Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of any vibrant democracy and society’s collective responsibility to safeguard and protect it, says Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Information and Communication Technology Timothy Masiu.

Masiu was chief guest at the 2023 University of the South Pacific Journalism Student Awards function held in Suva on Friday evening.

“The USP Journalism Awards not only recognises excellence in reporting, but also the commitment to ethical journalism, unbiased storytelling, and the pursuit of truth,” said Masiu.

• READ MORE: Communication Minister Masiu’s full speech at Café Pacific
• USP journalism award winners
• Journalists responsibilities vital, says Masiu
• Hostile climates and journalism challenges – David Robie speaking at the 2016 USP awards

“In an era where information flows abundantly, the responsibility of journalists to uphold these principles has never been more critical.”

While recognising the hard work and dedication put in by the student journalists in their stories, Masiu took the time to acknowledge the challenges that journalists face in the pursuit of truth.

“Today, we recognise the hard work, dedication, and exemplary storytelling that have emerged from the vibrant and diverse community of journalists who have made their mark within USP.”

This year 16 students from the USP journalism programme were recognised for their outstanding achievements in journalism.

Sponsorship media
The awards this year were sponsored by the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), The Fiji Times, Islands Business, FijiLive and Sports World.

“The journalists we celebrate today have embraced this responsibility with vigour, showcasing the power of words and the impact they can have on shaping our world,” said Masiu.

Being a former journalist himself, Masiu said the role of journalism as the Fourth Estate could not be understated — “the role of journalism is pivotal in our society, serving as the watchdog, the voice of the voiceless, and the bridge that connects communities”.

Masiu thanked the journalism school faculty heads and mentors who have guided these aspiring journalists for their dedication in nurturing the next generation of storytellers.

“Your influence goes beyond the classroom; it shapes the future of journalism in the Pacific and beyond,” he said.

The event included presentation of a $10,000 cheque by the PNG government to the USP journalism programme as part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the USP School of Journalism and the PNG National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) on June 19, 2023.

The minister described the collaboration as a testament to recognition that the exchange of knowledge, resources, and expertise was essential in nurturing the next generation of journalists who would shape the narrative of the Pacific region.

Shared training vision
Signifying more than just a formal agreement, he said the MoU represented a shared vision for the future of journalism training and mentoring in the Pacific.

“Through this collaboration, students will have the opportunity to engage with seasoned professionals, gaining insights into the ever-evolving landscape of journalism,” he said.

“I request that the USP School of Journalism or wider USP will have appropriate programmes to upskill or re-train our deserving NBC staff who are non-journalists.”

Journalism head Associate Professor Dr Shailendra Singh acknowledged the support from the PNG government for the USP Journalism Program.

Speaking about the USP Journalism Awards, Dr Singh said these were the longest running and most consistent journalism awards in the Pacific in any category.

He paid tribute to the founder of the awards in 1999, former USP journalism head Professor David Robie, adding that he wished that journalism awards would be revived in Fiji and the region.

“Journalists carry out a crucial function — sometimes it’s a thankless task. Our best journalists should be recognised and helped in their work,” said Dr Singh.

Winners of the 2023 USP Journalism Awards:

• Most Promising First-Year student: Riya Bhagwan
• Best News Reporting: Aralai Vosayaco and Nikhil Kumar
• Best Radio Student: Josepheen Tarianga
• Best Television Students: Nishat Kanti and Maretta Putri
• Best Sports Reporting: Sera Navuga
• Best Feature Reporting: Prerna Priyanka and Viliame Tawanakoro
• Best Regional Reporting: Lorima Dalituicama
• Best Online Reporting: Brittany Nawaqatabu
• Most Outstanding Journalism Student of the Year: Yukta Chand and Viliame Tawanakoro

Awards sponsored by the Journalism Students Association:

• Wansolwara Outstanding Reporting Award: Ema Ganivatu
• Best Inclusive Award, Best Editorial Team, and Best Professional Award: Nikhil Kumar
• Team player Award: Ivy Mallam
• Students Choice Award: Andrew Naidu
• Outstanding Social Service to USP Community: Rhea Kumar

Monika Singh is a reporter for Wansolwara, the online and print publication of the USP Journalism Programme. Republished in partnership with Wansolwara.

