has become diverse; we focus on digital and print. It’s faster in a sense,” he said.He warns, however, that it is important to remember that the roles in a newsroom have been defined for a reason, allowing each player to practice their job to the best of their abilities.‘It’s about quality’“Number one should always be quality. And number two is to let journalists do their jobs, and allow them to concentrate on what that job is.”While the cycle has changed, from a newspaper that had a midday deadline to a paper that is now printed overnight to hit the street early, and while the method of putting that paper together has changed tremendously, the role of the reporter has remained almost unchanged.“The technology we have today is breathtaking, it’s a revolution. The technology can definitely help. But the role of a reporter is actually still the same. You must still be fluent in the language you write in, report in. You must be familiar with the concepts as they relate to your particular fields. And you must respect your deadline,” Hoffmann said.For Hoffmann, and his colleagues, the future of the Allgemeine Zeitung is not in doubt. As with any newspaper, worries about readership numbers always persist, he feels the indicators are strong that the newspaper will continue to exist, as the only German language paper in the country.Not unlike 100 years ago. JANA-MARI SMITH

Rooted in Namibia

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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Rooted in Namibia

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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