The Vanuatu Daily Post is deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Dan McGarry, our former media director. McGarry was a fearless investigative journalist, photographer, and software professional who made a lasting contribution to the development of the Daily Post.

He managed media content across the company’s publications, website, and social media platforms, while also shaping the wider media landscape in Vanuatu.

Before formally joining the organisation in 2015, he wrote regular columns under the pseudonym Graham Crumb.

• READ MORE: ‘He will never be replaced’ – tributes flow for ‘fearless’ Vanuatu journalist Dan McGarry
• OCCRP mourns the loss of Dan McGarry, pioneering Pacific editor and investigative journalist
• Dan McGarry’s articles on Asia Pacific Report

Prior to joining the Daily Post, McGarry was part of the Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PiPP), an independent, non-profit, regionally focused think tank based in Port Vila. He also worked with Computer Network Services (CNS) as technical manager during its early years.

Reports indicate that McGarry, 62, fell ill following a trip to Papua New Guinea earlier this month and was evacuated to Brisbane.

He faced complications during recovery and remained in critical care in recent weeks. At the time of his passing, McGarry was serving as Pacific editor for the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

McGarry was a leading voice in Pacific journalism, driven by a strong sense of justice and commitment to the public good.

He is survived by his wife and children. His passing leaves a profound gap in the media community.

The Vanuatu Daily Post extends its heartfelt condolences to his family during this difficult time and stands with them in mourning this loss.

Republished from the Vanuatu Daily Post.

The United Nations in Papua New Guinea has met the leadership of the Media Council of PNG to advance collaboration in support of a strong, independent and responsible media sector, reports UNPNG.

The meeting addressed recent incidents of threats and violence against journalists — especially attacks against women journalists and the growing risks they face while reporting.

• READ MORE: PNG Media Council calls for police probe into alleged assault over jail break report
• PNG Media Council calls for investigation after alleged assault of journalist
• PNG Media Council calls for investigation into assault of reporter by CS officers

Participants identified key priorities to strengthen media freedom and safety. These included:

• Improving journalist safety measures;
• reinforcing newsroom integrity and professional standards; and
• promoting responsible and accurate reporting in the lead up to the national elections.

The UNPNG statement said dialogue reaffirmed the shared commitment of the United Nations and the Media Council to “support a safe and independent media sector and to ensure that everyone in PNG can access reliable information that supports free and informed participation in public life”.

Present at the meeting were Media Council PNG president Neville Choi, secretary Belinda Kora and treasurer Genesis Ketan, UN Resident Coordinator Richard Howard, Human Rights Advisor Marc Cebreros, UNDP Country Representative (OIC) Aadil Mansoor, Chief Technical Adviser on Transparency and Anti-Corruption Alma Sedlar, Peace and Development Advisor Tony Cameron, and UNDP Assistant Resident Representative for Governance, Gender and Peace Zoe Pelter.

MCPNG president Choi thanked UN Resident Coordinator Howard and UNDP for the continued support of media freedom in PNG.

Earlier this month, the MCPNG condemned an alleged assault on a senior female reporter by warders at Bomana Prison and called on the police to conduct a full independent investigation into the incident on February 27.

Pacific broadcasters say the future of storytelling will depend on how well traditional media adapts to the fast moving world of social media.

This topic is front and centre of a conference organised by PCBL/Pasifika TV, which brought together broadcasters, producers and media leaders from across the region to share ideas and strategies.

Held this week in Auckland, the conference explores how to “navigate the digital landscape” while maintaining cultural authenticity.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific media reports

With audiences increasing their consumption of online content, many broadcasters say they need to rethink how they deliver news programmes.

While the opportunities are ever increasing, so too are the challenges for Pacific media to balance credibility and cultural sovereignty.

The founder of the Pacific Islands Film Festival in New York City, Stacey Young, says many organisations are still figuring out how to navigate the digital landscape.

Young said the region needs to work together to stay on top of technological advancements.

‘Fear of the unknown’
“So it is a lot of that education and a bit of a fear of the unknown, like, how much resources do we need in order to diversify and end up in these spaces?

“And the truth of the matter is, it’s not that many, but it does need to be strategic. So it does need to be a conversation and a coalesce brainstorming amongst all of the islands, because it, it sounds cliche, but we’re stronger together,” Young said.

Young said traditional media needs to ensure their content is also available online.

She said sharing Pacific content on social platforms keeps those stories circulating and reaches beyond the region.

“It’s very, very important. Like, we all do it, first thing in the morning, last thing at night, you’re scrolling and love it or hate it, that’s how people consume information… And the thirst for Pacific Island stories and Pacific Island creators is a huge demand right now,” she said.

For broadcasters on the ground in the Pacific, the challenge is making sure they reach their audiences on multiple platforms.

Cannot ignore platforms
The director of Fiji’s Mai TV, Stanley Simpson, said traditional media companies cannot ignore the platforms people are using.

“I think we’ve got to be (on) every space or platform where our audience is, you know, we can’t be just in the waves or the platforms that we’ve been in traditionally in the past. Where our people are going, we need to go there too,” Stanley Simpson said.

But not all broadcasters are having positive experiences posting online.

The managing director of Samoa Broadcasting Corporation, Faiesea Lei Sam Matafeo, said their comment sections can be a battlefield of negative debate.

Faiesea said Samoa is still adjusting to social media etiquette.

“You know, social media is it’s relatively new when compared to the rest of the world in Samoa, but sadly, I think it’s doing more harm than good right now. You know, our people are still trying to adjust to this freedom to express themselves, and sadly, it’s doing more harm than good,” Faiesea said.

Despite these challenges, she said traditional media organisations continue to adapt.

‘Something you can’t fight’
“We’ve come to realise that this is something you can’t fight. You know, social media is going to be there forever.

So we’re learning to adjust and to accept that it’s going to be part of life, so we have to shift all the contents that we have and so that it’s also available on social media,” Faiesea said.

She said social media did not rule out the role of traditional media, but it was a way for Pacific broadcasters to connect with audiences.

Navigating the digital landscape continues to be the main topic of discussion for the region’s media bosses meeting in Auckland.

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

A new Pacific Media research publication and outlet for academics and community advocates has now been added to the Informit database for researchers.

Two editions of the new journal, published by the Aotearoa-based independent Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) and following the traditions of Pacific Journalism Review, have been included in the database’s archives for institutional access.

Most university and polytech journalism schools in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific subscribe to Informit which delivers expert-curated and extensive information from sectors such as health, engineering, business, humanities, science and law — and also journalism and media.

• READ MORE: New journal warns Pacific media near breaking point amid revenue collapse and political pressure

Informit also offers an Indigenous Collection with a broad scope of scholarship related to Indigenous culture, health, human geography in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

Pacific Media offers journalists, journalism academics and community activists and researchers an outlet for quality research and analysis and more opportunities for community collaborative publishing in either a journal or monograph format.

While associated with Pacific Journalism Review, the new publication series provides a broader platform for longer form research than has generally been available in the PJR, featured here at ANU’s Development Policy Centre. The full 30-year archive of PJR is on the Informit database.

Earlier editions of Pacific Journalism Monographs have included a diverse range of journalism research from media freedom and human rights in the Asia-Pacific to Asia-Pacific research methodologies, climate change in Kiribati, vernacular Pasifika media research in New Zealand, and post-coup self-censorship in Fiji.

Managing editor Dr David Robie, who founded both the PJR and PM, welcomed the Informit initiative and also praised the Tuwhera DOJ platform at AUT University.

“There is a real need for Pacific media research that is independent of vested interests and we are delighted that our APMN partnership developed with Informit is continuing with our new Pacific Media journal,” he said

The first edition, themed on “Pacific media challenges and futures”, was partnered with the The University of the South Pacific and edited by Associate Professor Shailendra Singh and Dr Amit Sarwal and published last year.

The second edition, themed on “Media construct, constructive media”, was partnered with the Asian Congress for Media and Communication (ACMC) and edited by Khairiah A Rahman and Dr Rachel E Khan, and was also recently published.

University of the South Pacific’s Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, who edited the inaugural edition of Pacific Media journal along with co-editor Dr Amit Sarwal, has responded to the publication with a Q and A.

The new journal has replaced the Pacific Journalism Review, which was founded by Professor David Robie at the University of Papua New Guinea and published for 30 years.

This new publication, supported by Tuwhera Open Access at Auckland University of Technology, was also founded by Dr Robie and the Asia Pacific Media Network and it is hoped that it will offer greater community media access and flexibility.

• READ MORE:  New Pacific media research journal launched
• The inaugural edition of Pacific Media

What does this new publication, Pacific Media, signal?

Dr Shailendra Singh: It signals an ongoing commitment to research on Pacific media, development, and democracy — just when such research is most urgently needed to understand the impact of multiple forces reshaping the region. These include artificial intelligence, misinformation and disinformation, the intensifying geopolitical contest between China and the West, the drugs and HIV epidemic, and the existential threat of climate change. With the world on track for a three-degree Celsius temperature rise, some reports describe this as a “death sentence” for Pacific reefs, food security, and livelihoods.

Yet, even as Pacific media confront one of the most complex and challenging reporting environments in history, they remain financially fragile, due to the impacts of digital disruption and covid-19.

The 2024 Pacific Media International Conference was quite an innovative step — bringing media academics and the industry together. How has that helped the region?

It created greater awareness of the challenges facing Pacific news media and exposed some of the industry’s structural weaknesses. Importantly, it fostered a better understanding — and hopefully, greater empathy — among the public toward the difficult conditions under which Pacific journalists operate. The conference underscored the importance of ongoing research, provided direction for future studies, and demonstrated the power of regional collaboration by amplifying Pacific voices and ideas.

How does the partnership between the USP Journalism Programme and the Pacific Media publishers, Asia Pacific Media Network, contribute to journalism excellence in the region?

Research on Pacific media is as scarce as it is vital for the development of Pacific journalism. The USP Journalism Programme and the Asia Pacific Media Network are the only two entities consistently conducting dedicated research on Pacific media, democracy, and development. Historically, both have been vocal about threats to media freedom and the welfare of journalists. They have documented the impact of coups and other forms of repression, while advocating for journalist safety, ethical standards, and media independence through awareness and education.

What next?

The next step is to consolidate and expand research, and training and development. This means deepening partnerships between academia and industry, mentoring a new generation of Pacific media researchers and journalists, and securing sustainable funding for long-term studies.

It also involves strengthening regional collaboration so that Pacific voices lead the global conversation about the region — rather than being spoken to and for. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that Pacific media remain resilient, independent, and equipped to serve their communities in the face of profound social, technological, and environmental change.

The next edition of Pacific Media, edited by Khairiah A Rahman and Dr Rachel Khan, will also be published shortly.

Republished from Pacific Media journal’s website.

Pacific Media, a new regional research journal, made its debut today with a collection of papers on issues challenging the future, such as independent journalism amid “intensifying geostrategic competition”.

The papers have been largely drawn from an inaugural Pacific International Media conference hosted by The University of the South Pacific in the Fiji capital Suva in July last year.

“It was the first Pacific media conference of its kind in 20 years, convened to address the unprecedented shifts and challenges facing the region’s media systems,” said conference coordinator and edition editor Dr Shailendra Singh, associate professor in journalism at USP.

• READ MORE: The Pacific Media portal
• Pacific Journalism Review
• Pacific Media 2024 conference reports

“These include pressures arising from governance and political instability, intensifying geostrategic competition—particularly between China and the United States—climate change and environmental degradation, as well as the profound impacts of digital disruption and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Topics included in the volume include “how critical journalism can survive” in the Pacific; “reporting the nuclear Pacific”; “Behind the mic” with Talking Point podcaster Sashi Singh, the “coconut wireless” and community news in Hawai’i,; women’s political empowerment in the Asia Pacific; “weaponising the partisan WhatsApp group in Indonesia; and “mapping the past to navigate the future” in a major Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) publishing project.

Other contributors include journalists and media academics from Australia and New Zealand featuring a “Blood on the tracks” case study in investigative journalism practice, and digital weather media coverage in the Pacific.

This inaugural publication of Pacific Media has been produced jointly by The University of the South Pacific and the New Zealand-based Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN), with Dr Amit Sarwal, one of the conference organisers, joining Dr Singh as co-editor.

Designer is Pacific Journalism Review’s Del Abcede.

APMN managing editor Dr David Robie welcomed the new publication, saying “this journal will carry on the fine and innovative research mahi (work) established by Pacific Journalism Review during a remarkable 30 years contributing to the region”.

It ceased publication last year, but is still ranked as a Q2 journal by SCOPUS.

The new journal will open up some new doors for community participation.

Both the PJR and PM research archives are in the public domain at the Tuwhera digital collection at Auckland University of Technology.

Khairiah A Rahman has been appointed by APMN as Pacific Media editor and her first edition with a collection of papers from the Asian Congress for Media and Communication (ACMC) conference in Vietnam last October will also be published shortly.

Published with permission from Asia Pacific Media Network.

Samoa has dropped in its media and information freedom world ranking from 22 in 2024 to 44 in 2025 in the latest World Press Freedom Index compiled annually by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

For the Pacific region, New Zealand is ranked highest at 16, Australia at 29, Fiji at 40, Samoa ranked 44 and Tonga at 46.

And for some comfort, the United States is ranked 57 in media freedom.

• READ MORE: Indonesian postcard image ‘dangerous’ but Fiji a rising star in RSF press freedom index
• Fiji media welcomes credible news services, but not ‘pop-up propagandists’, says Simpson
• PINA on World Press Freedom Day – facing new and complex AI challenges
• Rabuka salutes Fiji media but warns against taking freedom for granted
• NZ fares well in latest RSF press freedom index as authoritarian regimes stifle Asia-Pacific media
• RSF 2025 World Press Freedom rankings
• RSF World Press Freedom Index 2025: economic fragility a leading threat to press freedom

The 2025 World Press Freedom Index released in conjunction with the annual Media Freedom Day on May 3, says despite the vitality of some of its media groups, Samoa’s reputation as a regional model of press freedom has suffered in recent years due to “authoritarian pressure” from the previous prime minister and a political party that held power for four decades until 2021.

Media landscape
The report lists independent media outlets such as the Samoa Observer, “an independent daily founded in 1978, that has symbolised the fight for press freedom.”

It also lists state-owned Savali newspaper “that focuses on providing positive coverage of the government’s activities.”

TV1, is the product of the privatisation of the state-owned Samoa Broadcasting Corporation. The Talamua group operates Samoa FM and other media outlets, while the national radio station 2AP calls itself “the Voice of the Nation.”

Political context
Although Samoa is a parliamentary democracy with free elections, the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) held power for four decades until it was narrowly defeated in the April 2021 general election by Samoa United in Faith (Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi, or FAST).

The report says part of the reason for the HRPP’s defeat was its plan to overhaul Samoa’s constitutional and customary law framework, which would have threatened freedom of the press.

Championing media freedom
The Journalists Association of (Western) Samoa (JAWS) is the national media association and is press freedom’s leading champion. JAWS spearheaded a media journalism studies programme based at the National University of Samoa in the effort to train journalists and promote media freedom but the course is not producing the quality journalism students needed as its focus, time and resources have been given the course.

Meanwhile, the media standards continue to slide and there is fear that the standards will drop further in the face of rapid technological changes and misinformation via social media.

A new deal for journalism
The 2025 World Press Freedom Index by RSF revealed the dire state of the news economy and how it severely threatens newsrooms’ editorial independence and media pluralism.

In light of this alarming situation, RSF has called on public authorities, private actors and regional institutions to commit to a “New Deal for Journalism” by following 11 key recommendations.

Strengthen media literacy and journalism training
Part of this deal is “supporting reliable information means that everyone should be trained from an early age to recognise trustworthy information and be involved in media education initiatives. University and higher education programmes in journalism must also be supported, on the condition that they are independent.”

Finland (5th) is recognised worldwide for its media education, with media literacy programmes starting in primary school, contributing to greater resilience against disinformation.

Republished from Talamua Online News.

An Aotearoa New Zealand-based community education provider is preparing a new course aimed to help media professionals in the Pacific region understand and respond to the complex issue of disinformation.

The eight-week course “A Bit Sus (Pacific)”, developed by the Dark Times Academy, will be offered free to journalists, editors, programme directors and others involved in running media organisations across the Pacific, beginning in February 2025.

“Our course will help participants recognise common tactics used by disinformation agents and support them to deploy proven educational and communications techniques including lateral reading and ‘pre-bunking’,” says Dark Times Academy co-founder Mandy Henk.