When Papuan journalist Victor Mambor visited New Zealand almost nine years ago, he impressed student journalists from the Pacific Media Centre and community activists with his refreshing candour and courage.

As the founder of the Jubi news media group, he remained defiant that he would tell the truth no matter what the risk while facing an oppressive and vindictive regime.

“Journalists need to break down the wall and learn freely about our struggle,” he said in a message to New Zealand media via an interview with Pacific Media Watch.

• READ MORE: The Victor Mambor reports at Asia Pacific Report

Now the 49-year-old journalist and editor finds that the risks are growing exponentially as his media network has expanded — with an English language website and Jubi TV becoming add-ons — and the exposure of his networks have also widened.

He writes for the Jakarta Post, Benar News and contributes to international news services. Two years ago he was also co-producer of an award-winning Al Jazeera 101 East documentary about the plunder of West Papuan forests for oil palm plantations.

But last week the timing was impeccable over his latest award, the Oktonianus Pogau Prize for courageous journalism. It came just eight days after a bomb blast had happened in the street outside his Jayapura home.

The blast has been described as a “terror” attack as a warning over his journalism.

Police investigating
Police are investigating but nothing of substance has been reported so far.

Less than two years ago, on 21 May 2021, another (of many) attempts were made to intimidate Mambor — a glass window in his Isuzu car was smashed and the backdoor and lefthand door spray-painted while the vehicle was parked outside his house in Jayapura.

No prosecution, or even an arrest of a suspect.

“This act of terror and intimidation is clearly a form of violence against journalists and threatens press freedom in Papua and more broadly in Indonesia,” said Lucky Ireeuw, chair of the Jayapura chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) at the time.

“It is strongly suspected that the terrorism suffered by Victor is related to reporting by Tabloid Jubi which a certain party dislikes,” he added without being more specific.

Mambor was actually born at Muara Enim, Sumatra in 1974, the son of Rachmawati Saibuna and John Simon Mambor, a poet from Rasiey, Wondama Bay. His father was also a leader of the Papua Presidium Council and he died as a political prisoner in Jakarta in 2003 at the age of 55.

Presidium chair at the time was chief Theys Eluay, who was murdered by Indonesian soldiers in the following year at Sentani, Papua. Eluay was a colleague of John Mambor.
Victor Mambor often quotes his father, saying: “Be proud of yourselves as Papuans who have never begged in their rich land.”

Pantau citation
The Pantau Foundation began awarding the Pogau prize for courage in journalism in 2017 to honour the bravery of the founder of news media Suara Papua, Oktovianus Pogau.

A Papuan journalist and activist born in Sugapa on 5 August 1992, Pogau died at the age of 23 in Jayapura. The award is given annually to commemorate his bravery.

Pogau reported on violence against hundreds of indigenous Papuans during the Third Papuan Congress in Jayapura in 2011. At the time, three Papuans were killed and five jailed on treason charges — but no Indonesian official was questioned or punished.

Frustrated by the fact that hardly any Indonesian news media were reporting these human rights violations, Pogau launched Suara Papua in 2011.

Speaking for the Pantau Foundation, human rights advocate Andreas Harsono delivered this citation in part:

“Victor Mambor’s decision to return to his father’s homeland and defend the rights of indigenous Papuans through journalism — as well as being steadfast in the face of intimidation after intimidation — made the jury agree that he was a courageous journalist.

“Victor Mambor’s name was recently mentioned in the media after a bomb was detonated outside his house on January 23 in Jayapura. Mambor suspected the terror was related to Jubi’s coverage of the murder and mutilation of four indigenous Papuans from Nduga in Timika in October 2022, when four soldiers were charged with “premeditated murder” . . .

“Victor Mambor grew up in Muara Enim until he graduated from SMAN 1. In 1992, he moved to Bandung, where he later worked as a journalist for Pikiran Rakyat daily. In Bandung, he was mentored by Suyatna Anirun, an actor and director from the Bandung Study Theatre Club.

“In 2004, after his father died, young Victor Mambor decided to work as a journalist in Jayapura. He was appointed editor of Jubi, later general manager, expanding into television and using drones.

“On his blog, Victor Mambor posts important texts he created or translated between 2005 and 2017, including the abduction of Papuan children to Java and his criticism [about] Jakarta journalists’ perspectives, which often only talk about Indonesian nationalism and not giving much space for Papuan perspectives.

