FreeSpeak

Gregory Gondwe is director of the Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ), and has already paid a price for exposing corruption. In this podcast, FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister, digs deep with Gondwe into the scourge of corruption, the state of journalism, the broader political landscape in Malawi and the future of democracy.

Our #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister connects via Zoom with JJ Omojuwa, Chief Strategist at Alpha Reach to discuss the controversial topic of social media influencers and what this may mean for journalism and access to information, especially in the African context. Omojuwa is a Nigerian blogger author, public speaker, political commentator and a verified social media expert with over a million followers on Twitter.

Done WRD by Namibia Media Trust

Today we take you back to what was #FreeSpeak’s first vodcast on the #Fishrot scandal. Our host Gwen Lister spoke with Shinovene Immanuel, head of the investigative desk at The Namibian newspaper and Helgi Seljan, investigative reporter of Icelandic National Broadcasting Corporation just as the scandal was beginning to erupt in 2019.

Do young people trust the media? And why do Africans seem to care less about freedoms now than they did a decade ago? Youthful Ndapwa Alweendo, freelance writer and editor, and Omar van Reneen, a civil rights activist & co-founder of Equal Namibia, explore concerns of declining levels of trust in the media with our #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister.

On November 2 we join the rest of the world to commemorate the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists (IDEI) - an important day for press freedom. More specifically to focus on the safety of journalists, who need an enabling environment – and not a climate of fear – in order to do their jobs to the best of their ability. Mozambique is one of the countries in which attacks on journalists has become commonplace. #LetsTakeAMoment to unpack this issue with #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister and Editor of Mozambique’s leading weekly newspaper, Fernando Goncalves.

Great journalism needs good journalists. Few would argue with this statement. The media world is currently preoccupied with the challenge of sustaining good journalism and the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) is no exception. GFMD is an international network of journalism support and media development organisations intent on securing a sustainable future for journalism as a public good. For this to be realised, training excellence, newsroom diversity and the strong presence of women in the sector, are a given. #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister discusses this and more with the director of the Namibia Media Trust and first African chairperson of the GFMD, Zoé Titus.

Access to information (ATI) is a topical issue. We’ve just celebrated the International Day for Universal Access to Information, and there’s finally an ATI Bill before Parliament years after the Action Namibia Coalition and others started work on the project with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) in 2016. So, there’s light at the end of the tunnel as it is set to become law. The Covid pandemic however has given even more impetus to the necessity of such access on the part of both citizens and journalists alike, given the predominance of disinformation around Covid measures in general and vaccines in particular. #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister chats with Frederico Links, the chairperson of the Coalition, about the urgency of an ATI law in the prevailing circumstances.

#FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister talks to Joseph Ailonga (Jossy Joss) Broadcast Manager at The Namibian and Tangeni Amupadhi Editor of The Namibian newspaper, about the newspaper’s exciting initiative to branch out into radio. The Namibian is about to launch its new venture, Desert Radio, as part of its multimedia offering. They reflect on the media’s struggle for sustainability in a time when audiences have been captured by the digital space, on pushing a multimedia newsroom and, most importantly, on how to sustain good journalism.

In part 1 of this #FreeSpeak podcast we looked at the issue of artificial intelligence and its impact on journalism, and in a conversation with Mattia Peretti, of the LSE’s Polis project JournalismAI, we focused on the rollout of AI in newsrooms, and what this concept really means. We stopped short of looking at practical ways in which media owners and managers are currently exploring the potential of this tool in enabling the work of journalists. So, in this episode of the two-part podcast our #FreeSpeak host, Gwen Lister, chats to Styli Charalambous, who’s been an innovator since he co-founded the Daily Maverick in South Africa in 2009.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in the newsroom … has it already progressed from an idea to a reality? Is the journalism world keeping pace with the evolution of new technologies? #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister tackles these issues with Mattia Peretti who is at the helm of running Journalism AI at Polis which involves research, training and collaborative initiatives in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics.

The new Clubhouse app is a relatively newcomer on the ‘streets of the Internet’, and one that has quickly caught fire with young Namibians. Clubhouse is an audio app that allows people to get together to communicate in various voice chatrooms on topics ranging from virtual clubbing to book club chats to discussions around race and identity. Tutaleni Asino, associate professor in educational technology at the Oklahoma State University in the US, talks to #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister about what is driving the phenomenal uptake of this app.

The future of good journalism hangs in the balance for a whole plethora of reasons, and many feel that its future depends on the professionalism of those who practice the craft. At the core of this uncertainty is the issue of journalism education, and the sustainability of ethical independent journalism that can push back the tide of disinformation to best serve democracy. #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister talks to seasoned journalist, former editor and media trainer Paula Fray, owner of the Pan-African media training organisation, Fray College of Communication.

There is a huge responsibility for big tech, in particular, for online users themselves, to try and combat disinformation. What can journalists do to curb the spread of disinformation, especially on social media? These are the issues our #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister deliberates on with Editor of the Namibian Sun, Toivo Njabela.

This episode spotlights our #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister who discusses her recently released memoir, #ComradeEditor, with former colleague and guest host Graham Hopwood. Lister, one of Africa's foremost journalists, achieved global repute for opposing South Africa’s occupation of Namibia. Here she and Hopwood have a candid discussion about life in former apartheid South West Africa, her career in journalism and the start of the iconic independent newspaper, The Namibian. #ComradeEditor is available at the Namibia Media Trust’s office, the Book Den and Exclusive Books

Bob Vezera Kandetu, a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, who also served as Director General at the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and Sakeus Iikela, Secretary-General of the Namibia Media Professionals Union (Nampu), join FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister in a review of the impact of the just-concluded month-long strike by NBC journalists and workers.

Digital rights and freedoms were not on the table as an issue when the crafters of the Windhoek Declaration articulated their aspirations for a free, independent and pluralistic media in Africa 30 years ago. But the penetration of new technologies and the reliance on digital forms of information and entertainment in Africa is undeniable. What are the current concerns and challenges, and what does the future hold? Our panelists discuss this and more as they reflect on the evolution of media in the past 30 years.

In this special podcast to mark World Press Freedom Day 2021 and the 30th anniversary of the seminal Windhoek Declaration on Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press, CITE (Centre for Innovation and Technology) founder/director Zenzele Ndebele and journalist/lecturer/podcaster Makhosi Sibanda share insights about media developments in the last 30 years - since the adoption of the declaration - and what the future holds.

The Namibia Media Professionals Union (Nampu) has a very specific mandate to improve the welfare of journalists and media professionals in Namibia. The union’s main priority is to organise and unite local journalists and media workers operating in print, broadcasting and online mediums, and to allow for better bargaining and improved working conditions. #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister talks to Kelvin Chiringa, radio presenter and journalist at Eagle FM, and Sakeus Iikela, journalist at the Namibian newspaper and secretary general of Nampu, about the views of Namibian journalists, and the Windhoek Declaration, and their expectations of the upcoming World Press Freedom Day conference.

Namibia will host the global 2021 World Press Freedom Day celebration which also marks the 30th anniversary of the 1991 Windhoek Declaration on a Free, Pluralistic and Independent African Press. How does press freedom affect young people and why should they care when this freedom comes under attack?\nThis time around youthful Jessica Uiras and Juno Angula pose questions about this and related topics to our usual #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister, iconic journalist who is often referred to as the mother of the Windhoek Declaration. Lister chaired the plenary session on May 3, 1991, that scripted the Declaration.