Africa-Press – Namibia. Organisations strengthen relationships with the media when providing credible information and engaging regularly, New Era Chief Executive Officer Christof Maletsky said on Friday.
Speaking in Windhoek at a media workshop organised by the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa), Maletsky said trust is the most important currency between companies and journalists.
“Respect, transparency, and credibility are the pillars of effective media relations. Journalists also want to protect their reputation and organisations must never lie,” he said.
The workshop focused on strengthening media relations, understanding media ethics, improving economic and industry data reporting and building constructive engagement.
Maletsky described the Namibian media landscape as volatile and under pressure, with declining advertising revenue and competition from social media platforms.
“Seven years ago, newspapers like The Namibian printed 78 000 copies with over 120 pages. Today, advertising income has dropped to between 10 and 30% of what it was, and online revenue streams are still insufficient,” he said.
He added that the industry also faces challenges of misinformation, disinformation, deepfakes and inexperienced newsrooms. Despite these challenges, he said traditional media remain trusted sources of information.
“Studies show that readers still believe in the work of legacy media as opposed to social media,” Maletsky said.
He urged organisations to improve how they interact with journalists by respecting deadlines, avoiding corporate jargon and providing substantive content that improves news output.
“Never say no ‘no comment’. Rather give background information off the record,” he said.
He recommended strategies such as holding regular engagement sessions, offering exclusives and providing compelling stories with data and expert voices.
“Exclusives do the trick, but you must add value,” he said.
Maletsky also encouraged building personal rapport with journalists and editors while maintaining professionalism.
“Connect with journalists in the social space, but always keep it professional,” he said.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