“In May 2015, Victor Mambor interviewed President Joko Widodo in Merauke about restrictions on foreign journalists entering Papua since 1967. Jokowi replied that all foreign journalists were free to enter Papua without restrictions.

“Ironically, to this day President Jokowi’s statement has not come true. Foreign journalists are still restricted from entering Papua.

“In 2019, together with several journalists in Pacific Island countries, he founded the Melanesian Media Freedom Forum (MMFF).

“Mambor has also increased coverage of the Pacific region through Jubi, a natural thing for Papuan media, as well as working with media outlets such as Radio New Zealand, Solomon Star, Vanuatu Daily Post, Melanesia News, Fiji Times, Islands Business, Cook Islands News, Post-Courier, and Marshall Islands Journal.

“Victor Mambor was one of three co-producers of an investigative video entitled Selling Out West Papua broadcast by Al Jazeera in June 2020. He collaborated with Mongabay, the Gecko Project and the Korea Centre for Investigative Journalism.

“This was about how a South Korean company, Korindo, seized land and destroyed Papua’s forests. The documentary makers received the Wincott Award for video journalism.

“On May 21, 2021, Mambor was intimidated. His car glass was broken, and the door was spray-painted, while parked at night in front of his house in Jayapura. The police have yet to find the perpetrators of this vandalism.

“In September 2021, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, issued an annual report on international cooperation in the field of human rights. Guterres named Victor Mambor as one of five human rights defenders who frequently experienced intimidation, harassment and threats in covering issues in Papua and West Papua provinces.

“Yayasan Pantau calls on the Indonesian police, especially in Papua, to keep Victor Mambor safe, and to find the people who damaged his car and placed a bomb in front of his house.”

Journalist Victor Mambor, who is the chief editor of the West Papuan newspaper and website Jubi, has received the Oktovianus Pogau Award from the Indonesian-based Pantau Foundation for courage in journalism.

The foundation’s Andreas Harsono said Mambor’s decision to return to his father’s homeland and defend the rights of indigenous Papuans through journalism, as well as being steadfast in the face of “intimidation after intimidation”, made the jury agree he was a courageous journalist.

Late last month a bomb exploded outside Mambor’s home in Jayapura in an apparent planned attack and he has faced other incidents of intimidation.

• READ MORE: ‘Terror’ bomb explodes near Papua journalist Victor Mambor’s home
  — Pacific Media Watch
• Victor Mambor wins Oktovianus Pogau Award for courage in journalism — Bahasa Indonesian
• Activists hail life jail sentence for army major over brutal Papuan killings
• Other Victor Mambor reports

Mambor suspected it was related to Jubi’s coverage of the murder and mutilation of four indigenous Papuans in October 2022, which led to four soldiers being charged with “premeditated murder”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Award-winning University of the South Pacific student journalist Sera Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti says Pacific voices on the climate fight need to be amplified for big nations to notice and be accountable for their actions.

The final-year student recently won the top prize in the tertiary level journalism students category at the 2022 Vision Pasifika Media Award with her two submissions on the environmental impacts of Tonga’s volcanic eruption on villagers of Moce Island in Fiji, and declining fish populations on the livelihoods of Fijian fishermen in Suva.

Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti said she was “beyond humbled” to receive the award and expressed her gratitude to God for the opportunity to amplify Pacific voices on climate change.

• READ MORE: Other environmental journalism reports
• Bearing Witness: A Pacific climate crisis documentary and journalism development project — David Robie and Jim Marbrook

Originally from Dravuni village on beautiful Kadavu island, Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti said Pacific Island countries contributed the least towards climate change and global carbon emissions — but were the most affected.

“We are known to have a close relationship to the land and sea. To have that severely affected by big world countries whose activities are a big cause of this is unacceptable,” said the student editor of Wansolwara, USP Journalism’s award-winning print and online publication.

“I am passionate about environmental issues and human interest stories. I believe the Pacific stories should be ‘heard’ and ‘told’ from the Pacific Islanders’ perspective and words as it is a crisis they live by and survive every day.

“In Fiji, there aren’t enough journalists covering stories of the environment and how it’s affecting the people. I understand it can be a resource constraint and financially limited area.