• READ MORE:  Welcome to Dark Times Academy and course information
• Ramping up counter-misinformation training

As well as teaching participants how to recognise and respond to disinformation, the course offers an understanding of how technology, including generative AI, influences the spread of disinformation.

The course is an expanded and regionalised adaption of the “A Bit Sus” education programme which was developed by Henk in her former role as CEO of Tohatoha Aotearoa Commons.

“As the Pacific Islands have experienced accelerated growth in digital connectivity over the past few years — thanks to new submarine cable networks and satellite technology — the region has also seen a surge in harmful rumours and disinformation that is increasingly disrupting the ability to share accurate and truthful information across Pacific communities,” Henk says.

“By taking a skills-based approach to countering disinformation, our programme can help to spread the techniques needed to mitigate the risks posed by digital technologies.”

Evidence-based counter disinformation
Henk says delivering evidence-based counter disinformation education to Pacific Island media professionals requires a depth of expertise in both counter-disinformation programming and the range of Pacific cultures and political contexts.

“We are delighted to have several renowned academics advising the programme, including Asia Pacific Media Network’s Dr David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report and founder of the Pacific Media Centre, and Professor Chad Briggs from the Asian Institute of Management.

“Their expertise will help us to deliver a world class programme informed by the best evidence available.”

The programme will be co-taught by Henk, as well as American journalist and counter disinformation expert Brooke Binkowski, and New Zealand-based extremism expert Byron Clark, who is also a co-founder of the Dark Times Academy.

“Countering disinformation and preventing the harm it causes in the Pacific Islands is crucially important to communities who wish to maintain and strengthen existing democratic institutions and expand their reach,” says Clark.

Binkowski says: “With disinformation narratives on the rise globally, this course is a timely and eye-opening look at its existence, its purveyors and their goals, and how to effectively combat it.

“I look forward to sharing what I have learned in my years in the field during this course.”

The course is being offered by Dark Times Academy using funds awarded in a public competitive grant offered by the US Embassy in New Zealand.

While it is funded by the US, it is a completely independent programme overseen by Dark Times Academy and its academic consultants.

• More information on Dark Times Academy and register your interest in the course at: https://www.darktimesacademy.co.nz

Fijian newsrooms are under pressure to adapt as audiences shift away from traditional media such as newspapers, radio, and television, in favour of Facebook and other social media platforms.

Asia Foundation research showed that Fijians ranked Facebook as their third most significant source of information about covid-19 during the pandemic, surpassing newspapers and “word of mouth”, despite recognising social media as their least trusted choice.

Radio and television still exceeded Facebook, but surveys during the pandemic reveal the increasing significance of Facebook and other social media, such as Twitter, YouTube and TikTok as widely used sources of news, particularly for Fijians younger than 45.

• READ MORE: Other QUT Project journalism reports

A survey revealed that of Fiji’s 924,610 population, 551,000 were social media users in January 2023. Facebook, the country’s most popular platform, limits access to people aged 13 and older. Of those eligible in Fiji to create an account in 2023, 71 percent used Facebook.

Australian National University researcher Jope Tarai attributes the rise in social media usage in the 2010s to the 2006 coup and subsequent change in Fijian leadership, suggesting it “cultivated a culture of self-censorship”.

“The constrained political context saw the emergence of blogging as a means of disseminating restricted information that would have conventionally informed news reporting,” Tarai says.

Tarai says concerns about credibility of blogs meant this avenue was replaced by Facebook, “which was more interactive, accessible via handheld devices and instantaneous”.

Increased media freedom
With the increased media freedoms that have arisen following Fiji’s change in government at the end of 2022, newspapers and other traditional newsrooms should be poised to reassert themselves, but they face significant challenges due to the global shift in how people consume information.

As audiences migrate to newer digital platforms, newsrooms that have traditionally depended on physical newspaper sales and advertising revenue are now under increasing pressure to adapt.

Fiji Times editor-in-chief Fred Wesley says news outlets are struggling to capture the attention of younger audiences through conventional formats, prompting a shift towards social media platforms to enhance audience engagement and boost traffic.

“Young people are not going to news websites or reading physical papers,” he says. “Young people are getting their news from social media.”

The University of the South Pacific’s technical editor and digital communication officer, Eliki Drugunalevu, says he has observed a growing preference among the general Fijian population for receiving news through social media as opposed to traditional outlets.

“When people refer to a certain news item that came out that day or even the previous day, they just go to their social media pages and search for that news item or even go to the social media page of that particular news outlet to read/access that story,” he says.

Drugunalevu identifies two contributors to this shift.

‘At your fingertips’
“Everything is just at your fingertips, easily accessible,” he says. “Internet charges in Fiji are affordable now so that you can pretty much be online 24/7.”

Newsrooms across Fiji are not oblivious to this shift. Editors and journalists are recalibrating their strategies to meet the demands of a digital audience.

Islands Business managing editor Samantha Magick says the abundance of readily available online content has resulted in young people refraining from paying for it.

“I think there’s a generational shift. My daughter would never pay for any news, would never buy a newspaper to start with. She would probably never think about paying for media, unless its Netflix,” she says.

However, Magick believes social media can be leveraged to fulfil evolving audience demands while offering fresh advantages to her organisation.

“Social media for us is a funnel to get people to our website or to subscribe,” she says. “Facebook is still huge in the region, not just in Fiji [and] that’s where a lot of community discussions are happening, so it’s a source as well as a platform for us.”

Magick says incorporating social media in her organisation requires her to stay more vigilant on analytics, as it significantly influences her decision-making processes.

‘Understanding content’s landing’
“There’s all that sort of analytic stuff that I feel now I have to be much more across whereas before it was just generating the content. Now it’s understanding how that content’s landing, who’s seeing it, making decisions based on that,” she says.

Fiji TV digital media specialist Edna Low says social media data analytics like engagement and click-through rates provide valuable insight into audience preferences, behaviours and demographics.

“Social media platforms often dictate what topics are trending and what content resonates with audiences, which can shape editorial decisions and coverage priorities,” she says.

Fiji TV’s director of news, current affairs and sports, Felix Chaudhary, echoes this.

“We realise the critical importance of engaging with our viewers and potential viewers via online platforms,” he says. “All our new recruits/interns have to be internet and social media savvy.”

Transitioning his organisation to a fully online model is the path forward in the digital era, Chaudhary says.

“Like the world’s biggest news services, we are looking in the next five to ten years to transitioning from traditional TV broadcast to streaming all our news and shows,” he says. “The world is already moving towards that, and we just have to follow suit or get left behind.”

As TikTok gains increasing popularity among younger Fijians and social platforms introduce initiatives to combat misinformation, it seems possible that social media could snatch the top spot for Fijian’s primary news source.

It is clear that newsrooms and journalists must either navigate the evolving digital trends and preferences of audiences or risk becoming old news.

Catrin Gardiner contributed research to this story. Georgia Brown and Catrin Gardiner were student journalists from the Queensland University of Technology who travelled to Fiji with the support of the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan Mobility Programme. This article is published in a partnership of QUT with Asia Pacific Report, Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) and The University of the South Pacific.

For Samantha Magick, journalism isn’t just a job. It is a lifelong commitment to storytelling, advocacy, and empowering voices often overlooked in the Pacific.

As the managing editor and publisher at Islands Business, the Pacific Islands’ longest surviving news and business monthly magazine, Magick’s commitment to quality reporting and journalistic integrity has established her as a leading figure in the region’s news industry.

Magick’s passion for journalism began at a young age.

• READ MORE: Other QUT Project student reports

“I wanted to be a journalist when I was like 12,” Magick recalls. “When I left school, that’s all I wanted to study.”

She remembers her family’s disapproval when she would write stories as a child, as they thought she was “sharing secrets”. Despite that early condemnation, Magick’s thriving journalism career has taken her across continents and exposed her to diverse media landscapes.

After completing a Bachelor of Communications with a major in journalism at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, Australia, Magick began her career at Communications Fiji Limited (CFL), a prominent Fijian commercial network.

She progressed over 11 years from a cadet to CFL’s news director.

Guidance of first boss
Magick attributes some of her early success to the guidance of her first boss and CFL’s founder, William Parkinson. She considers herself fortunate to have had a supportive mentor who led by example and dared to take risks early in life, such as founding a radio station in his 20s.

After leaving CFL, Magick’s career took her across the globe, including regional Pacific non-government organisations, news publications in Hawai’i and Indonesia, and even international legal organisations in Italy.

Magick, who is of both Fijian and Australian heritage, returned to Suva in 2018, where she began her current role as Islands Business’s managing editor.

“I’ve chosen to make my life in Fiji because I feel more myself here,” Magick says, reflecting on her deep connection to the island nation.

Magick’s vision for Islands Business focuses on delving into the deeper, underlying narratives often overshadowed by breaking news cycles and free, readily available news content.

“We need to be able to demonstrate the value of investigation, big picture reporting rather than the day-to-day stuff,” Magick says.

Magick prides herself on creating a diverse and inclusive newsroom that reflects the communities it serves.

Need for diverse newsroom
“You have to have a diverse newsroom,” she emphasises, recognising the importance of amplifying marginalised voices. “For example, there is a conscious effort to make sure our magazine is not full of photos of men shaking hands with other men.”

Magick also believes journalists have a responsibility to advocate for change, as demonstrated by Islands Business’s dedication to tackling pressing issues from climate change to media freedom.

“Why would I give a climate change denier space?” Magick questions when discussing the need to balance objectivity and advocacy. “Because it’s kind of going to sell magazines? Because it’s going to create a bit of a stir online? That’s not something we believe in.”

Despite her success, Magick’s career has not been without challenges. Magick worked through Fiji’s former draconian media restriction laws under the Media Industry Development Act 2010, while also navigating the shift to digital media.

Magick emphasises the need to constantly upskill and re-evaluate strategies to ensure she and Islands Business can effectively navigate the constantly evolving media landscape.

From learning to capitalise on social media analytics to locating reputable information sources when many of them feared to speak to the journalists due to the risk of legal retribution, Magick believes flexibility and perseverance are crucial to staying ahead in media.

In her early career, Magick also faced sexism and misogyny in the media industry. “When I think back about the way I was treated as a young journalist, I feel sick,” Magick says as she reflects on how she and her female colleagues would warn each other against interviewing certain sources alone.

Supporting aspiring journalists
The challenges Magick has faced undoubtably contribute to her dedication to supporting aspiring journalists, as evident through Kite Pareti’s journey. Starting as a freelance writer with no newswriting experience in March 2022, Pareti has since progressed to one of two full-time reporters at Islands Business.

Pareti expresses gratitude for the opportunities she’s had while working at Islands Business, and for the mentorship of Magick, whom she describes as “family”.

“Samantha took a chance on me when I had zero knowledge on news writing,” Pareti says. “So I’m grateful to God for her life and for allowing me to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Magick reciprocates this sentiment. “Recently, I am inspired by some of our younger reporters in the field, and their ability to embrace and leverage technology — they’re teaching me.”

Magick anticipates an exciting period ahead for Islands Business, as she aims to attract a younger, professionally driven, and regionally focused audience to their platforms.

When asked about her aspirations for journalism in the region, Magick says she hopes to see a future where Pacific voices remain at the centre, “telling their own stories in all their diversities”.

Teagan Laszlo was a student journalist from the Queensland University of Technology who travelled to Fiji with the support of the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan Mobility Programme. This article is published in a partnership of QUT with Asia Pacific Report, Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) and The University of the South Pacific.

In a democracy, citizens must critically evaluate issues based on facts. However in a very polarised society, people focus more on who is speaking than what is being said.

This was highlighted by journalism Professor Cherian George of the Hong Kong Baptist University as he delivered his keynote address during the recent 2024 Pacific International Media Conference at the Holiday Inn, Suva.

According to Professor George when a media outlet is perceived as representing the “other side”, its journalism is swiftly condemned — adding “it won’t be believed, regardless of its professionalism and quality.”

• READ MORE: Other Pacific Media 2024 reports

Professor George, an author and award-winning journalism academic was among many high-profile journalists and academics gathered at the three-day conference from July 4-6 — the first of its kind in the region in almost two decades.

The gathering of academics, media professionals, policymakers and civil society organisation representatives was organised by The University of the South Pacific in partnership with the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the Asia-Pacific Media Network (APMN).

Addressing an audience of 12 countries from the Asia Pacific region, Professor George said polarisation was a threat to democracy and institutions such as the media and universities.

“While democracy requires faith in the process and a willingness to compromise, polarization is associated with an uncompromising attitude, treating opponents as the enemy and attacking the system, bringing it down if you do not get in your way,” he said.

Fiji coups context
In the context of Fiji — which has experienced four coups, Professor George said the country had seen a steady decrease in political polarisation since 2000, according to data from the Varieties of Democracy Institute (VDI).

He said the decrease was due to government policies aimed at neutralising ethnic-based political organisations at the time. However, he warned against viewing Fiji’s experience as justification for autocratic approaches to social harmony.

“Some may look at this [VDI data] and argue that the Fiji case demonstrates that you sometimes need strongman rule and a temporary suspension of democracy to save it from itself, but the problem is that this is a highly risky formula,” he explained.

Professor George acknowledged that while the government had a role in countering polarisation through top-down attempts, there was also a need for a “bottom-up counter-polarising work done by media and civil society.”

Many professional journalists feel uncomfortable with the idea of intervening or taking a stand, Professor George said, labelling them as mirrors.

“However, if news outlets are really a mirror, it’s always a cracked mirror, pointing in a certain direction and not another,” he said.

“The media are always going to impact on reality, even as they report it objectively.

Trapped by conventions
“It’s better to acknowledge this so that your impact isn’t making things worse than they need to be. There’s ample research showing how even when the media are free to do their own thing, they are trapped by conventions and routines that accentuate polarisation,” he explained.

Professor George highlighted three key issues that exacerbate polarisation in media:

• Stereotypes — journalists often rely on stereotypes about different groups of people because it makes their storytelling easier and quicker;
• Elite focus — journalists treat prominent leaders as more newsworthy than ordinary people the leaders represent; and
• Media bias — journalists prefer to report on conflict or bad news as the public pay most attention to them.

As a result, this has created an imbalance in the media and influenced people how they perceive their social world, the professor said.

“They may come to believe that different communities in their society do not get along, since that’s what their media, all their media, regardless of political leaning, tell them every day,” Professor George explained, adding, “this perception can be self-fulfilling”.

To counter these tendencies, he pointed to reform movements such as peace and solutions journalism which aim to shift attention to grassroots priorities and possibilities for cooperation.

“We must at least agree on one thing,” he concluded. “We all possess a shared humanity and equal dignity, and this is something I hope all media and media educators in the Pacific region, around the world, regardless of political position, can work towards.”

Opening remarks
The conference opening day featured remarks from Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, head of the USP Journalism Programme and conference chair, and Dr Matthew Hayward, acting head of the School of Pacific Arts, Communications, and Education (SPACE).

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Co-operatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and Communications, Manoa Kamikamica was the chief guest. Professor Cherian George delivered the keynote address.

Professor George is currently a professor of Media Studies and has published several books focusing on media and politics in Singapore and Southeast Asia. He also serves as director of the Centre for Media and Communication Research at the Hong Kong Baptist University.

The conference was sponsored the United States Embassy in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu, the International Fund for Public Interest Media, the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme, Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, New Zealand Science Media Centre and the Pacific Women Lead — Pacific Community.

The event had more than 100 attendees from 12 countries — Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Cook Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Solomon Islands, the United States and Hong Kong.

It provided a platform for the 51 presenters to discuss the theme of the conference “Navigating Challenges and Shaping Futures in Pacific Media Research and Practice” and their ideas on the way forward.

An official dinner held on July 4 included the launch of the 30th anniversary edition of the Pacific Journalism Review (PJR), founded by former USP journalism head professor David Robie in 1994, and launch of the book Waves of Change: Media, Peace, and Development in the Pacific, which is edited by associate professor Singh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad, and Dr Amit Sarwal, a former senior lecturer and deputy head of school (research) at USP.

The PJR is the only academic journal in the region that publishes research specifically focused on Pacific media.

A selection of the best conference papers will be published in a special edition of the Pacific Journalism Review or its companion publication Pacific Media Monographs.

Kaneta Naimatau is a final-year student journalist at The University of the South Pacific. Republished in partnership with USP.

Given the intensifying situation, journalists, academics and experts joined to state the need for the Pacific, including its media, to re-assert itself and chart its own path, rooted in its unique cultural, economic and environmental context.

