User:Benjohnwie/AZ Windhoek

The Allgemeine Zeitung (literally in English "General Newspaper") founded in 1916, is the oldest daily newspaper in Namibia and the only daily newspaper in german language in Africa.

Profile
The Allgemeine Zeitung sees itself as a Namibian newspaper. It is written by 10 editors; Most of the staff members are either born or naturalised Namibians. The Newspaper is liberal-conservative orientated.

With a circulation from about 5.000 copies (Mondays to Thursdays, 12 to 16 pages) to about 6.000 copies (Fridays, up to 32 pages) (Status: September 2009) the "AZ" is read by most German citizens (~25.000). A few hundred papers are send to South Africa and some (mostly the Friday release) to old Namibians and Friends in Germany. Once a month (usually first Tuesday of the month) an extra for tourists is added. The circulation is then raised to about 10.000 copies.

In 1991 Democratic Media Holdings (DMH) bought the Newspaper. The managing editor since 2004 is Stefan Fischer. He improved the design in a more modern way, what raised the demand a lot and made Allgemeine Zeitung make first profits. DMH also prints and releases Die Republikein, which is written in Afrikaans, and the Namibian Sun. All editorial content in the newspaper is written in German, a recognized language in Namibia.

History
The Allgemeine Zeitung was founded on the 22. July 1916 under the name of "Der Kriegsbote" (literally in English "The War Envoy") and informed about events in the First World War. After Germany was defeated and lost German South-West Africa (now Namibia) to South Africa the name was changed to Allgemeine Zeitung on the 1. July 1919.

In the year of 1937 the Newspaper was bought by the publisher "John Meinert Ltd." . The newspaper was released daily, except for Sundays, with a circulation of 1.800 copies. Most readers where Germans from Windhoek and surroundings. At these times the subtitle said the Newspaper would support German national interests. From 1939 for a short while the Newspaper was released under the name "Deutscher Beobachter" (literally in English "German Observer").

In this Times smaller papers were released, called "Der Farmer" (literally in English "The Farmer"), "Das Volksblatt" (literally in English "The Nation Paper") owned by the workers association South Afrika, the "Karakulzüchter" (literally in English "The Karakul Breeder") founded in 1933 and the "Heimat" (literally in English "Home") a German evangelical religious community paper for Africa. In 1987 Diether Lauenstein became the new owner, before the Newspaper was sold to DMH.

Literature

 * Karl Bömer: Handbuch der Weltpresse: Eine Darstellung des Zeitungswesens aller Länder. Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main: Armanen-Verlag, 1937.
 * Carsten von Nahmen: Deutschsprachige Medien in Namibia - Vom Windhoeker Anzeiger zum deutschen Hörfunkprogramm der Namibian Broadcasting Corporation: Geschichte, Bedeutung und Funktion der deutschsprachigen Medien in Namibia 1898 - 1998. Windhoek: Namibia Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft, 2001.