Filling the gap
“I want to fill that gap in the industry and be able to do something I’m passionate about because it’s incredibly important to tell our people’s story.”

Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti dedicated her award to her family, USP Journalism students, staff, peers and indigenous women.

“So many times, we limit ourselves to what others perceive us, and it will take you to step out of your comfort zone to be able to experience your full capabilities,” said Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti, who was also a recipient of the EJN story grant for indigenous reporting.

She was recently one of the first recipients of the Native American Journalists Association and the Asian American Journalists Association (NAJA-AAJA) Pacific Islander Journalism Scholarship.

The Pacific Regional Environmental Programme’s (SPREP) acting communications and outreach adviser, Nanette Woonton, reaffirmed that SPREP recognised the critical role of all media in disseminating public information, education and influencing behaviour for the better.

“At the secretariat, we are excited to be able to offer the opportunity through these awards to honour and recognise the hard work by our media colleagues in protecting our people and the environment,” she said.

Vision Pasifika Media Award
The 2022 Vision Pasifika Media Award was facilitated through a collaboration between the SPREP, Pacific Islands News Association (PINA), Internews Earth Journalism Network (EJN), and the Pacific Environment Journalists Network (PEJN), with financial support from Aotearoa New Zealand.

The award comprised five categories — television news, radio production, online content, print media, and tertiary-level journalism students.

• Other category winners were: Fabian Randerath (television news), Jeremy Gwao (online content) and Moffat Mamu (print). Randerath was also named the overall winner for his story “Rising Tides – Precious Lives” on Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC).

Akansha Narayan is a final-year student journalist at USP’s Laucala campus, Suva. USP and Wansolwara collaborate on Pacific stories, and for several years USP and the AUT’s Pacific Media Centre collaborated on a joint Bearing Witness climate journalism project.

The 20th University of the South Pacific Journalism Student Awards in Suva last month were dedicated to retiring Pacific media professor Dr David Robie.

In his remarks to the USP journalism students, the coordinator of the programme, Dr Shailendra Singh, also paid tribute to USP journalism alumni making a “sterling contribution to the region”.

Dr Singh reminded students that they had an important role to play and as journalists to never underestimate their responsibilities to society.

• READ MORE: The latest Wansolwara newspaper edition online

“The region faces many challenges. Climate change is seen as the gravest one of all. But even before climate change we faced problems like corruption and environmental degradation, that have become entrenched,” he said.

“As journalists, it is our responsibility to draw sustained attention to these issues.”

He described Professor Robie, former coordinator of USP Journalism Programme and the founding director of the Pacific Media Centre based at New Zealand’s Auckland University of Technology, as a “champion” of media freedom and media development in the Pacific.

“Professor Robie introduced these awards 20 years ago and it is only fitting that on the 20th anniversary of the awards he is honoured for his contribution to media in the region,” he said.

Smaller affair this year
The 20th USP Journalism Student Awards was a much smaller, internal affair due to constraints caused by covid-19.

According to Dr Singh, the awards were the longest running and most consistent journalism awards in the Pacific region.

At the 2018 USP Journalism Student Awards, Professor Robie, invited guest speaker at the time, reflected on being at the university when he set up the awards.

“It is with pride that I can look back at my five years with USP bridging the start of the millennium,” he said.

“Among high points were gaining my doctorate in history/politics at USP — the first journalism educator to do so in the Pacific – and launching these very annual journalism awards, initially with the Storyboard and Tanoa awards and a host of sponsors,” he had said.

“When I look at the outstanding achievements in the years since then, it is with some pleasure.

“And USP should be rightly delighted with one of the major successful journalism programmes of the Asia-Pacific region.”

#USP #Journalism dedicates awards to media ‘champion’ David Robie @wansolwara #AsiaPacificReport #mediawards #studentjournalism @pal_vcp @uspimr @ShailendraBSing @GeraldP87 https://t.co/v9PyeKafWW pic.twitter.com/gsAqTX7D4T

— David Robie (@DavidRobie) January 7, 2021

Ten awards presented
Ten special awards were up for grabs at the 20th USP Journalism Student Awards.

Dr Singh said the event recognised and rewarded students who excelled in their coursework, and this included producing news for print, online and broadcast media.

The awards were organised by the USP Journalism Students Association and USP staff.