The tone for the discussions was set by Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Information and Communications Technology Timothy Masiu, chief guest at the official dinner of the Suva conference.

The conference heard that the Pacific media sector is small and under-resourced, so its abilities to carry out its public interest role is limited, even in a free media environment.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific International Media Conference reports

Masiu asked how Pacific media was being developed and used as a tool to protect and preserve Pacific identities in the light of “outside influences on our media in the region”. He said the Pacific was “increasingly being used as the backyard” for geopolitics, with regional media “targeted by the more developed nations as a tool to drive their geopolitical agenda”.

Masiu is the latest to draw attention to the widespread impacts of the global contest on the Pacific, with his focus on the media sector, and potential implications for editorial independence.

In some ways, Pacific media have benefitted from the geopolitical contest with the increased injection of foreign funds into the sector, prompting some at the Suva conference to ponder whether “too much of a good thing could turn out to be bad”.

Experts echoed Masiu’s concerns about island nations’ increased wariness of being mere pawns in a larger game.

Fiji a compelling example
Fiji offers a compelling example of a nation navigating this complex landscape with a balanced approach. Fiji has sought to diversify its diplomatic relations, strengthening ties with China and India, without a wholesale pivot away from traditional partners Australia and New Zealand.

Some Pacific Island leaders espouse the “friends to all, enemies to none” doctrine in the face of concerns about getting caught in the crossfire of any military conflict.

This is manifest in Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s incessant calls for a “zone of peace” during both the Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders’ meeting in Port Vila in August, and the United Nations General Assembly debate in New York in September.

Rabuka expressed fears about growing geopolitical rivalry contributing to escalating tensions, stating that “we must consider the Pacific a zone of peace”.

Papua New Guinea, rich in natural resources, has similarly navigated its relationships with major powers. While Chinese investments in infrastructure and mining have surged, PNG has also actively engaged with Australia, its closest neighbour and long-time partner.

“Don’t get me wrong – we welcome and appreciate the support of our development partners – but we must be free to navigate our own destiny,” Masiu told the Suva conference.

Masiu’s proposed media policy for PNG was also discussed at the Suva conference, with former PNG newspaper editor Alex Rheeney stating that the media fraternity saw it as a threat, although the minister spoke positively about it in his address.

Criticism and praise
In 2019, Solomon Islands shifted diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, a move that was met with both criticism and praise. While this opened the door to increased Chinese investment in infrastructure, it also highlighted an effort to balance existing ties to Australia and other Western partners.

Samoa and Tonga too have taken significant strides in using environmental diplomacy as a cornerstone of their international engagement.

As small island nations, they are on the frontlines of climate change, a reality that shapes their global interactions. In the world’s least visited country, Tuvalu (population 12,000), “climate change is not some distant hypothetical but a reality of daily life”.

One of the outcomes of the debates at the Suva conference was that media freedom in the Pacific is a critical factor in shaping an independent and pragmatic global outlook.

Fiji has seen fluctuations in media freedom following political upheavals, with periods of restrictive press laws. However, with the repeal of the draconian media act last year, there is a growing recognition that a free and vibrant media landscape is essential for transparent governance and informed decision-making.

But the conference also heard that the Pacific media sector is small and under-resourced, so its ability to carry out its public interest role is limited, even in a free media environment.

Vulnerability worsened
The Pacific media sector’s vulnerability had worsened due to the financial damage from the digital disruption and the covid-19 pandemic. It underscored the need to address the financial side of the equation if media organisations are to remain viable.

For the Pacific, the path forward lies in pragmatism and self-reliance, as argued in the book of collected essays Waves of Change: Media, Peace, and Development in the Pacific, edited by Shailendra Bahadur Singh, Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad and Amit Sarwal, launched at the Suva conference by Masiu.

No doubt, as was commonly expressed at the Suva media conference, the world is watching as the Pacific charts its own course.

As the renowned Pacific writer Epeli Hau’ofa once envisioned, the Pacific Islands are not small and isolated, but a “sea of islands” with deep connections and vast potential to contribute in the global order.

As they continue to engage with the world, the Pacific nations will need to carve out a path that reflects their unique traditional wisdom, values and aspirations.

Dr Shailendra Bahadur Singh is head of journalism at The University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva, Fiji, and chair of the recent Pacific International Media Conference. Dr Amit Sarwal is an Indian-origin academic, translator, and journalist based in Melbourne, Australia. He is formerly a senior lecturer and deputy head of school (research) at the USP. This article was first published by The Interpreter and is republished with permission.

Despite the many challenges faced by Pacific journalists in recent years, the recent Pacific International Media Conference highlighted the incredible strength and courage of the region’s reporters.

The three-day event in Suva, Fiji, earlier this month co-hosted by the University of South Pacific, Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN), was the first of its kind for Fiji in the last 20 years, marking the newfound freedom media professionals have been experiencing in the nation.

The conference included speakers from many of the main newsrooms in the Pacific, as well as Emmy award-winning American journalist Professor Emily Drew and Pulitzer-nominated investigative journalist Irene Jay Liu, as well as New Zealand’s Indira Stewart, Dr David Robie of APMN and Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor of RNZ Pacific.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific Media Conference reports

Given Fiji’s change of government in 2022, and the ensuing repeal of media laws which threatened jail time for reporters and editors who published stories that weren’t in the “national interest”, many spoke of the extreme challenges they faced under the previous regime.

And two of Fiji’s deputy prime ministers, Manoa Kamikamica and Professor Biman Prasad, also gave keynote speeches detailing how the country’s newly established press freedom is playing a vital role in strengthening the country’s democracy.

Dr Robie has worked in the Pacific for several decades and was a member of the conference’s organising committee.

He said this conference has come at “critical time given the geopolitics in the background”.

Survival of media
“I’ve been to many conferences over the years, and this one has been quite unique and it’s been really good,” he said.

“We’ve addressed the really pressing issues regarding the survival of media and it’s also highlighted how resilient news organisations are across the Pacific.”

Dr David Robie talks to PMN News on the opening day.   Audio/video:PMN Pacific Mornings

The conference coincided with the launch of the 30th anniversary edition of Pacific Journalism Review, which is the only academic journal in the region that publishes research specifically focused on Pacific media.

As founder of PJR, Robie says it is heartening to see it recognised at a place — the University of the South Pacific — where it was also based for a number of years.

“It began its life at the University of Papua New Guinea, but then it was at USP for five years, so it was very appropriate to have our birthday here. It’s published over 1100 articles over its 30 years, so we were really celebrating all that’s been published over that time.”

Climate change solutions
RNZ Pacific manager Moera Tuilaepla-Taylor spoke on a panel about how to cover climate change with a solutions lens.

She says the topic of sexual harassment was a particularly important discussion that came up and it highlighted the extra hurdles Pacific female journalists face.

“It’s a reminder for me as a journalist from New Zealand and something I will reinforce with my own team about the privilege we have to be able to do a story, jump in your car and go home, without being tailed by the police or being taken into barracks to be questioned,” she says.

“It’s a good reminder to us and it gives a really good perspective about what it’s like to be a journalist in the region and the challenges too.”

Another particular challenge Tuilaepa-Taylor highlighted was the increase in international journalists coming into the region reporting on the Pacific.

“The issue I have is that it leads to taking away a Pacific lens on a story which is vitally important,” she said.

“There are stories that can be covered by non-Pacific journalists but there are really important cultural stories that need to have that Pacific lens on it so it’s more authentic and give audiences a sense of connection.”

But Dr Robie says that while problems facing the Pacific are clear, the conference also highlighted why there is also cause for optimism.

“Journalists in the region work very hard and under very difficult conditions and they carry a lot of responsibilities for their communities, so I think it’s a real credit to our industry … [given] their responses to the challenges and their resilience shows there can be a lot of hope for the future of journalism in the region.”

Justin Latif is news editor of Pacific Media Network. Republished with permission.

By Laraswati Ariadne Anwar in Suva

The Pacific Island countries are Indonesia’s neighbours. However, so far they are not very familiar to the ears of the Indonesian people.

One example is Fiji, the largest country in the Pacific Islands. This country, which consists of 330 islands and a population of 924,000 people, has actually had relations with Indonesia for 50 years.

In the context of regional geopolitics, Fiji is the anchor of Indonesian diplomacy in the Pacific.

• READ MORE:  When media freedom as the ‘oxygen of democracy’ and hypocrisy share the same Pacific arena — Pacific Media Watch
• Other Pacific Media Conference reports

Fiji is known as a gateway to the Pacific. This status has been held for centuries because, as the largest country and with the largest port, practically all commodities entering the Pacific Islands must go through Fiji.

Along with Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) of New Caledonia, Fiji forms the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

Indonesia now has the status of a associate member of the MSG, or one level higher than an observer.

For Indonesia, this closeness to the MSG is important because it is related to affirming Indonesia’s sovereignty.

Human rights violations
The MSG is very critical in monitoring the handling of human rights violations that occur in Papua. In terms of sovereignty, the MSG acknowledges Indonesia’s sovereignty as recorded in the Charter of the United Nations.

The academic community in Fiji is also highlighting human rights violations in Papua. As a Melanesian nation, the Fijian people sympathise with the Papuan community.

In Fiji, some individuals hold anti-Indonesian sentiment and support pro-independence movements in Papua. In several civil society organisations in Suva, the capital of Fiji, the Morning Star flag of West Papuan independence is also raised in solidarity.

Even so, Fijian academics realise that they lack context in examining Indonesian problems. This emerged in a talanoa or focused discussion with representatives of universities and Fiji’s mainstream media with a media delegation from Indonesia. The event was organised by the Indonesian Embassy in Suva.

Academics say that reading sources about Indonesia generally come from 50 years ago, causing them to have a limited understanding of developments in Indonesia. When examined, Indonesian journalists also found that they themselves lacked material about the Pacific Islands.

Both the Fiji and Indonesian groups realise that the information they receive about each other mainly comes from Western media. In practice, there is scepticism about coverage crafted according to a Western perspective.

“There must be open and meaningful dialogue between the people of Fiji and Indonesia in order to break down prejudices and provide space for contextual critical review into diplomatic relations between the two countries,” said Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, a former journalist who is now head of the journalism programme at the University of the South Pacific (USP). He was also chair of the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference Committee which was attended by the Indonesian delegation.

‘Prejudice’ towards Indonesia
According to experts in Fiji, the prejudice of the people in that country towards Indonesia is viewed as both a challenge and an opportunity to develop a more quality and substantive relationship.

In that international conference, representatives of mainstream media in the Pacific Islands criticised and expressed their dissatisfaction with donors.

The Pacific Islands are one of the most foreign aid-receiving regions in the world. Fiji is among the top five Pacific countries supported by donors.

Based on the Lowy Institute’s records from Australia as of October 31, 2023, there are 82 donor countries in the Pacific with a total contribution value of US$44 billion. Australia is the number one donor, followed by China.

The United States and New Zealand are also major donors. This situation has an impact on geopolitical competition issues in the region.

Indonesia is on the list of 82 countries, although in terms of the amount of funding contributed, it lags behind countries with advanced economies. Indonesia itself does not take the position to compete in terms of the amount of funds disbursed.

Thus, the Indonesian Ambassador to Fiji, Nauru, Kiribati, and Tuvalu, Dupito Simamora, said that Indonesia was present to bring a new colour.

“We are present to focus on community empowerment and exchange of experiences,” he said.

An example is the empowerment of maritime, capture fisheries, coffee farming, and training for immigration officers. This is more sustainable compared to the continuous provision of funds.

Maintaining ‘consistency’
Along with that, efforts to introduce Indonesia continue to be made, including through arts and culture scholarships, Dharmasiswa (a one-year non-degree scholarship programme offered to foreigners), and visits by journalists to Indonesia. This is done so that the participating Fiji community can experience for themselves the value of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika — the official motto of Indonesia, “Unity in diversity”.

Indonesia has also offered itself to Fiji and the Pacific Islands as a “gateway” to Southeast Asia. Fiji has the world’s best-selling mineral water product, Fiji Water. They are indeed targeting expanding their market to Southeast Asia, which has a population of 500 million people.

The Indonesian Embassy in Suva analysed the working pattern of the BIMP-EAGA, or the East ASEAN economic cooperation involving Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines. From there, a model that can be adopted which will be communicated to the MSG and developed according to the needs of the Pacific region.

In the ASEAN High-Level Conference of 2023, Indonesia initiated a development and empowerment cooperation with the South Pacific that was laid out in a memorandum of understanding between ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

At the World Water Forum (WWF) 2024 and the Island States Forum (AIS), the South Pacific region is one of the areas highlighted for cooperation. Climate crisis mitigation is a sector that is being developed, one of which is the cultivation of mangrove plants to prevent coastal erosion.

For Indonesia, cooperation with the Pacific is not just diplomacy. Through ASEAN, Indonesia is pushing for the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Essentially, the Indo-Pacific region is not an extension of any superpower.

All geopolitical and geo-economic competition in this region must be managed well in order to avoid conflict.

Indigenous perspectives
In the Indo-Pacific region, PIF and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) are important partners for ASEAN. Both are original intergovernmental organisations in the Indo-Pacific, making them vital in promoting a perception of the Indo-Pacific that aligns with the framework and perspective of indigenous populations.

On the other hand, Indonesia’s commitment to the principle of non-alignment was tested. Indonesia, which has a free-active foreign policy policy, emphasises that it is not looking for enemies.

However, can Indonesia guarantee the Pacific Islands that the friendship offered is sincere and will not force them to form camps?

At the same time, the Pacific community is also observing Indonesia’s sincerity in resolving various cases of human rights violations, especially in Papua. An open dialogue on this issue could be evidence of Indonesia’s democratic maturity.

Republished from Kompas in partnership with The University of the South Pacific.

Here is the livestream of Dr David Robie’s keynote address “Frontline Media Faultlines: How Critical Journalism Can Survive Against the Odds” at the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference in Suva, Fiji, earlier this month.

The conference was hosted by the University of the South Pacific journalism programme in collaboration with the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) on 4-6 July 2024.

Dr Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report and deputy chair of the APMN, is introduced by Professor Cherian George of Hong Kong Baptist University.

• READ MORE: A report of the address is here
• Other Pacific Media Conference reports

Dr David Robie’s keynote address on July 4.  Livestream video: The Australia Today

Republished from The Australia Today’s YouTube channel and Café Pacific with permission.

A group of regional and international media representatives met at a forum in Fiji last week to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities facing journalists in the Pacific.

The three-day conference brought together people from the media industry, academics, civil society, and other interested parties.

A budding Fiji journalist Shivaali Shrutika said that newsrooms needed to evolve with the times.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific Media Conference reports

“Transformation is important, wherever you are, and this is my observation,” she said.

“But in any space we work, particularly in mainstream media, we are reaching out to the communities that we want to become the voice for, but first we need to work on ourselves to be better people to understand them and then portray their minds and their thoughts to our audiences.”

She said every journalist and person involved in the newsroom should have a positive environment to work in.

“Because in journalism there is pressure, and there are deadlines in that space, it is important to have positive energy and a flexible environment to work in where everyone’s work is appreciated, especially for those trying as it is important to help boost people’s confidence and create those spaces.”

Lack of support
She said some young journalists left the profession due to a lack of support from more experienced reporters.

“Young journalists need this as they are new to the industry and unsure of their job, and when they are ignored, it can lower their confidence.”

Kaneta Namimatau is a final-year journalism student at the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme.

“This is the biggest media conference I have been to and the first one in Fiji in 20 years,” he said.

He said the stories of intimidation and harassment that journalists in Fiji had faced, under the Media Industry Development Act, were very challenging to hear.

For him, the most powerful discussion at the conference was a panel on the “prevalence and impact of sexual harassment on female journalists”.

The sexual harassment of women journalists in Fiji is a major problem, according to a study published earlier this year.

‘Disheartening’ experience
“I found that disheartening to hear as it is something that I would hate for my sisters to have to experience in the workplace.”

Namimatau said the conference reinforced his decision to become a journalist and work in the Fiji news arena.

“I think I can contribute more to Fiji and tell the stories of the Banaba people, my people. I also want to represent my people from Rabi.”

The conference included academics, like USP’s associate professor Shailendra Singh, who was chair of the Pacific International Media Conference.

Dr Singh said it was a critical time for journalists in the region.

“Mainly, for two reasons, the digital disruption that we know has siphoned off huge amounts of advertising revenue from the media industry and mainstream media, as well as covid-19 which worsened the situation.