Speaking on behalf of the graduating class, Shreya Kumar said the past three years had been a humbling experience.

“We created more memories than we realised which is why I am also filled with anxiety and sadness,” she said.

She urged her peers to persevere in life despite the hardships and challenges.

Earth Journalism News Pacific Partnership coordinator and USP Journalism alumni Donna Hoerder said covid-19 brought about a huge challenge for everyone but as a journalist there was always a story to be told.

“Whatever you publish or broadcast you can always relate it to the current situation,” she said.

“But don’t stop there, be sure to look at how this relates to the region and even at the global level,” she told journalism students.

“Remember your role is that of a watchdog or the fourth estate of power. Use your influence to tell a story that relates to now and one that can be linked to the wider picture not only because that’s how you get more recognition.

“But most importantly because you hold government, civil society and the private sector to account,” she said.

Wanshika Kumar is a reporter with the USP journalism newspaper Wansolwara, which was distributed last week by the Fiji Sun as a liftout. She was also one of the award winners. Asia Pacific Report collaborates with Wansolwara and USP Journalism.

Recipients of the 10 awards:

• Most Promising First Year Students Award – Viliame Tawanakoro and Sera Sefeti
• Best Radio Student Award – Josefa Babitu
• Best Television Student Award – Ioane Asioli
• Best Documentary – Group 2: Kim Rabuka, Swastika Singh, Verenaisi Domoika and Ian Chute
• Best News Reporting – Wanshika Kumar and Jeshu Lal
• Best Sports Reporting – Bulou Naugavule
• Best Feature Reporting – Brian Lezutuni (Solomon Islands)
• EJN Best Environmental Reporting – Ben Bilua (Solomon Islands), Jared Koli (Solomon Islands), Sera Sefeti and Patrick Lestro
• Exemplary Student Award – Dhruvkaran Nand
• Most Outstanding Graduating Students – Jared Koli and Shreya Kumar

Wansolwara

Journalists at Newsroom, the website that exposed environmental destruction by a Chinese property developer last month,  have won three reporting and writing honours at New Zeaand’s Voyager national media awards announced at the weekend.

The investigative work of Melanie Reid, who was one of three Newsroom editorial staff detained by Fiji police while doing the Malolo Island investigation, was also highlighted.

Reid and co-editor Mark Jennings were given a fourth, unofficial, “mock” award – the Frank Bainimarama Freedom of the Press Award – in recognition of their arrest and detention with cameraman Hayden Aull in Suva.

READ MORE: Full Voyager media awards list

Industry-wide, the major awards were dominated by Stuff, which won the top individual award for its editor Patrick Crewdson, newspaper of the year for the Sunday Star-Times and best news website for stuff.co.nz, reports Newsroom.

The Spinoff won website of the year, ahead of Stuff, the New Zealand Herald and Newsroom.

Newsroom made 10 finals.

Melanie Reid’s title was for best general reporter, following her Reporter of the Year triumph a year ago, for exposing the sexual assaults and harassment at law firm Russell McVeagh, plus revelations over MP Jami-Lee Ross and animal cruelty by a Northland dairy farmer.

‘Extremely strong portfolio’
Judges commended Reid for “an extremely strong portfolio – three agenda setting stories that changed the legal and political landscapes and exposed farming malpractice”.

Eloise Gibson won for science and technology journalism for her investigation into the products and promises of the scientist/inventor Ray Avery — stories described by the judges as “a really unusual and exceptionally well done investigation that did exactly what the very best journalism is meant to do – hold the powerful to account.”

And Teuila Fuatai, now a freelancer, won best feature writer for crime and social issues, for work including an in-depth look at drug and alcohol courts.

The judges said her writing “carried a depth and quality that spoke to the reader in a way that was both compelling and insightful. Her work was well researched, balanced and distinctly showcased a journalist with a real passion for the craft.”

RNZ journalists won both Reporter of the Year (Phil Pennington) and junior reporter (Mackenzie Smith) and Charlie Mitchell of Stuff was feature writer of the year. Pennington’s work, often on Morning Report, included investigations into Middlemore Hospital.

Newshub’s Tova O’Brien, who broke the story of the leak of National Party leader Simon Bridges’ expenses which led to the bust-up with his former MP Jami-Lee Ross, was named political journalist of the year.

Newspaper categories
In the newspaper categories, the NZ Herald held off The Press to win best daily newspaper (more than 30,000 circulation category), but the Sunday Star-Times took out best newspaper front page, best weekly paper ahead of the Weekend Herald and ultimately the Voyager Newspaper of the Year.

The NZ Herald’s Nick Jones, a former Asia-Pacific Journalism journalist at AUT, won the award for best individual investigation and shared the title (with The Spinoff’s Madeleine Chapman) for best single story for his “exhaustive and compelling”  inquiry into the frailties and flaws of the rest home industry.

NZ Geographic won Magazine of the Year for the third consecutive year.

• The full list of Voyager winners
• Malolo investigation: ‘That’s why you need journalism’

Native Affairs journalist Iulia Leilua of Māori Television has won two major awards at the 2018 Ngā Kupu Ora Awards.

Leilua is the winner of the Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Journalism Award and has been named Māori Journalist of the Year for 2018.

Her success is due to a story she covered in 2017 based on the investigation into the treatment of children in state care. The two-part exclusive involves a mother who bares it all, to tell us why she believes the State took her children unfairly.

VIEW HERE:
Parents v State Care – Part 1
Parents v State Care – Part 2

Leilua and the Native Affairs team presented a case which has arguments on all sides – the rights of the parent versus the role of the state.

Leilua is also on the advisory board of the Pacific Media Centre and the industry panel of the School of Communication Studies at Auckland University of Technology.

Other finalists in the Māori Journalism Award category included Native Affairs presenter and journalist Oriini Kaipara for her exclusive story on a girl stopped from attending her kura kaupapa by order of the Family Court.

TVNZ’s Kereama Wright was also a finalist for his investigation into the issue of paedophiles who still hold sway on the paepae.

Many te reo Māori entries
This year saw more te reo Māori entries which outnumbered these submitted in the English category.

Te Karere reporter Rapaera Tawhai was the winner of the te reo Māori category for his feature story on the contest for the Waiariki seat in the 2017 general election.

Dr Haare Williams, MNZM was this year’s recipient of the Te Tohu a Tanara Whairiri Kitawhiti Ngata, Lifetime Achievement Award for his passionate service to Māori journalism, broadcasting and education.

Dr Haare Williams is a teacher, artist, and broadcaster who has made a significant contribution throughout his career to bettering the educational attainment and social and cultural outcomes of Māori.

As an executive director of the New Zealand 1990 Commission, Dr Williams was responsible for waka construction and assembly at Waitangi for the 1990 commemorations.

He set up a joint venture with the South Seas Film and Television School to train te reo speakers as producers and operators in film and television. He taught at Unitec from 1994 to 2002, first as a tutor and then as dean of Māori education, before becoming the first Māori adviser to the chief executive.

Williams has contributed to education through curricula development and broadening understanding around Te Ao Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi. He was a pioneer in Māori broadcasting as the general manager of Aotearoa Radio.

He has worked closely with iwi claimant communities collecting and preparing iwi oral testimonies for presentation to the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal.

The awards were preceded by the National Māori Journalism Hui which brought together media industry and academics to discuss issues facing Māori journalism.

Republished from Māori Television’s website.

• Iulia Leilua’s page at Māori Television

The Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) plans to work closely with the University of the South Pacific journalism programme to develop journalists in the region, says president Charles Kadamana.

Kadaman, a senior journalist with the Solomon Star daily newspaper, says past collaboration with USP Journalism has been successful, including a recent week-long training on anti-corruption reporting in the Solomon Islands.

He said the training was timely as the Solomon Islands government was in the process of debating the Anti-Corruption Bill.

“In Solomon Islands, there are about 36 USP journalism alumni now holding top jobs in the media industry, the government and in the private sectors,” said Kadamana, who was a guest at last week’s 18th USP Journalism Students Awards ceremony at Laucala campus in Suva.

“Looking at the list of journalism alumni, it is evident that the USP journalism programme has produced a lot of communications professionals in different areas contributing to our countries.

“Fiji and other Pacific countries also have USP journalism alumni in top posts.

“Today, there is growing interest of journalists studying at USP. I am also happy to see the number of students from Solomon Islands is increasing.”