“I think most media organisations are struggling to survive.”

Dr Singh is coordinator of the journalism course at the University of the South Pacific.

He said the papers tabled and some of the discussions that took place would be published in Pacific Journalism Review.

The 2023 lifting of the FijiFirst government’s 2010 draconian media act, which involved constant censorship, has created a new environment in which Fiji journalists no longer operate in fear.

No ‘shying away’
Asia Pacific Report publisher and editor Dr David Robie said this was the sort of conference that Fiji needed right now” — a forum that did not “shy away” from the challenges facing reporters in the region.

Dr Robie described the panels, in particular the discussion around sexual harassment in Pacific journalism, as the best he had ever attended.

Other panels dealt with similarly difficult topics such as climate change, and stress/burn-out within the industry.

This is the first conference of its kind in Fiji in 20 years, and Dr Singh hopes that the delegates can take back what they have learned, to their newsrooms.

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

A former newspaper editor believes the journalism profession in Papua New Guinea and other Pacific Island countries is in crisis.

Team leader of the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS)/ABC International Development (ABCID) Alexander Rheeney spoke of this issue at the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference in Fiji last week.

Reflecting on his role as a former editor of both the PNG Post-Courier newspaper in Papua New Guinea and the Samoa Observer, Rheeney said a lot of challenges were facing journalists in PNG, especially over the quality of reporting and gender-based violence

• READ MORE: Other Pacific Media Conference reports
• NBC News report on the launch of the 30th anniversary edition of Pacific Journalism Review

He said the harassment mainly affected female journalists in newsrooms around the Pacific and Papua New Guinea was no exception.

Rheeney’s concern now is to find solutions to these challenges.

Rheeney told the NBC that every newsroom had its own challenges, and the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference was a great forum that brought journalists past, and present, including media academics and experts together to share and find answers to these problems.

He said the proposed PNG media policy was seen as a threat and challenge for some.

Many journalists and media houses were questioning what this policy might do to affect their way of reporting.

Papua New Guinea’s Information Communication and Technology Minister Timothy Masiu, whose ministry was spearheading this media policy, was also part of the conference and he spoke positively about the policy.

Minister Masiu said that the draft policy was to elevate the media profession in PNG and called for the development of media self-regulation in the country without government’s direct intervention.

The draft policy also was intended to strike a balance between the media’s ongoing role on transparency and accountability on the one hand, and the dissemination of development information on the other hand.

Republished from NBC News with permission.

But it has always been “far more than a research journal”, he added at the launch of the 30th anniversary edition at the Pacific International Media Conference in Fiji yesterday.

Speaking in response to The University of the South Pacific’s adjunct professor in development studies and governance Vijay Naidu who launched the edition, he spoke of the innovative and cutting edge style of PJR.

• WATCH NBC NEWS: Launch of Pacific Journalism Review 30th edition
• READ MORE: Professor Vijay Naidu’s PJR launch comments
• Other Pacific Media 2024 reports

“As an independent publication, it has given strong support to investigative journalism, sociopolitical journalism, political economy of the media, photojournalism and political cartooning — they have all been strongly reflected in the character of the journal,” he said.

“It has also been a champion of journalism practice-as-research methodologies and strategies, as reflected especially in its Frontline section, pioneered by retired Australian professor and investigative journalist Wendy Bacon.

“Keeping to our tradition of cutting edge and contemporary content, this anniversary edition raises several challenging issues such as Julian Assange and Gaza.”

He thanked current editor Philip Cass for his efforts — “he was among the earliest contributors when we began in Papua New Guinea” — and the current team, assistant editor Khairiah A. Rahman, Nicole Gooch, “extraordinary mentors” Wendy Bacon and Dr Chris Nash, APMN chair Dr Heather Devere, Dr Adam Brown, Nik Naidu and Dr Gavin Ellis.

Paid tribute to many
He also paid tribute to many who have contributed to the journal through peer reviewing and the editorial board over many years — such as Dr Lee Duffield and Professor Mark Pearson of Griffith University, who was also editor of Australian Journalism Review for many years and was an inspiration to PJR — “and he is right here with us at the conference.”

Among others have been the Fiji conference convenor, USP’s associate professor Shailendra Singh, and professor Trevor Cullen of Edith Cowan University, who is chair of next year’s World Journalism Education Association conference in Perth.

Dr Robie also singled out designer Del Abcede for special tribute for her hard work carrying the load of producing the journal for many years “and keeping me sane — the question is am I keeping her sane? Anyway, neither I nor Philip would be standing here without her input.”

He also complimented AUT’s Tuwhera research publishing platform for their “tremendous support” since the PJR archive was hosted there in 2016.

The new book, Waves of Change: Media, Peace, and Development in the Pacific, was also launched at the event.

• Launch of Pacific Journalism Review 30th edition (@01:20).  FB video: NBC News

Meanwhile, New Zealand media analyst and commentator Dr Gavin Ellis mentioned the Pacific Journalism Review milestone in his weekly Knightly Views column:

On a brighter note

This month marks the 30^th anniversary of Pacific Journalism Review, the journal founded and championed by journalist and university professor David Robie. PJR has provided a unique bridge between academics and practitioners in the study of media and journalism in our part of the world.

The journal is now edited by Dr Philip Cass, although Robie continues to be directly involved as associate editor and editorial manager. The latest edition (which they co-edited) explores links between journalists in the South Pacific with the conflict in Gaza, together with analysis of the wider role of media in coverage of the plight of Palestinians.

A special 30th anniversary printed double issue is being launched at the Pacific International Media Conference in Fiji. The online edition of PJR is now available here.

Sustaining a publication like Pacific Journalism Review is no easy feat, and it is a tribute to Robie, Cass and others associated with the journal that it is entering its fourth decade strongly and with challenging content.

Five high-profile, international award-winning journalists and journalism academics will join their regional media counterparts to address the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference in Suva, Fiji, this week.

They include a three-times Emmy Award-winning television news producer from the United States, a widely published award-winning journalism academic and author based in Hong Kong, a recently honoured Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, a finalist in the 2017 Pulitzer Prize, and a renowned investigative journalist from New Zealand.

Professors Emily Drew, Cherian George, and David Robie, alongside Irene Liu and Indira Stewart, will speak on wide-ranging topics related to media and development in the Pacific, from an international perspective.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific Media Conference reports

Organised and hosted by the University of the South Pacific in collaboration with the Pacific Islands News Association and the Asia Pacific Media Network, the conference will be held from tomorrow until Saturday under the theme “Navigating Challenges and Shaping Futures in Pacific Media Research and Practice.”

Associate professor in Pacific journalism Shailendra Singh says it is important to address Pacific media issues in light of global changes affecting the sector, hence the lineup of international and Pacific regional speakers.

Dr Singh said Pacific media had not escaped global trends such as digital disruption and the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic, not to mention recent geopolitical developments.

The conference will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Pacific Journalism Review and launch the book, Waves of Change: Media, Peace, and Development in the Pacific, co-edited by Dr Singh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad, and Dr Amit Sarwal.

The conference will be held at the Suva Holiday Inn from July 4-6.

In addition to the conference, a side cultural event “Connecting Diaspora: Pacific Prana” exhibition has also been organised from July 3-August 28 at the USP Oceania Arts Centre on Laucala Campus.

Republished from FBC News with permission.

Journalists, publishers, academics, diplomats and NGO representatives from throughout the Asia-Pacific region will gather for the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference hosted by The University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji, next month.

A notable part of the conference on July 4-6 will be the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the journal Pacific Journalism Review — founded by the energetic pioneer of journalism studies in the Pacific, Professor David Robie, who was recently honoured in the NZ King’s Birthday Honours list as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

I have been on the editorial board of PJR for two of its three decades.

• READ MORE: PJR to celebrate 30 years of journalism publishing at Pacific Media 2024
• Other Pacific Media Conference reports
• Dr Lee Duffield on 20 years of PJR
• Other Mark Pearson media law blog items

As well as delivering a keynote address titled “Frontline Media Faultlines: How Critical Journalism can Survive Against the Odds”, Dr Robie will join me and the current editor of PJR, Dr Philip Cass, on a panel examining the challenges faced by journalism journals in the Global South/Asia Pacific.

We will be moderated by Professor Vijay Naidu, former professor and director of development studies and now an adjunct in the School of Law and Social Sciences at the university. He is also speaking at the PJR birthday event.

In addition, I will be delivering a conference paper titled “Intersections between media law and ethics — a new pedagogy and curriculum”.

Media law and ethics have often been taught as separate courses in the journalism and communication curriculum or have been structured as two distinct halves of a hybrid course.

Integrated ethics and law approach
My paper explains an integrated approach expounded in my new textbook, The Communicator’s Guide to Media Law and Ethics, where each key media law topic is introduced via a thorough exploration of its moral, ethical, religious, philosophical and human rights underpinnings.

The argument is exemplified via an approach to the ethical and legal topic of confidentiality, central to the relationship between journalists and their sources.

After defining the term and distinguishing it from the related topic of privacy, the paper explains the approach in the textbook and curriculum which traces the religious and philosophical origins of confidentiality sourced to Hippocrates (460-370BC), via confidentiality in the priesthood (from Saint Aphrahat to the modern Catholic Code of Canon Law), and through the writings of Kant, Bentham, Stuart Mill, Sidgwick and Rawls until we reach the modern philosopher Sissela Bok’s examination of investigative journalism and claims of a public’s “right to know”.

This leads naturally into an examination of the handling of confidentiality in both public relations and journalism ethical codes internationally and their distinctive approaches, opening the way to the examination of law, cases and examples internationally in confidentiality and disclosure and, ultimately, to a closer examination in the author’s own jurisdiction of Australia.

Specific laws covered include breach of confidence, disobedience contempt, shield laws, whistleblower laws and freedom of information laws — with the latter having a strong foundation in international human rights instruments.

The approach gives ethical studies a practical legal dimension, while enriching students’ legal knowledge with a backbone of its philosophical, religious and human rights origins.

Details about the conference can be found on its USP website.

Professor Mark Pearson (Griffith University) is a journalist, author, academic researcher and teacher with more than 45 years’ experience in journalism and journalism education. He is a former editor of Australian Journalism Review, a columnist for 15 years on research journal findings for the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association Bulletin, and author of 13 books, including The Communicator’s Guide to Media Law and Ethics — A Handbook for Australian Professionals (Routledge, 2024). He blogs at JournLaw.

Flipped “back in time” is how New Zealand author, journalist and media educator Dr David Robie describes the crisis in New Caledonia.

Robie has covered the Asia-Pacific region for international media and educated Pacific journalists for more than four decades.

He reported on the indigenous Kanak pro-independence uprising in the 1980s and says it is happening again in the French-colonised territory.

• READ MORE: Pasifika make mark in New Zealand’s royal awards

Dr David Robie talks to Ma’a Brian Sagala of PMN News in 2021.     Video: PMN/Café Pacific

Robie’s comments follow the rioting and looting in New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa on May 13 that followed protesters against France President Emmanuel Macron’s plan for electoral reform.

At least seven people have died and hundreds injured with damage estimated in the millions of dollars.

“The tragic thing is that we’ve gone back in time,” he told PMN News.

“Things were progressing really well towards independence and then it’s all gone haywire.

“But back in the 1980s, it was a very terrible time. At the end of the 1980s with the accords [Matignon and Nouméa accords], there was so much hope for the Kanak people.”

Robie, who has travelled to Noumēa multiple times, has long advocated for liberation for Kanaky/New Caledonia and was even arrested at gunpoint by French police in January 1987.

He reflected on his work throughout the Pacific, which includes his involvement in the Rainbow Warrior bombing — the subject of his book Eyes of Fire; covering the Sandline crisis with student journalists in Papua New Guinea; and helping his students report the George Speight-led coup of 2000 in Fiji.

Dr David Robie talks to Ma’a Brian Sagala of PMN News in August 2018.  Video: PMN/PMC

“Because I was a freelance journalist, I could actually go and travel to many countries and spend a lot of time there.”

“I guess that’s been my commitment really, helping to tell stories at a grassroots level and also trying to empower other journalists.”

Robie’s commitment has been recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours and he has been named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

He headed the journalism programmes at the University of Papua New Guinea and University of the South Pacific for 10 years, and also founded the Pacific Media Centre at AUT University.

What Robie calls “an incredible surprise”, he says the award also serves as recognition for those who have worked alongside him.

“Right now, we need journalists more than ever. We’re living in a world of absolute chaos of disinformation,” he said.

Robie said trust in the media had declined due to there being “too much opinionated and personality” journalism.

“We’re moving more towards niche journalism, if I might say, mainstream journalism is losing its way and Pacific media actually fit into the niche journalism mode,” he said.

“So I think there will be a growing support and need for Pacific journalism whereas mainstream media’s got a lot more of a battle on its hands.”

Republished from PMN News with permission.

Cook Islands News, the national newspaper for the Cook Islands, is one of many Pacific news media agencies expecting change in the face of New Zealand’s Newshub closure next month.

The organisation has content-sharing agreements with traditional NZ media organisations including Stuff, New Zealand Herald, RNZ and TVNZ, and is dependent on them for some news relevant to their readers.

Cook Islands News editor Rashneel Kumar said that Newshub, New Zealand’s second major television news and website which CIN did not have an agreement with, was still an excellent source of extra context or additional angles for the paper’s international pages, and its absence would be felt.

• READ MORE: Other Newshub reports

“You can understand the decisions that were taken by the owners but at the same time it is really sad for journalism in general,” Kumar said.

“What it does is provide fewer options for quality journalism.

“Media like Newshub has been a really good alternative in terms of robust and independent journalism.”

Cook Islands News is in the process of signing a new share agreement with Pacific Media News (PMN), which is hiring a former Newshub reporter of Cook Islands descent.

“This will boost our coverage because the experience he brings from Newshub will be translated into a platform that we have access to stories with,” Kumar said.

‘One positive effect’
“So that is one positive effect of the closures.

“We see the changing landscape, and we must adapt to the changes we are seeing.”

Pacific Island countries consist of small and micro media systems due to the relatively small size of their populations and economies, resulting in limited advertising revenue and marginal returns on investment.

Associate professor in Pacific journalism and head of journalism at the University of the South Pacific Dr Shailendra Singh said what was happening in New Zealand could also happen in the Pacific.

“This advertising-based model is outdated in the digital media environment, and Pacific media companies, like their counterparts worldwide, need to change and innovate to survive,” he said.

CEO of Cook Islands Television Jeanne Matenga said that the only formal relationship they had with overseas agencies was with Pasifika TV, but that Newshub’s closure meant they would no longer get any of their programmes.

“As long as we can get one of the news programmes, then that should suffice for us in terms of New Zealand and international news,” she said.

All major Pacific Island media organisations are already active on social media platforms, and are still determining how to harness, leverage, and monetise their social media followings.

Newshub is due to close on July 5.

Republished from the Te Waha Nui student journalist website at Auckland University of Technology. TWN used to be a contributing publication to Asia Pacific Report.

Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert.

Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press Freedom Day last Friday, Plinkert said this year’s theme, “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the environmental crisis,” was a call to action.

“So, I understand this year’s World Press Freedom Day as a call to action, and a unique opportunity to highlight the role that Pacific journalists can play leading global conversations on issues that impact us all, like climate and the environment,” she said.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific climate crisis reports
• The EU Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert’s full WPFD2024 speech

“Here in the Pacific, you know better than almost anywhere in the world what climate change looks and feels like and what are the risks that lie ahead.”

Plinkert said reporting stories on climate change were Pacific stories, adding that “with journalists like you sharing these stories with the world, the impact will be amplified.”

“Just imagine how much more powerful the messages for global climate action are when they have real faces and real stories attached to them,” she said.

Reflecting on the theme, Plinkert recognised that there was an “immense personal risk” for journalists reporting the truth.

99 journalists killed
According to Plinkert, 99 journalists and media workers had been killed last year — the highest death toll since 2015.

Hundreds more were imprisoned worldwide, she said, “just for doing their jobs”.

“Women journalists bear a disproportionate burden,” the ambassador said, with more than 70 percent facing online harassment, threats and gender-based violence.

Plinkert called it “a stain on our collective commitment to human rights and equality”.

“We must vehemently condemn all attacks on those who wield the pen as their only weapon in the battle for truth,” she declared.

The European Union, she said, was strengthening its support for media freedom by adopting the so-called “Anti-SLAPP” directive which stands for “strategic lawsuits against public participation”.

Plinkert said the directive would safeguard journalists from such lawsuits designed to censor reporting on issues of public interest.

Law ‘protecting journalists’
Additionally, the European Parliament had adopted the European Media Freedom Act which, according to Plinkert, would “introduce measures aimed at protecting journalists and media providers from political interference”.

In the Pacific, the EU is funding projects in the Solomon Islands such as the “Building Voices for Accountability”, the ambassador said.

She added that it was “one of many EU-funded projects supporting journalists globally”.

The World Press Freedom event held at USP’s Laucala Campus included a panel discussion by editors and CSO representatives on the theme “Fiji and the Pacific situation”.

The EU ambassador was one of the chief guests at the event, which included Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretary-General Henry Puna, and Fiji’s Environment and Climate Change Secretary Dr Sivendra Michael was the keynote speaker.

Plinkert has served as the EU’s Ambassador to Fiji and the Pacific since 2023, replacing Sujiro Seam. Prior to her appointment, Plinkert was the head of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Southeast Asia Division, based in Brussels, Belgium.

Kaneta Naimatau is a third-year student journalist at The University of the South Pacific. Wansolwara News collaborates with Asia Pacific Report.

In a first of its kind in Samoa, Apia Broadcasting channel TV3 is moving its station completely to online streaming because it can no longer afford to broadcast traditionally.

The station had its final broadcast last week on Samoa’s digital television platform.

General manager Michael Aisea said Samoa was a small market with many players.

• READ MORE: Samoa’s TV3 streaming
• Other Pacific television reports

“To run a TV station you need sponsors for different programmes to run the ads on our station. So having eight TV stations in a small market makes for a kind of cut throat industry,” Aisea said.

“It means you have to work hard to get sponsors for your different programmes and everyone is picking from the same pie.”

Aisea said discussions about the switch with the company’s directors started at the beginning of the year.

It cost 23,000 tala a month (US$8333) or 276,000 tala annually to run on Samoa’s television network while online streaming was much cheaper.

“It is a new era for television in Samoa, nobody has ever tried this, we are the first ones to step into the area to see if it’s going to work.”

Aisea said current advertisers were committing to follow the channel online. The channel’s 18 staff would also remain employed.

“If you balance it out, not every home has a TV but every person has a phone, that’s why we decided to stream.”

Aisea said TV3 created local programmes that were in Samoan targeting a broad audience, which would continue online.

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

Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs.

Fiji’s improvement in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index was in contrast to the global trend for erosion of media independence — manifested in the Pacific by Papua New Guinea’s evolving plans for a media law and its prime minister’s threat to retaliate against journalists.

The Paris-based advocacy group, also known as Reporters sans frontières (RSF), said yesterday — World Press Freedom Day — there had been a “worrying decline” globally in respect for media autonomy and an increase in pressure from states and other political actors.

• READ MORE: NZ slumps to 19th as RSF says press freedom threatened by global decline
• The full 2024 RSF World Press Freedom Index
• Silencing the messenger: Israel kills journalists while the West merely censors them – David Robie
• RSF calls on NZ Prime Minister to reaffirm his government’s commitment to press freedom
• Timor-Leste makes top ten in 2023 World Press Freedom Index

“States and other political forces are playing a decreasing role in protecting press freedom. This disempowerment sometimes goes hand in hand with more hostile actions that undermine the role of journalists,” said RSF’s editorial director Anne Bocandé.

The international community, RSF said, also has shown a “clear lack of political will” to enforce principles of protection of journalists.

At least 22 Palestinian journalists — 143 journalists in total, according to Al Jazeera — have been killed in the course of their work by Israel’s military during its war in Gaza since October, it said.

Meanwhile authoritarian governments in Asia, the most populous continent, are “throttling journalism,” the group said, citing the examples of Vietnam, Myanmar, China, North Korea and Afghanistan.

Only four Pacific countries in Index
The index covers 180 countries but it reports on only four of two dozen Pacific island nations and territories.

Excluded Pacific island countries include those with no independent media, such as Nauru, and others with a diversity of media organizations such as Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.

RSF told BenarNews that while it currently does not have the capacity, it hopes to increase the number of Pacific island countries it reports on and to forge relationships with more Pacific media organizations.

The chief executive of Vanuatu Broadcasting & Television Corporation [VBTC], Francis Herman, said he would welcome Vanuatu’s inclusion.

“I think it is important that Vanuatu is included. There are challenges around media freedom, the track record in the past is of threats to media freedom,” he told BenarNews at a Pacific broadcasters conference in Brisbane.

“We are relatively free but that doesn’t mean everything is all well.”

Fiji’s position in the index improved to 44th in 2024 from 89th the previous year, reflecting the seachange for its media after strongman leader Voreqe Bainimarama lost power in a 2022 election.

Fiji’s attacks in press freedom
“After 16 years of repeated attacks on press freedom under Frank Bainimarama, pressure on the media has eased since Sitiveni Rabuka replaced him as prime minister in 2022,” said RSF.

Fiji Broadcasting Corporation said the reform had allowed its journalists to do stories they previously shied away from.

“Self-censorship out of fear for the possible consequences was the biggest issue in holding power to account,” FBC said in a statement provided to BenarNews on behalf of its newsroom.

“The 16 years under the media decree meant many experienced journalists left the profession and a generation of journalists couldn’t practice in a free and transparent media environment.

“Already we’re seeing positive change but it’s going to take some time to rebuild the skills and confidence to report without fear or favor.”

The win for press freedom in the Pacific comes at a time when China’s government, ranked at 172nd on the index and which tolerates media only as a compliant mouthpiece, is vying against the United States, ranked at 55th, for influence in the region.

State-controlled or influenced media has a prominent role in many Pacific island countries, partly due to small populations, economies of scale and cultural norms that emphasize deference to authority and tradition.

Small town populations
Nations such as Tuvalu and Nauru only have populations of a small town.

The press freedom ranking of Papua New Guinea, the most populous Pacific island country, deteriorated to 91st place from 59th last year.

The government last year said it planned to regulate news organisations and released a draft media policy that envisaged newsrooms as tools to support the economically-struggling country’s development objectives.

Prime Minister James Marape has frequently criticised Papua New Guinea’s media for reporting on the country’s problems such as tribal conflicts. He has said that journalists were creating a bad perception of his government and he would look to hold them accountable.

Belinda Kora, secretary of the PNG Media Council, said the proposed media development law is now in its fifth draft, but concerns about it representing a threat to a free press have not been allayed.

“The newsrooms that we’ve been able to talk to, especially the members of the council, all 16 of them, are unhappy,” she told BenarNews at a Pacific broadcasters’ conference in Brisbane.

They see “there are some clauses and some pointers in this policy that point to restricting media, to lifting the cost of licenses for broadcasting organisations,” she said.

RSF commended Samoa ranked 22nd as a regional leader in press freedom. The Polynesian country is the only Pacific island nation in the top 25 for the second year running, and Tonga is 45th.

Copyright ©2015-2024, BenarNews. Used with the permission of BenarNews.

Time is running out for media people and academics wanting to tell their innovative story or present research at the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference in July.

Organisers say the deadline is fast approaching for registration in less than two weeks.

Many major key challenges and core problems facing Pacific media are up for discussion at the conference in Suva, Fiji, on July 4-6 hosted by The University of the South Pacific (USP).

• READ MORE: Other 2024 Pacific Media International Conference reports

“Interest in the conference is very encouraging, both from our partners and from presenters — who are academics, professional practitioners and others who work in the fields of media and society,” conference chair Associate Professor Shailendra Singh of USP told Asia Pacific Report.

“Some very interesting abstracts have been received, and we’re looking forward to more in the coming days and weeks.”

The USP is partnered for the conference by the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN).

“There’s a lot to discuss — not only is this the first Pacific media conference of its kind in 20 years, there has been a lot of changes in the Pacific media sector, just as in the media sectors of just about every country in the world.

Media sector shaken
“Our region hasn’t escaped the calamitous impacts of the two biggest events that have shaken the media sector — digital disruption and the covid-19 pandemic.”

Both events had posed major challenges for the news media organisations and journalists — “to the point of even being an existential threat to the news media industry as we know it”.

“This isn’t very well known or understood outside the news media industry,” Dr Singh said.

The trends needed to be examined in order to “respond appropriately”.

“That is one of the main purposes of this conference — to generate research, discussion and debate on Pacific media, and understand the problems better.”

Dr Singh said the conference was planning a stimulating line-up of guest speakers from the Asia-Pacific region.

Chief guest
Chief guest is Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica, who is also Communications and Technology Minister.

The abstracts deadline is April 5, panel proposals are due by May 5, and July 4 is the date for final full papers.

Key themes include:

• Media, Democracy, Human Rights and Governance
• Media and Geopolitics
• Digital Disruption and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Media Law and Ethics
• Media, Climate Change and Environmental Journalism
• Indigenous and Vernacular Media
• Social Cohesion, Peace-building and Conflict-prevention
• Covid-19 Pandemic and Health Reporting
• Media Entrepreneurship and Sustainability

Email abstracts to the conference chair: Dr Shailendra Singh

Full details at the conference website: www.usp.ac.fj/2024-pacific-media-conference/

There are questions about what the future of media will look like for Pacific media platforms in the wake of the axing of TVNZ’s Sunday and Fair Go programmes along with the proposed closure of Newshub.

Economist and political commentator Filipo Katavake-McGrath says the recent changes are monumental and media will need to adapt to changing audiences.

“Commercial news is expensive … the cost of maintaining a series of transmitters around the country is huge.

• READ MORE: Pacific journalist Barbara Dreaver challenges TVNZ chief over job cuts
• Mediawatch: Apocalypse now for NZ news – take 2?
• Inaugural Pacific Australia Media Leaders Meeting hosted by the ABC

“So one of the big challenges facing the broadcast sector here and around the world is trying to get people to switch off radios and to switch on computers so that everything can be done down the broadband lines, which would be significantly cheaper.”

Katavake-McGrath says shifting to a streaming or digital service could even the playing field for services like Radio Apna, Whakaata Māori, Coconet and Tagata Pasifika Plus.

‘A massive buffet’
“Today, as people use YouTube and Facebook a lot more, where they’ve got just a plethora of things that they can click in and out of, our news world might become more like that as well, where there’s just a massive buffet, and on that buffet, PMN sits with exactly the same prominence as TV1 news.”

More than 3.3 million people listen to commercial radio each week, with Pacific audiences making up 8 percent of that audience.

Speaking at last year’s Pacific Media Fono, veteran Tagata Pasifika executive producer John Utanga said: “We make content for us, and we put the faces, voices and issues of Pacific people on screens made by Pacific people for Pacific people.”

Pacific Media Network (PMN) chief executive Don Mann says media entities must be “brave and courageous” in their decision making.

“The worst thing we can do is just trundle along, doing the same old, same old, and end up just being an irrelevant organisation where our community are elsewhere, while we’re still sitting in an old way of doing things.”

Regional matters
Last week, ABC hosted the inaugural Pacific Australia Media Leaders Meeting. Mann was there, and says that on top of changing audience consumption and loss of revenue, Pacific media are facing a whole different level of concerns.

“We heard from an executive, I won’t name them for privacy reasons, who was talking about just the right to exist as a media entity and the threats and the pressure that they were under from the country’s military and political leaders,” he says.

“For other Pacific leaders, they were discussing the impact of foreign countries competing in their space and trying to act as a media agency in the middle of two major entities that are vying for power in their space.”

Mann says there were many layers of discussions, from trying to get working laptops, possibilities around subscription-based platforms, and AI content.

Local and long term plan
Closer to home, Mann says the government needs to have a long term strategy for how media is created for all the various communities in Aotearoa.

“What is the future government policy, irrespective of who’s in power . . . whether it’s Māori media or ethnic media or right across the board, what’s the coherent government policy on funded content moving forward?”

Disclaimer: Pacific Media Network is operated by a charitable trust and uses a mixed funding model with revenue coming from both public entities as well as commercial sources.

Khalia Strong is a Pacific Media Network senior reporter. This article was first published by PMN and is republished here with permission.

Pacific Media Network (PMN) has continued its transition into the “Moanaverse” with a new digital home for its news and media

PMN said in a statement it was pleased to reveal its new website that “ensures the future of Pacific storytelling, radio and news media continues to connect with its growing online audience”.

Pacific communities were at the heart of the new website www.pmn.co.nz, said CEO Don Mann.

• READ MORE: Other PMN reports at Asia Pacific Report
• Go to the new PMN website

“PMN’s new digital platform is all about serving the Pacific community. The stories we share deserve an online space that upholds the mana and respect of Pacific people,” he said.

“We have an obligation to provide a digital home that best serves the interests of the Pacific community.”

The redesigned site makes it easier to discover its brands — Niu FM, 531pi, PMN News — and its 10 language programmes all in one place.

Included in the refresh was a branding approach that seeks to connect and be relevant with an increasingly digitally savvy Pacific youth audience.

The project was completed within a year and was led by web agency Daylight Group, the team behind award winning site The Spinoff.

“We liken our online space to a digital version of a kupega or upega: a net that seeks to contain Pacific knowledge that sustains us and to share this koloa across the Moanaverse,” Mann said.

The main colour tapa black is an intentional neutral backdrop that “holds the vibrancy of our islands”.

The site is said by PMN to be mobile-friendly, optimising the display for any screen size so content can be accessed “on the go”.

Several Pasifika were among dozens of New Zealanders to receive the Order of Merit this week.

Recipients comprised leading figures across various industries from social work to entertainment.

TV show producer, writer, and director Lisa Taouma received the insignia of a member of the NZ Order of Merit at a ceremony in Auckland.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific awards reports

Taouma said the award represented the efforts of many people.

“I’m really honoured that people from my community nominated me for this,” Taouma said.

“As Pacific people, we work collectively. This award has my name on it, but it’s an award that should be really for my whole amazing team of Pacific creatives.

“In my aiga of creative people who have put me here really, this is very much theirs’ as mine.”

Garnered controversy
The Order of Merit was an honorific established in 1902 by Edward VII, and has garnered controversy as it was awarded to many British officers and statesmen involved with the colonial oppression of the British Empire.

But Taouma said the investure of so many Pasifika and Māori indicated a positive change.

Since the end of the British Empire, the honorific system has seen a revision — shifting from recognition of control to recognition of change.

“I was a bit conflicted in taking the award from the Empire and the King, because many Pacific people were victims of colonisation,” said Taouma.

“But I think that different people being involved in these investures is important because it shows how things are changing.”

Another Pasifika recipient, Ma’a Brian Sagala, said his recognition was the result of generations of duty towards helping one’s community and whanau (family).

“The reason I do what I do is to follow in the footsteps of my dad and mum, it’s something that has been modelled to me by all those who gave gone before me,” said Ma’a who works as a radio presenter and producer for the Pacific Media Network.

‘Hard to put into words’
“It’s actually hard to put it into words, but I’m very humbled by the recognition, and I’m just so very thankful. I love serving the Pasifika community, it’s the greatest honour and privilege.

“This medal shows the impact that Pasifika are having on New Zealand society.”

Many Māori have also been invested, such as George Flavell, kaumatua of Ngati Te Ata. The 77-year-old spent much of his life discovering and protecting traditional Māori sites such as pa fortresses.

His push for the protection of the sites resulted in land being reclaimed as part of the Waitangi Tribunal.

“It’s 30 years of hard work,” said Flavell.

“We worked hard to save our waahi tapu (sacred sites) and pa (traditional fortresses)…all of our land was confiscated, so it was about picking up what we could with the goodwill of the community.”

Flavell said changes in school curriculums to teach Māori history and language showed how far New Zealand society had come.

“Things were taught differently back then because there was no understanding of the past, but then all these claims came out and things began to change, people began to understand.

“We were at the bottom of the list of council policies (preserving sites), but now we’re on top.”

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

ANALYSIS: By Mark Jennings

Until weeks ago, the future of Aotearoa New Zealand’s public media organisations was looking so grim the government was prepared to spend $370 million over four years to merge TVNZ and RNZ and future proof the new entity it was calling ANZPM.

Last December, when the merger plan was under intense scrutiny, then Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern said RNZ “could collapse” if the merger did not go ahead.

Last week, Labour unveiled a very modest plan to strengthen public media. The old, very expensive one, had been thrown on the policy bonfire back in February.

• READ MORE: Other NZ public media reports

The “burn it” decision had been widely anticipated after new PM Chris Hipkins’ started dumping unpopular policies to focus on cost of living issues.

Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson stayed on message when he released the new public media plan last week. “We have listened to New Zealanders and now is not the right time to restructure our public media.”

Under the new plan RNZ will get $25 million more a year, NZ On Air will get a one-off boost of $10m for 2023/24 and TVNZ will get nothing.

Jackson claims the extra money will “deliver world class public media for all New Zealanders.” This seems improbable given the earlier dire predictions.

The additional $25 million a year for RNZ represents a 60 percent increase in its funding. It sounds a lot but the broadcaster has been under resourced for the past 15 years.

Coping with pandemic
When National came to power in 2008 it froze RNZ funding for 9 years. The state broadcaster did get an increase from the Ardern government but it has had to contend with the additional costs of reporting on and coping with the covid-19 pandemic.

Lately, the demands of covering the Auckland floods and cyclone Gabrielle have stretched it further. Newsroom understands RNZ is currently running a deficit of close to $5 million.

The lack of funding is illustrated by the rundown premises RNZ occupies nationwide, its ageing equipment and out-of-date IT systems. Under constant financial pressure it has struggled to attract and keep top journalists.

Some of its best and brightest have been lured away to TVNZ, Newshub, Newsroom and Stuff.

Jackson’s media release said $12 million of the extra funding was for current services and $12 million for a new digital platform. $1.7 million is to support AM transmission so people can access information during civil emergencies.

Stuff, the NZ Herald and RNZ itself all reported (presumably from the media release) on the funding for the new multimedia digital platform. But there is no new platform. This was either clumsy language or a clumsy attempt at spin from Jackson and his comms people.

RNZ’s chief executive Paul Thompson told Newsroom the money would be used to make improvements to RNZ’s existing web platform and mobile app.

‘Fixing things’
“It is kind of fixing things that should have been fixed a long time ago. Our website and app are serviceable and do a good job but if we are going to be relevant in the future we need to be better than that.”

Thompson says the increase in the amount of baseline funding was calculated to restore RNZ to its former state, more than anything else.

“How much would it take us to stabilise our current operations and get them to where they need to be, so that’s well overdue. It is everything from our premises through to our content management systems, to our rostering — just having enough staff to do the job we do. It’s sufficient but we are going to have to spend every penny very wisely.”

A big part of the government’s reasoning for the merger was that minority audiences are under-served by the media.

Jackson now seems to expect RNZ to do the heavy lifting in this area. His media release quoted him saying the funding would allow RNZ to expand regional coverage and establish a new initiative to prioritise Māori and Pacific coverage.

Asked how he planned to do this, Thompson was circumspect. “It has got to be worked out . . . we are going to have to prioritise, we can’t do it all at once.”

Jackson wants other media to play an (unspecified) role in reaching these audiences. He has restored $42 million of funding to NZ On Air. Under the merger plan this money, which was the amount NZOA spent funding TVNZ programmes (mainly drama, comedy and off-peak minority programmes), was being handed to ANZPM to decide how it should be spent.

Production community upset
The local TV production community was upset by this as it far preferred NZ On Air to be the gatekeeper and not TVNZ executives who would likely end up working for the merged organisation.

Jackson has also given NZOA a one-off boost of $10 million for 2023/2024.

“The funding will support the creation of high-quality content that better represents and connects with audiences such as Māori, Pasifika, Asian, disabled people and our rangatahi and tamariki. It is vital that all New Zealanders are seeing and hearing themselves in our public media,” he said in his media release.

One-off funding can be of limited benefit. It usually has to be project-based rather than supporting ongoing programming and the staff that go with it. It is possible Jackson is hoping or expects NZ On Air to use more of its baseline funding to sustain new shows and programmes for minorities.

On the same day as Jackson’s announcement, but with less fanfare, NZOA released its own revised strategy.

The document says, above all, funded content must have a “clear cultural or social purpose.”

Priority will be given to songs and stories that contribute to rautaki (strategy for) Māori, support a range of voices and experiences, including those of people from varying ages, races, ethnicities, abilities, genders, religions, cultures, and sexual orientations.

Unclear about TVNZ
It is unclear where Jackson’s plan B leaves TVNZ. Throughout the merger discussions TVNZ executives, while saying they embraced the idea, were critical of the draft legislation, the level of independence the new entity would have and they often emphasised TVNZ’s commercial success.

Jackson has, on a number of occasions, linked TVNZ to the National Party which opposed the merger and was committed to rolling it back if elected in October.

When he became frustrated in an interview with TVNZ’s Jack Tame, before the merger was abandoned, Jackson used the line “your mates in National”.

During question time in Parliament last week, when asked what more he was doing to strengthen public media, Jackson said he was going to “sit down with Simon and the National Party mates over there.”

He was referring to TVNZ CEO, and former National Party minister, Simon Power.

Jackson said he wanted TVNZ to play a more active role in public broadcasting and, “we are going to traverse things with Simon in terms of a way forward.”

Power recently announced his resignation and will leave TVNZ in June. With many of the TVNZ board, including its influential chair Andy Coupe, likely to retire or be replaced in the next month, Jackson will, in reality, be sitting down with a new board and CEO to discuss his public media ambitions for TVNZ.

If he is interested in the job, RNZ’s Thompson must now be in with a real chance.

Thompson unequivocally endorsed the merger idea and was almost the only advocate able to clearly articulate its benefits. A new board, eager to take the company in a direction more sympathetic to its owner’s vision, might find that attractive.

Mark Jennings is co-editor of Newsroom. Republished with permission.

Highly respected and convivial Koroi Hawkins has become RNZ Pacific’s first Melanesian editor after arriving in New Zealand in 2014 and says he is “truly humbled” after nearly a decade at RNZ.

“It is a great honour. I am a Pacific journalist from the school of hard knocks so it was already a massive achievement just making it into the RNZ Pacific team,” Hawkins tells Asia Pacific Report.

“Never in a million years did I imagine I could ever become the editor when I arrived here. It is testament to all of the support and mentoring I have received here at RNZ Pacific that I was even confident to put my hand up,” he says humbly.

• READ MORE: Pacific correspondent Koroi Hawkins
• Koroi Hawkins’ RNZ profile
• Other Koroi Hawkins reports

But what made RNZ Pacific’s manager Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor choose Hawkins for the role of editor in the first place?

The deciding factor was RNZ Pacific’s flagship daily current affairs programme Pacific Waves that delves into issues of Pacific peoples wherever they are in the world, and airs proudly and loudly across Pacific at 8pm (NZT) every weeknight, she says.

“Koroi’s time as producer and presenter of Pacific Waves has allowed him to develop his leadership and mentoring skills within the team, in particular with some of our younger reporters who had never worked in radio,” Tuilaepa-Taylor said.

“There’s respect and trust in his leadership and skills by the team, and that’s when we knew that he was the right candidate for the role. He had the right cultural attributes,” she said.

Science aspirations
However, Tuilaepa-Taylor was not the manager who hired Hawkins in the first place. Instead, it was former RNZ Pacific manager Linden Clark and ex-news editor Walter Zweifel who brought him to RNZ Pacific.

Ironically, Hawkins never wanted to be journalist originally — he studied science in high school.

“I never aspired to be a journalist. I was a science student through high school and wanted to be a marine biologist,” he said.

“But, I had a keen love for storytelling thanks to my mum Effie Hawkins, who is a retired early childhood teacher and who would always read me books.

“When I was old enough she encouraged me to read and to write letters to our family members overseas.

“I think that is when I realised as a working journalist that we could give a voice to the voiceless and hold those in power to account. That is when I found my passion for the craft,” says Hawkins.

Hawkins started working as a journalist in the Solomon Islands under the tutelage and guidance of Solomon’s legendary journalist Dorothy Wickham.

Start-up TV in Honiara
“I started as a news presenter for local start-up TV outfit One Television Solomon Islands under Dorothy Wickham.

“I was on holiday in Malaita with my wife and our newly born daughter Janelle and I wrote a small sport story on a futsal tournament at Aligegeo which was well received by the news department — and the rest is history they say.

He developed photography and videography skills for which is renowned for whenever on assignment covering events in the Pacific.

“I started with RNZ Pacific as an intermediate reporter. I brought with me photography and videography skills which I mostly used on reporting assignments in the region,” he says matter-of-factly as if it were nothing.

However, that wasn’t the only skill he mastered. When I worked with him he was adept and very helpful when doing digital web stories, knowing where the photo goes and how to web edit.

He was also very helpful to the younger reporters when it came to mastering audio for radio.

The one thing you notice about Hawkins when you meet him is a sense of calming presence about him when all else would be chaos around. That was the case in 2018 covering the Fiji elections, especially when covering about-to-become PM Sitiveni Rabuka’s court case just two days before the election.

‘Calmness from my mother’
“My calmness comes from my mother, she was always calm in a crisis and it also comes from operating in our Pacific newsroom situations where when things go wrong they are literally operation halting things like cyclones, power cuts and equipment breakdowns, riots, and coups,” he says.

“Things over which we have no control and just have to work around.”

“By comparison, the crises in New Zealand newsrooms are relatively manageable. I think also it must be an age thing, as I grow older both at home and at work I find myself always seeing solutions rather seeing obstacles.

“Some of it just comes with experience and I am always open to learning new things and trying new ways of doing things better than we did in the past.”

He rates his career highlight was when while calling his mum and dad in the Solomon Islands they told him they had heard him on air.

“I think the two main highlights in my career is calling my mum and dad in Munda and them telling me they heard me on the radio.

“And bringing my family out here to New Zealand to join me. They are my biggest fans and harshest critics and the reason I get up each day and head out the door,” Hawkins says.

Cyclone Pam, Papua assignments toughest
By far the most difficult assignments he has done was covering Cyclone Pam in 2015 as well as travelling to West Papua with RNZ Pacific’s legendary Johnny Blades.

“Cyclone Pam in 2015 was the most difficult in terms of length of time on the ground in challenging circumstances,” he says.

And Tuilaepa-Taylor agrees with him .

“His coverage of tropical cyclone Pam in Vanuatu, and also coverage of the Fiji elections with Sally Round and Kelvin Anthony — these are the things that come to my mind,” says Tuilaepa-Taylor.

Then there was the harrowing trip he went on to Jayapura in “untamed” West Papua in 2015 with Johnny Blades.

“Shooting video for Johnny Blades on a trip to West Papua was the most difficult in terms of operating in a hostile environment,” he said

“It was harrowing in the sense that you were being watched (by the Indonesian authorities) who were surveillng you.

‘Unnerving being watched’
“There was no harassment but it was very unnerving knowing you were being watched,” he says.

“But I would say reporting on political situations in the region like the most recent election in Fiji are the most challenging journalistically in terms of getting the facts and local context correct,” Hawkins says.

While in contrast he found the gentle and joyous Pacific creativity a very enjoyable experience.

“Our cultural festivals like the Festival of Pacific Arts or even Pasifika in Auckland and Wellington are the most enjoyable assignments for me seeing our Pacific cultures and languages celebrated gives me so much pride and hope for the future which my own children will inherit long after I am gone.”

It is that very depth of experience he brings to the vastness of his role as editor.

“I think the most important thing I bring to the role is my experience I have worked my way up the ladder form the bottom in Pacific and New Zealand newsrooms.

“I have affinity to a few Pacific cultures through my own heritage, my partner Margret’s heritage and through our extended families,” Hawkins says.

Consultative style
He seeks in his editorial stye to be fair and yet firm, but not authoritative but rather being consultative.

“ I believe we are stronger if everyone in the team contributes and I like to gather as much information and input as possible from my team before making decisions,” Hawkins said.

“Because I literally started from the bottom, I am very empathetic to people’s journeys and believe that where someone is now is not where they will be in a few years’ time.

“A lot of people took a chance on me and invested in me and gave me opportunities that helped me advance in my own career and I aspire to pay that forward,” Hawkins says.

With his time likely to be in high demand he will not continue doing Pacific Waves.

“No I will not be. The future of this role is still being decided. I am excited for whoever will be stepping into this role as it has been a transformative one for me.

“The programme has a huge regional and international following and we hope to continue building on the great work that was started by current and former RNZ Pacific colleagues.

And, does he hail from the Solomon Islands or elsewhere?

“That’s probably a whole article in itself,” he said.

“In short, I was born in Nadi to a Fijian father and a part-Fijian part-Solomon Islands mother. I was adopted when I was three-weeks-old by my great aunt, who I call my mum, and who raised me in Honiara, Australia and Munda in the Western Solomons in that order.

“I speak English, Roviana and Pidgin and understand very basic Fijian. Although I am keen to learn more.

Fond Aotearoa memories
He speaks fondly of Aotearoa and he remembers the first time he came to the country.

“The first time I ever came to New Zealand was actually in 2010, thanks to Professor David Robie and the AUT Pacific Media Centre.

“I presented on the ethnic crisis in Solomon Islands and was accompanied by my partner Margret little did we know then that our future lay in Aotearoa. I first came to New Zealand to work for RNZ International in 2014,” he said.

The knowledge he intends to impart to his younger journalists to help them in the search for knowledge and experience comes from having been there and done that.

“I think sharing my experiences and being accessible has been well received so far. I am a living breathing example of how far you can come in this field if you apply yourself,” Hawkins says.

“Just letting them know I am in their corner I think is important. Every chance I get I love to introduce and connect people and not just within RNZ Pacific but in the wider region.

“It gives me great joy to see someone succeed of the back of an introduction or a contact reference.

“This work is hard but know we are all in it together makes it a little more bearable. It really is about the person next to you,” he says.

Sri Krishnamuthi is an independent journalist, former editor of the Pacific Media Watch project at the Pacific Media Centre and a contributor to Asia Pacific Report.

New Caledonia’s only daily newspaper, Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes, has folded after the commercial court accepted the publishing company’s request for its liquidation.

The court had deferred its decision by a day after an injunction by the public prosecutor who wanted to see if there was still a possibility to rescue Les Nouvelles.

The prosecutor had argued that it was worth preserving Les Nouvelles as a tool of pluralism and freedom of expression.

However, there has been no interest in taking over the loss making enterprise.

The paper was launched in 1971 and owned by the French Hersant group until 2013 when it was sold to New Caledonia’s Melchior Group.

Faced with losses, the newspaper became an online only publication at the end of last year but has now closed, with more than 100 people losing their jobs.

The last edition of Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes appeared last Thursday.

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

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape says it is very disappointing that foreign-owned media in the country continue to run “fake news”.

He said this after an editorial in the Malaysian-owned National on Wednesday claimed that former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had “rubbished” Papua New Guinea at the PNG Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney this week.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” said Marape, who attended the Sydney conference on Monday.

• READ MORE: Stay home and clean up – The National
• Other PNG media reports

“The people of Australia and PNG demand an apology from The National for what seems to be a deliberate attempt to damage good relations between our two countries,” he said.

“Even PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum president Anthony Smaré, who organised the conference, is bewildered at where The National got this information from.

“Such lies, propagated by foreign-owned media in PNG, will only damage the good relations between Australia and PNG that have existed long before they came in.

“The 1000-plus people who packed the Hilton Hotel in Sydney never heard a bad word from Julie Bishop, who even after leaving politics, continues to be a very good friend of PNG.

‘Selling point for PNG’
“Her speech at the conference on Monday was a selling point for PNG.”

Prime Minister Marape was also disappointed that people of PNG believed the National editorial.

“It is also very disappointing that Papua New Guineans, even the well-educated ones, believed The National editorial which spread like wildfire on social media,” he said.

“Those many good Papua New Guineans in Sydney on Monday for the conference will dispel this myth.”

Marape said he had never controlled media in PNG, which is mostly foreign-owned, since becoming Prime Minister in 2019.

“Never once did I budge into newsrooms at late hours or call editors, like my predecessor Peter O’Neill was known for, and demand that news stories be pulled down,” he said.

“These foreign-owned media should be grateful for this and tell the truth, rather than lies, about a country in which you are a guest.

“My government will be encouraging more PNG ownership of mainstream media in 2023 and beyond.”

The editorial in The National, owned by the Malaysian logging company Rimbunan Hijau, said on 7 December 2022:

Stay home and clean up
Perhaps Papua New Guineans can learn a thing or two from the Sydney, Australia, conference last week.

Former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, long used to Papua New Guinea and its talkative politicians, did not mince words.

She fairly told Papua New Guinea: “Stop begging for aid.

“Stop begging for investment.

“You have been independent 47 long years.

“You have sufficient resources.

“About time you did something of your own.”

That would have been sobering.