Dominated awards
Eleven student journalists are currently with the USP programme and they dominated the awards.

As educated young people, Kadamana encouraged student journalists to take up leadership roles, adding taking up journalism was not an easy task.

“There will be people who will stab you in the back. To avoid disaster, all you have to do is produce the results.

“Do not be the person who only wants the position for status and glory,” Kadamana said.

The USP journalism alumni said the university had been the breeding ground for nurturing future journalists to meet the needs of the region during the past 50 years.

Geraldine Panapasa is editor-in-chief of USP’s Wansolwara journalism newspaper. Wansolwara News and the Pacific Media Centre have a content sharing arrangement.

• ‘Be courageous in your quest for truth,’ journalism academic tells graduates
• USP journalism awards 2018 – the full list

Pacific journalism academic Professor David Robie believes the media play a critical role in exposing abuses of power in a world increasingly hostile towards journalists.

However, journalists in the Pacific are frequently “persecuted by smallminded politicians with scant regard for the role of the media”, he says.

Speaking at last week’s 18th University of the South Pacific (USP) Journalism Student Awards ceremony at Laucala campus in Suva, Fiji, Dr Robie said despite the growing global dangers surrounding the profession, journalism was critically important for democracy.

READ MORE: David Robie’s full USP journalism awards ‘media phobia’ speech

Dr Robie said while such “ghastly fates” for journalists – such as the extrajudicial killing of Saudi dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey earlier this month – may seem remote in the Pacific, there were plenty of attacks on media freedom to contend with, while trolls in the region and state threats to internet freedom were “also rife”.

“Next month, Fiji is facing a critically important general election, the second since the return of democracy in the country in 2014. And many graduating journalists will be involved,” Dr Robie said.

“Governments in Fiji and the Pacific should remember journalists are guardians of democracy and they have an important role to play in ensuring the legitimacy of both the vote and the result, especially in a country such as this which has been emerging from many years of political crisis.

“But it is important that journalists play their part too with responsibilities as well as rights. Along with the right to provide information without fear or favour, and free from pressure or threats, you have a duty to provide voters with accurate, objective and constructive information.”

Tribute to whistleblowers
Dr Robie also paid tribute to two whistleblowers and journalists in the Pacific.

“Firstly, Iranian-born Behrouz Boochani, the refugee journalist, documentary maker and poet who pricked the Australian conscience about the terrible human rights violations against asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru,” Dr Robie said.

“He has reminded Canberra that Australia needs to regain a moral compass.

“And activist lawyer communicator Joe Moses, who campaigned tirelessly for the rights of the villagers of Paga Hill in Port Moresby.

“These people were forced out of their homes in defiance of a Supreme Court order to make way for the luxury development for next month’s APEC summit.

“Be inspired by them and the foundations of human rights journalism and contribute to your communities and countries.

“Don’t be seduced by a fast foods diet of distortion and propaganda. Be courageous and committed, be true to your quest for the truth.”

Professor Robie is the director of the Pacific Media Centre and professor of journalism in the School of Communication Studies at Auckland University of Technology. He is also editor of Pacific Journalism Review research journal and the news website Asia Pacific Report. He is a former USP Journalism Coordinator 1998-2002.

Geraldine Panapasa is editor-in-chief of USP’s Wansolwara journalism newspaper. Wansolwara News and the Pacific Media Centre have a content sharing arrangement.

• Don’t give Saudi Arabia ‘licence to kill’, Paris watchdog says after Khashoggi death
• USP journalism awards 2018 – the full list
• Professor David Robie’s speech
• Awards image gallery

Solomon Islands student journalists impressed at the annual University of the South Pacific media awards marking the 50th year of the Fiji-based regional institution.

The 18th USP student journalist awards on Friday night featured 14 prizes and more than $6000 in cash awards for excellence in journalism.

Solomon Islands students collected seven awards.

READ MORE: David Robie’s ‘media phobia’ speech at the USP journalism awards

Final-year journalism students Elizabeth Osifelo from the Solomon Islands, who is also president of the Journalism Students Association, and Koroi Tadulala from Fiji scooped the premier award, Tanoa Award for the Most Outstanding Journalism Students, sponsored by Fiji Sun.