Lesson one – Stop begging for aid.
At the last review of Australia’s aid to PNG, the aid bill from that direction had reached K28 billion [NZ$12.5 billion].

That amount will easily now be up to K50 billion.

What lasting infrastructure has the aid money built?

What import replacement industry has aid assisted in standing up?

How has aid fared in lowering infant and maternal mortality or reduced poverty or improved living standards.

These are quantifiable and verifiable factors on the human and economic indexes.

If the present indexes are negligible or dropping, then the most important question of all is: Where has all the aid money gone?

Lesson two: Stop begging for investment.
You attract foreign direct investment by the incentives you offer, by the taxation regime you have, by the stable political climate you offer and security for investment and safety of employees that is in place.

Do not go on foreign investment missions until these issues are sorted out at home.

Do not go ask for investors if you have not started up Wafi Golpu, Papua LNG, Pnyang LNG and Porgera gold mine.

Nobody is blind or a fool.

Everybody is well aware what goes on in PNG.

Lesson three: Think trade, not aid or loans.
When you think in that direction you think about what you must grow or produce at home for trade.

You must think markets, volumes, quality and sustainability.

You must think about local manufacturing industries and growth of service industries.

Lesson four: Enough talking, time for action.
Do we need to even need an explanation for this last lesson?

When you look at the lessons proffered here, you can easily see that much of the things that need doing must be done in the country.

Even PNG’s neighbours are tiring of hearing PNG talking about this plan or that plan or whatever other plan without seeing any of the plans bearing fruit.

Since Somare broached the 8-Point Plan in 1973 and the five National goals and Directive Principles have been written into the Preamble of the National Constitution, PNG has been planning forever but never getting up to work the plans.

It has been forever asking others to do the things it itself seems loathe to do.

These others, Australia being a principal partner in this, are now telling us: enough is enough.

It is time the globe-trotting ceased and the trips to expos stopped.

Putting Julie Bishop in the line-up of speakers also means the conference organisers thought the time was ripe for some straight talking.

Stay home and clean up the backyard.

This media report is made up – it does not contain one actual quotation from my speech! The audience – mostly from PNG – can verify that I did not say this. https://t.co/eKZpBKbJvT

— Julie Bishop (@HonJulieBishop) December 8, 2022

Media partnerships are an important part of the region’s journey and narrative as a Pacific family, says Vanuatu’s Finance and Economic Management Director-General Letlet Augustus in a message to news media.

Opening the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) Media Workshop in Port Vila last week, he said the skillset of media practitioners in ensuring information made sense in Pacific languages for growing awareness was also important for those leading economic recoveries.

“The Vanuatu FEMM is a historical moment for media and public access to this meeting. [Media] will have new access to the private sector and civil society dialogues,” he said.

• READ MORE: Outcomes of the 2022 FEMM in Port Vila

“This bodes well for quality reporting of the FEMM as the space where we must set and share our plans for economic resilience and stability,” he told participants of the workshop organised by the Pacific Assistance Media Scheme (PAMS), Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

Wansolwara student editor Sera Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti was one of four journalists from the region selected by PIF to attend the masterclass and report on the FEMM proceedings in Vanuatu.

She said the opportunity to be part of the media workshop would boost her journalism knowledge and training to report on FEMM fairly and accurately.

“The masterclass will enable and equip me with the right skills to understand and formulate questions relating to the economy and its impact on the community,” said the final-year journalism student at the University of the South Pacific’s Laucala campus, who is also a freelance writer for Islands Business.

‘Upskill my knowledge’
“It would also upskill my knowledge on the various economic jargon and how to best relay this to the public,” she said.

“The workshop would also allow us access to leaders in decision-making roles, especially relating to economic development.”

PIF Secretary-General Henry Puna said media partnerships helped cement awareness of the Forum and its members, on the importance of regionalism and leaving no one behind.

“The core message is that as a sea of islands we are stronger when we are together. We are in unprecedented times and face unprecedented challenges and opportunities,” he said.

“The onus now lies with us to seize these opportunities and with it, heighten our visibility as an influential bloc at the global level.”

Republished under a student partnership between Asia Pacific Report and the University of the South Pacific’s Wansolwara.

The Solomon Islands government has ordered the country’s national broadcaster to self-censor its news and other paid programmes and only allow content that portrays the nation’s government in a positive light.

Staff at Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) confirmed to the ABC that acting chairman of the board William Parairato met with them last Friday to outline the new requirements.

They include vetting news and talkback shows to ensure they did not “create disunity”.

• READ MORE: Campaign over Solomons media freedom ‘misguided’, claims PM’s office
• China in the Pacific and media

Parairato had earlier attended a meeting with the Prime Minister’s office, the SIBC journalists said.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has become increasingly critical of the public broadcaster, accusing SIBC of publishing stories that have not been verified or balanced with government responses.

Last month, SIBC was removed as a state-owned enterprise (SOE) and became fully funded by the government, raising concerns over the broadcaster’s independence.

The government defended the reclassification, saying it had a duty to protect its citizens from “lies and misinformation”.

It is unclear whether SIBC — which plays a vital role as a government watchdog — will be able to publish any news or statements from the opposition under the new regime.

Critics are concerned the new rules resemble media policies adopted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and could essentially make SIBC a mouthpiece for the government.

The ABC Four Corners investigative journalism report on China and the Solomon Islands this week.

Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) president Georgina Kekea said there were growing fears the government would be influenced by its “new partner”, referring to the security pact recently signed between Solomon Islands and China.

“It really doesn’t come as a surprise,” she told the ABC.

“This is one of the things which we are fearful of for the past month or so now.

“We’ve been vocal on this issue, especially when it comes to freedom of the press and media doing its expected role.”

What impact will it have?
Honiara-based Melanesian News Network editor Dorothy Wickham said it was unclear how the development would play out.

Dorothy Wickham says she is not surprised by the move, given the government’s ongoing criticism of the media.

“We haven’t seen this happen before,” she said.

“If the opposition gets on SIBC and starts criticising government policies, which every opposition does … would the government disallow SIBC to air that story or that interview? That is the question that we’re asking.”

Officials have denied taking full control of SIBC’s editorial policy, saying it just wants the broadcaster to be more responsible because it is a government entity.

But University of South Pacific journalism associate professor Shailendra Singh said the government’s intentions were clear.

“There seems to be no doubt that the government is determined to take control of the national broadcaster, editorially and financially,” he told ABC’s The World.

“I don’t think there’s any way the government can be stopped.

“This latest move by the government, what it has done with the SIBC, is bring it closer to media in a communist system than in a democracy.”

Press freedoms dwindling
Local media have been vocal about increased government secrecy, the closing of doors and controlled dissemination of information from the prime minister’s office.

Wickham said the media did not have issues with governments in the past, adding that since the security pact had been signed with China, the government had been making life harder for the press.

“I don’t think this government actually restricts us, I think it’s controlling their information more than they used to,” Wickham told ABC’s The World.

“The government has been concerned that the negativity expressed by a lot of Solomon Islanders is affecting how the government is trying to roll out its policies.”

When China’s foreign minister toured the country in May, Solomon Islands local media boycotted a press conference because they were collectively only allowed to ask one question — to their own Foreign Minister.

They also struggled to get information about the timing of the visit and agreements being signed between the two countries.

Last month, the ABC was also shunned after being promised an interview with Sogavare after his national independence day speech, in which he thanked China for being a “worthy partner” in the country’s development.

Instead, his minders escorted him to a nearby vehicle, with police blocking reporters from getting close to the Prime Minister.

Dr Singh warned that the country’s democracy would suffer as a result of less media freedom.

“Media is the last line of defence, so if the media are captured, who will sound the alarm? It’s happening right before our eyes. It’s a major, major concern,” he said.

‘A wake-up call’
Kekea said SIBC staff should be able to do their job freely without fear and intimidation.

But the best thing the media can do is uphold the principles of journalism, stressing that “we must do our jobs properly”.

“It’s a wake-up call for SIBC to really look at how they have gone over the years, how they format their programs, the quality control they have in place,” Kekea said.

“It’s really a wake up call for every one of us.”

She said the media landscape had changed over the years and standards had been dropping, but the government also needed to respect the role of journalist and be more open to requests for information.

The Prime Minister had repeatedly said he was available for questions and calls, but local media complained they were continuously left unanswered, she said.

“They do not have the courtesy to respond to our emails. Even if we want to have an exclusive it gets rejected,” Kekea said.

“So it’s time governments should also walk the talk when it comes to responding to the media when they ask questions.”

The ABC has contacted Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister’s office and SIBC for comment.

• The Solomon Islands is not yet ranked on the Reporters Without Borders World Media Freedom Index.

Annika Burgess is a reporter for ABC Pacific Beat. Republished with the permission of Pacific Beat.

Reporter Dorothy Wickham tells The World it is still unclear what the SIBC move means for the public broadcaster.

For the Pacific news media sector, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent eight-nation South Pacific tour may be over, but it should not be forgotten. The minister and his 20-member “high-level” delegation’s refusal to take local journalists’ questions opened a veritable can of worms that will resonate in Pacific media circles for a while.

However, Wang’s sulky silence should not be seen as an isolated incident but embedded in deeper problems in media freedom and development for the Pacific.

Besides dealing with their own often hostile national governments and manoeuvring through ever-more restrictive legislation, Pacific media is increasingly having to contend with pressure from foreign elements as well.

• READ MORE:  Fiji police evict two Chinese defence attaches amid Pacific Forum tensions
• Other reports on China in the Pacific
• Other Pacific Islands Forum reports

China is the most prominent in this regard, as underscored by Wang’s visit, but there have been other incidents of journalist obstruction involving countries like Indonesia as well.

What is particularly appalling is how some Pacific governments seem to have cooperated with foreign delegations to stop their national media from asking legitimate questions.

Fijian journalist Lice Mavono’s account of the extent to which local Fijian officials went to limit journalists’ ability to cover Wang’s visit is highly troubling. In scenes rarely seen before, Wang and Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama’s joint press conference was apparently managed by Chinese officials, even though it was on Fijian soil.

When some journalists defied instructions and yelled out their unapproved questions, a Chinese official shouted back at them to stop. One journalist was ordered to leave the room with a minder attempting to escort him out, but fellow journalists intervened.

Journalists obstructed
Similar behaviour was witnessed at the Pacific Islands Forum-hosted meeting between Wang and forum Secretary-General Henry Puna, where Chinese officials continued to obstruct journalists even after forum officials intervened on the journalists’ behalf.

The Chinese officials’ determined efforts indicated that they came well prepared to thwart the media. It also conveyed their disrespect for the premier regional organisation in the Pacific, to the point of defying forum officials’ directives.

However, what should be most concerning for the region as a whole is the way this episode exposed the apparent ability of Chinese officials to influence, dominate, and even give instructions to local officials.

This is all the more disturbing as China is ramping up its engagement with Pacific governments. Consequently, longstanding questions about China’s impact on the region’s democratic and media institutions become even more urgent.

Indeed, just weeks after Wang’s visit, Solomon Islands media reported that Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, in an extraordinary gazette, announced that the government would be taking full financial control of the state broadcaster, Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC).

There are fears that this arrangement — which draw comparisons with the Chinese state-owned broadcaster CCTV — will give the government far more control over SIBC, potentially both editorially and in its day-to-day management.

This is troubling given Sogavare’s antagonism towards the SIBC, who he has accused of giving more airtime to government critics than to officials. Veteran Solomon Islands journalist Dorothy Wickham condemned the move, stating: “We now don’t have a public broadcaster!”

Additional steps
This trend indicates the need for additional steps to strengthen media rights by, among other things, boosting journalist professional capacity. This is simply because good journalists are more aware of and better able to safeguard media rights.

To this end, one area that clearly needs work is a greater focus on reporting regional events effectively. As major powers jostle for influence, and Pacific politics become ever more interconnected, what happens in one country will increasingly affect others.

Journalists need to be aware of this and more strongly frame their stories through a regional lens. However, this will not happen without focused and targeted training.

In this context, media research and development is an oft-overlooked pillar of media freedom. While all kinds of demands are made of Pacific journalists and much is expected of them, there seems to be little regard for their welfare and not much curiosity about what makes them tick.

To get an idea of how far behind the Pacific is in media research, it is worth considering that there has only been one multi-country survey of Pacific journalists’ demography, professional profiles and ethical beliefs in 30 years.

This recent, important research yielded valuable data to better understand the health of Pacific media and the capabilities of Pacific journalists.

For instance, the data indicates that Pacific journalists are more inexperienced and under-qualified than counterparts in the rest of the world. In addition, the Pacific has among the highest rate of journalist attrition due to, among other things, uncompetitive salaries, a feature of small media systems.

Conditions ignored
So, while governments make much of biased journalists, they conveniently ignore the working conditions, training, education, and work experience that are needed to increase integrity and performance.

In other words, the problems in Pacific media are not solely the work of rogue elements in the news media, they are structural in nature. These factors are not helped by draconian legislation which is supposedly intended to ensure fairness, but in fact only further squeezes already restricted journalists.

This situation underscores the need for further research, which can identify and offer informed solutions to the problems in the sector. Yet, scholarships and fellowships for Pacific media research are as rare as hen’s teeth.

Furthermore, Wang’s Pacific visit and China’s activities in the region are a wake-up call for regional media as to the urgent need for capacity-building. Any remedial actions should be informed by research and need to consider problems in a holistic manner.

As we have seen, “band-aid’ solutions at best provide only temporary relief, and at worst misdiagnose the problem.

This China fiasco is also a reminder to care about Pacific journalists, try to understand them and show concern for their welfare. We should not regard journalists as merely blunt instruments of news reporting.

Rather, a free and democratic media is the lifeblood of a free and democratic Pacific.

Dr Shailendra B Singh is the head of journalism at the University of the South Pacific and a research fellow at the Australian National University. This article was first published by ANU’s Asia and the Pacific Policy Society Policy Forum and is republished here with the author’s permission.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned a media blackout imposed on events during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s 10-day tour of Pacific island countries.

Wang is today in Papua New Guinea at the end of an eight-country tour that began on May 26, but a “Chinese state media reporter is so far the only journalist to be allowed to ask him a question”, says the Paris-based global media freedom watchdog.

On the second day of his two days in Fiji this week, “the media briefing itself was run by the visiting government [and] the press passes were issued by the Chinese government,” Fiji journalist Lice Movono told The Guardian.

• READ MORE: Outcry as China stops Pacific journalists questioning Wang Yi
• Solomons media condemns ‘secrecy’ controls over China delegation
• China’s foreign minister tells Pacific leaders ‘don’t be too anxious’ after they reject regional security pact
• RSF condemns Chinese media discrimination at APEC in PNG
• Other China and media freedom in the Pacific reports

Movono and her cameraman, and a crew with the Australian TV broadcaster ABC, were prevented from filming a meeting between Wang and the Pacific Islands Forum’s secretary-general shortly after Wang’s arrival in Fiji the day before, although they all had accreditation.

She also observed several attempts by Chinese officials to restrict journalists’ ability to cover the event.

“From the very beginning there was a lot of secrecy, no transparency, no access given,” Movono said.

During Wang’s first stop in the Solomon Islands on May 26, covid restrictions were cited as grounds for allowing only a limited number of media outlets to attend the press conference and only two questions were allowed ­– one to the Solomon Islands’ foreign minister by a local reporter and one to Wang by a Chinese media outlet.

No interaction with the media was allowed during his next two stops in Kiribati and Samoa.

Resist Chinese pressure
“The total opacity surrounding the events organised by the Chinese delegation with several Pacific island states clearly contravenes the democratic principles of the region’s countries,” said Daniel Bastard, head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk.

“We call on officials preparing to meet Wang Yi to resist Chinese pressure by allowing local journalists and international organisations to cover these events, which are of major public interest.”

Following the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji, Wang visited Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste with the same aim of signing free trade and security agreements.

RSF has previously condemned the Chinese delegation’s discrimination against local and international media during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held in November 2018 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, with President Xi Jinping attending.

China is among the world’s worst countries for media freedom, ranked 175th out of 180 nations in the 2022 RSF World Press Freedom Index.

Pacific Media Watch collaborates with Reporters Without Borders.

La Dépêche de Tahiti, the oldest and last major daily newspaper in French Polynesia, has finally closed after publishing for almost six decades.

The last edition — a weekender — was published today with a front page editorial declaring “Merci” — “Thank you” — to its readers and supporters.

The 40 employees — journalists, administrative employees and technicians — have all been sacked with no guarantee of any redundancy pay.