“The most important thing for us is being a responsible journalist – journalism has taught us not be passive but active – to pay attention to detail, to always be on your feet and to ask questions,” said Osifelo, who was in New Zealand earlier this year and visited AUT’s Pacific Media Centre and other news sites on a Pacific Cooperation Foundation scholarship.

“We learnt that we must read to develop our thinking.

“At USP, we learnt that as journalists, we have a very important role to play in society. We got first-hand experience by reporting for our Wansolwara newspaper and website.

More confident
“Some of us came to USP fresh out of school with no skills or experience. After three years, we are much more experienced, far more confident and more ready than ever before to take on the world.

“We are sad to be leaving but we will remain family, no matter where in the world we end up.”

Keynote speaker Professor David Robie, director of AUT’s Pacific Media Centre, spoke about the global dangers for journalists and reflected on his time at the university when he set up the USP Journalism Students Awards.

“It is with pride that I can look back at my five years with USP bridging the start of the millennium. Among high points were gaining my doctorate in history/politics at USP – the first journalism educator to do so in the Pacific – and launching these very annual journalism awards, initially with the Storyboard and Tanoa awards and a host of sponsors,” he said.

“When I look at the outstanding achievements in the years since then with current journalism coordinator Dr Shailendra Singh and his colleagues Eliki Drugunalevu and Geraldine Panapasa, it is with some pleasure.

“And USP should be rightly delighted with one of the major success journalism programmes of the Asia-Pacific region.

“Wansolwara newspaper, which celebrated two decades of publishing in 2016, has been a tremendous success. Not many journalism school publications have such sustained longevity and have won so many international awards.”

MASI president
USP journalism alumni and president of the Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI), Charles Kadamana, was also a guest speaker at the event.

He said the awards event was a fitting occasion for USP’s 50th anniversary.

“To those who received awards, I congratulate you. You deserve it. For others, do not be discouraged, rather you should be motivated to do better next time,” he said at the Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies pavilion where the event was held.

“USP, over the past 50 years, has been the breeding ground for nurturing future journalists to meet the needs of the region. Many graduates have taken up leadership role within the government, private sectors, institutions and in the media industry.

“My message to students is that you carry a big responsibility. My advice is to make good use of your time while studying at USP. Every year thousands of students across the region struggle to secure scholarships to pursue journalism as a career so you should regard yourselves as the luckiest ones.”

Organised by the University of the South Pacific Journalism Programme, the event is the longest running journalism awards in the region. It is the only awards for journalism in Fiji at the moment.

Dr Singh said the event recognises and rewards students who excel in their coursework, which includes producing news for print, online and broadcast media.

Other sponsors of the awards include Fiji Times Limited, Fiji Television Limited, Mai TV, FijiLive, Communications Fiji Limited, Islands Business, Pacific Islands News Association as well as international non-profit organisation Internews and Earth Journalism Network.

Recipients of the 14 awards were:

FijiLive Most Promising First Year Student Award – Fredrick Kusu (Solomon Islands)
FijiLive Best Online Reporting Award – Chris Ha’arabe (Solomon Islands)
Communications Fiji Limited Best Radio Student Award – Rosalie Nongebatu (Solomon Islands)
Fiji Television Limited Best Television Student Award – Sharon Nanau (Solomon Islands)
The Fiji Times Best News Reporting Award – Mereoni Mili and Anaseini Civavonovono
The Fiji Times Best Sports Reporting Award – Mitieli Baleiwai and Venina Tinaivugona
Islands Business Award for Best Feature Reporting – Laiseana Nasiga
Mai TV Award for Best Editor – Drue Slatter
Internews/Earth Journalism Network Awards for Best Mojo Documentary (Individual and Group) – Jared Koli (Solomon Islands for the Individual award) and Group 4 winners Kaelyn Dekarube (Nauru), Sharon Nanau, Eliza Kukutu (Solomon Islands), Harrison Selmen (Vanuatu) and Kirisitiana Uluwai
Pacific Islands News Association Encouragement Award – Dhruvkaran Nand
Wansolwara Award for Most Improved Student – Virashna Singh
The Fiji Times Storyboard Award for Best Regional Reporting – Rosalie Nongebatu and Semi Malaki (Tuvalu)
Fiji Sun Tanoa Award for the Most Outstanding Journalism Students – Koroi Tadulala and Elizabeth Osifelo