• READ MORE: Other media reports in Tahiti

La Dépêche, once owned by the French Robert Hersant publishing group, was taken over in 2014 by a consortium led by Dominique Auroy, a businessman with hotel and waste interests. At the time, journalists were worried about their future employment and editorial policy changes.

Also in 2014, the business group halted publication of the other daily newspaper, Les Nouvelles de Tahiti, the first Polynesian daily which had been losing money.

The Nouvelles had a reputation for publishing political and financial investigative exposes. But the new managers considered the editorial policy too “aggressive”.

Since 2014, the management made a series of financial blunders causing debts for La Dépêche de Tahiti  — such as over rents and social benefit charges — and were convicted for “hampering trade unions”.

Also disappeared
Now this daily newspaper has also disappeared. Just one daily publication remains in French Polynesia, a free online publication, Tahiti-Infos, with a paid print edition, published by Fenua Communication. This was taken over in 2012 by Patrick Moux, who is also the Shell Petroleum local boss.

Commentators and critics are describing the loss of La Dépêche as a “sad day for press pluralism” in French Polynesia. So far there has been no reaction from Polynesian politicians.

Lucile Guichet-Tirao is a television journalist with Polynésie la 1ère.

National Pacific Radio Trust has won a year’s funding from NZ On Air’s Public Interest Journalism Fund to enhance its reporting of Pacific news stories.

Pacific Media Network chairperson Tiumalu Peter Fa’afiu said the funding of up to $275,000 out of the $18 million in grants announced by NZ On Air last week would make for more quality story telling.

“It’s a testing ground for the PMN News team. But everything we’ve thrown at them and the growth of the PMN News team in the last four years has been great and this will be even better so it’s just about consistently testing that quality of journalism that we have and the quality of storytelling,” he said.

• READ MORE: 110 journalist roles funded to provide Public Interest Journalism across the motu
• Trashing journalists is not in the public interest – Gavin Ellis

Pacific Media Network chief executive Don Mann said the funding was necessary as Pacific influence grew in the country.

“There’s considerable reform going on, for instance in the health area,” he said.

“We’ve got the most number of Pacific MPs we’ve ever had and there’s significant spend going into the Pasifika community.

“It’s important that PMN plays our role in holding government to account; the critical part of media and then this investment from the Public Interest Journalism fund allows us to step up the function of our news room.”

According to the NZ On Air announcement, the PMN grant would fund four new staff to work on network news.

110 journalists funded
The announcement was for funding for an additional 110 journalists across Aotearoa with a specific mandate to produce stories that keep New Zealanders informed and engaged, and support a healthy democracy.

The funding is the result of the second competitive funding round via NZ On Air’s $55m Public Interest Journalism Fund. The fund was announced in February to address a deficit in public interest journalism, a key pillar in a healthy democracy.

Combined with the first funding round, $29m has now been committed to a mix of journalism roles, defined journalism projects, and industry development initiatives.

Demand for the fund has been high. Round 2 saw a total of 63 applications applying for 311 roles and seeking close to $47m in funding.

Role-based funding was designed to support the revitalisation of the industry, to address “news deserts” and deficits in coverage of matters of importance to New Zealanders, said the NZ On Air Statement.

Statistics NZ figures show that the number of journalists in New Zealand halved between 2006 and 2018.

“Funding journalists back into newsrooms particularly at regional and local levels will help redress the drastic reduction in journalist numbers over the past few years and ensure the sector has the workforce to deliver strong public interest journalism,” said NZ On Air head of journalism Raewyn Rasch.

The performance of the funded roles is measured on content outputs. Funded roles in this round are geographically spread across the country, and will also go some way to address deficits in reporting for specific ethnic communities or issues.

• The full Public Interest Journalism Fund round 2 grant list

The first tranche of the New Zealand government’s $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund has been allocated – against a backdrop of criticism it could skew reporting of political issues.

Māori journalism projects and a new training initiative are the major beneficiaries of the first $10 million, but some of the money goes to things already funded from the public purse.

Last February, the Minister for Broadcasting and Media Kris Faafoi chose the premises of the Otago Daily Times — one of the country’s oldest newspapers — to announce that $55 million would be spent over the next three years to sustain local news and journalism.

• READ MORE: Major NZ media networks collaborate to develop talented Pacific journalists
• First funding injection – full list
• LISTEN: RNZ Mediawatch on the Public Interest Journalism Fund

It is the biggest single public investment in journalism for decades and takes the total annual spend on media to over $300m. (There’s another $20m up his sleeve if Cabinet thinks the media need that too.)

Media companies big and small, local and national, public and private alike can all apply to the fund – including those which have never had public money before.

Minister Kris Faafoi insisted that the fund would be dispensed at arm’s-length from all politicians. The government’s broadcasting funding agency NZ On Air has that job, though its board members are appointed by the Minister of Broadcasting.

NZ On Air previously announced there would be “three pillars” for the fund: specific content to be delivered to a deadline; employing staff in newsrooms around the country and “industry development” projects such as cadetships and training.

Partnership guidelines
Guidelines issued in April also said the fund “must actively promote the principles of Partnership, Participation and Active Protection under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”

“NZ On Air intends to work with the Māori and Iwi journalism sector to ensure parity of need and interests within the sector,” the guidelines said.

The guidelines also invited proposals that “report from perspectives including Pacific, pan-Asian, women, youth, children, persons with disabilities [and] other ethnic communities” — as well as those “made by Māori about Māori perspectives, issues and interests prioritising the needs of Māori .”

This was a change of focus for NZ On Air, whose website says:

“Because of the significant public funding available for Māori content provided through Māori  Television and Te Māngai Pāho, we allocate funding for Māori programmes as a relatively modest proportion, given our other statutory requirements.”

At a NZ on Air summit in June, NZ on Air’s recently appointed head of journalism Raewyn Rasch told media representatives she was disappointed by some of the applications.

“Whether (they) provided public interest journalism, not just business-as-usual journalism, was in question,” she told online service BusinessDesk.

Rasch said she had been in touch with the shortlisted news organisations to “fine-tune ideas”.

Need for more diversity
“We are also particularly conscious of the need for more diversity, and Māori, Pacific, and Asian journalism,” she told BusinessDesk in June.

Participants were also told they had failed to fully grasp the need to collaborate.

“I know it caused a lot of grinding of teeth in the industry and there was pushback. But the conversations wouldn’t have happened in any other situation,” Rasch told Mediawatch.

Where the money will go
On Thursday, NZOA announced where the first $9.6m was going (see full list here).

Around 40 percent has gone to projects benefiting Māori journalism.

A training programme called Te Rito aims to train and hire 25 journalists and cadets to inject more Māori and “diverse voices” into the news media. Te Rito is a collaboration between Māori Television, Newshub, NZME, and Pacific Media Network and others media organisations in support.

Other funded projects include a boost in funding for Auckland urban Māori station Radio Waatea to deliver programmes and news to 20 Iwi stations around the country, and The Rotorua Weekender will print a weekly bilingual section.

Non-Māori-specific projects include a BusinessDesk series on how our public service measures up and a follow-up to the Inside Child Poverty documentary which screened 10 years ago. (The funding of that created a political interference controversy when a National-led government was in charge.)

Programmes and investigations on what will happen when the Alpine fault ruptures, the spread of type 2 diabetes and how to fight public health misinformation have also been funded on a range of platforms — many of them not run by the big names in local media.

Rasch said journalism in the regions been “particularly hard-hit” and must also be a priority.

But a separate currently publicly funded initiative – the Local Democracy Reporting Service – is already up and running and being expanded.

“That is working and providing news to local and regional areas that probably wouldn’t have been there otherwise. We are very careful about duplication. The LDRS is very focused on local government reporting and the Local Focus videos are a broader look at community news,” Rasch told Mediawatch.

Political project?
Opposition politicians have complained that the media would be reluctant to bite the government hand that’s feeding them more in future.

“$50 million paid to the media last year; another $55 million this year. Does that buy compliance?” asked National Party leader Judith Collins in an interview on Facebook this week.

“You have the government helping out the media because they say it’s good to have the media but: ‘You have to say what we think’? I don’t buy it. And I don’t think the media should buy it, but obviously some have completely drunk the Kool Aid,” she said.

“Why is it part of the conditions that you have to promote the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi? What the hell’s this got to do with a free media and free speech?” she asked.

Some commentators see fish-hooks in it too.

“Any news outlet that seeks money from the fund is signing up to a politicised project whose rules are fundamentally incompatible with free and independent journalism,” former editor Karl du Fresne said in a recent letter to the Dominion Post.

Writing about “the dangers of putting media on the government’s payroll,” Graham Adams said the role that the Treaty should play in our constitutional and political arrangements is a hot issue at the moment.

“But any journalist who wanted to revisit dissenting views on the Treaty as a partnership — as former PMs David Lange and Geoffrey Palmer had done — would be out of luck,” he said.

Would proposals wanting to explore – say – He Puapua be considered  – or deemed out of sync with Te Tiriti principles?

“We absolutely want to encourage conversation but we want to ensure that it is fair and that it is coming from an understanding of what Te Tiriti is actually about – so we are not just getting into a polarised debate. We want to make sure both sides of the story can be told. I don’t see why that would be bad,“ she said.

“I take offence at some of those comments. I do not see how encouraging and incentivising our media to understand our founding document and provide better engagement with all New Zealanders is a bad thing,“ Raewyn Rasch told Mediawatch. 

“They are confusing two things. The fund does not editorialise on how they cover issues or what they say in their coverage. But it does require that they understand Te Tiriti principles. So if you understand those and you want to be critical of those, then all well and good,” Rasch said.

“But many media organisations do not understand Te Tiriti and the conversations they are curating run the risk of being biased, racist and not delivering to the Te Tiriti partner – Māori or tangata whenua,” she said.

Business as usual?
Some of the things bankrolled by the new fund were already funded by New Zealand On Air, such as RNZ and Newsroom’s daily podcast The Detail, the Local Focus regional news videos hosted by NZHerald.co.nz and the TV news for Dunedin-based Channel39, The South Tonight.

Radio Waatea’s current affairs show Paakiwaha, which receives $430,000 from the new fund, has been on air for years.

Is that “business as usual,” which Rasch said the fund was not for?

“Because those things were already funded it makes sense for them to come into the journalism fund. It’s basically tidying things up and putting them all in context with all the other journalism projects. But they still had to compete against other projects and they all met the requirements of the PIJF,” Rasch said.

“Paakiwaha will turn into a morning current affairs show that is essentially a Māori ‘Morning Report’. At the moment it’s interview-based but we are beefing it up with journalists so it will actually be able to go out and cover news and events,” Rasch said.

There are several journalism training schools and tertiary courses available around the country –- as well as internship programmes at media companies. Is the Te Rito training programme a declaration that these have failed to deliver Māori  and Pasifika journalists to the media?

“There is a huge need. At the moment no institution is training Māori journalists and the training has been funneled into three-year degrees. The number of applications we have from the industry shows the need to bring more into the journalism sector and train them with hands-on skills they feel they need in the newsroom,” she said.

“In particular Māori journalism is at a crisis stage because what tends to happen is that at the moment the only training is by Māori Television who identify some stars from kura, bring them in and then they are poached,” Rasch said.

For some projects, the relevance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles may not be obvious.

For example, Fault Lines, billed as “explanatory journalism looking at the science behind, and the communities at risk of, the rupture of the Alpine Fault.”

“Te Tiriti actually comes into everything, When we first looked at that proposal, we noted that there was no Māori content in their proposal at all. So we went back to the proposers and had a chat. They have come back with the project that’s stronger because now they’ve had some engagement with Ngai Tahu who have lots of experience on earthquakes and how it affects the community,” said Rasch.

“I think we have strengthened their proposal because now it has an element that will actually provide for Māori audiences and also a viewpoint other audiences may not have seen before. It wasn’t a requirement that was onerous and I think they would say themselves that it’s a good thing,” Rasch said

“I’m not sure why in 2021 I need to explain to media that actually it’s important that Māori voices are seen and heard,” Rasch told Mediawatch.

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

Susana Lei’ataua has been appointed news editor of RNZ Pacific.

She will join RNZ Pacific officially in August and brings a wealth of experience, having worked both in New Zealand and overseas.

Of Samoan and Palagi descent, Lei’ataua is no stranger to the RNZ Pacific family. She was first employed by RNZ as a journalist and newsreader from 1986 to 1991.

• READ MORE: RNZ Pacific’s news feed

During this time she also worked for RNZ Pacific, in its first incarnation as Radio New Zealand International, which was launched in 1990.

Among her many achievements, Lei’ataua was awarded a Fulbright New Zealand Senior Scholar Award in 2007. This allowed her to take up a position as artist-in-residence at New York University’s Asian/Pacific/American Institute, becoming the first artist of Pacific Island descent to do so.

Susana’s role at NYU involved many collaborations with New York based organisations, including the Pacific Island missions to the United Nations. These missions helped initiate the global response to climate change, by successfully proposing climate change become a UN Security Council agenda item in 2008.

A talented and experienced newsreader and presenter, most recently Lei’ataua has been working for RNZ National’s Checkpoint team, and also with Karen Hay on the Lately programme.

Lei’ataua is very enthusiastic about taking on this new role.

“I’m delighted to be joining RNZ Pacific and this great team — the timing couldn’t be better,” she said.

Her appointment as news editor will benefit RNZ Pacific and further increase its capabilities:

RNZ Pacific manager Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor said: “This is a great appointment. I’m very excited about the skills Susana brings to our team as well as her deep commitment to telling the important stories of our Pacific communities.”

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

Auckland University of Technology has responded to queries from a media aid watchdog about the future of the regional Pacific Media Centre based at the institution, saying that it remained committed to the centre and would not downplay its importance.

The head of the School of Communication Studies, Dr Rosser Johnson, said in an email to the Australia Asia Pacific Media Centre (AAPMI) on February 26 that “everything that the school is planning will, we believe, enhance its status and increase its visibility”.

He was replying to an AAPMI letter addressed to university vice-chancellor Derek McCormack on February 16 and made public by The Pacific Newsroom earlier this month which appealed for action to save the PMC, saying recent closure of the centre’s physical office came “at a time when Pacific journalism is under existential threat and Pacific journalism programmes suffer from underfunding”.

• READ MORE: Who is killing off top Pacific journalism – and why?
• Concerns grows over PMC after shock office ‘closure’ and no director
• Pacific reaction to ‘end of an era’
• Outcry over signs of upheaval at PMC – Dateline Pacific
• LISTEN to RNZ Dateline Pacific

The centre, founded in 2007 and described by AAPMI as a “jewel in the AUT crown”, had worked in its Communication Studies office in the Sir Paul Reeves Building at the AUT’s city campus since it opened eight years ago.

The office was abruptly emptied in early February of more than a decade of awards, books, files, publications, picture frames and treasures, including a traditional carved Papua New Guinean storyboard marking the opening of the centre by then Pacific Affairs Minister Luamanuvao Winnie Laban in October 2007.

Dr Johnson replied that the school’s “senior leadership team” had decided that the PMC would be relocated from the 10th floor (WG10) to the 12th floor (WG12) of the main Sir Paul Reeve’s building to “bring it alongside the Journalism, Radio + Audio, Public Relations, and Critical Media Studies departments, all of which have had staff actively involved in the PMC in recent years”.

“This move will mean a one hundred percent increase in dedicated PMC office space … and guarantees at least as much space for postgraduate students enrolled in research degrees related to Pacific media topics as there was on WG10,” he wrote.

Puzzled over ‘new office’
However, PMC staff challenge this claim and are puzzled where this “new office” is supposed to be located. One staff member who did not wish to be named said: “Four desks have been put together …essentially. There is no notice or signpost to say where PMC is or if that corner is PMC”.

In the letter, Dr Johnson complimented former director Professor David Robie, who retired in December after leading the centre for 13 years, for his “many years of achievements and unrelenting advocacy of the Pacific within and without AUT”.

He applauded the “excellent work conducted in recent years by a number of students and staff”, including PMC’s Bearing Witness environmental project leader senior lecturer Jim Marbrook and cross-cultural affairs and international collaborations senior lecturer Khairiah Rahman.

Professor Robie himself is critical of AUT’s handling of the transition at PMC and the “trashing” of the old office and its taonga and memorabilia.

He wrote a letter to Dr Rosser in response to the AUT reply to AAPMI on March 5, saying that the school’s approach to the PMC had been “characterised in my experience, by a lack of honesty and transparency”.

He said the success of the PMC had been founded on its “autonomy and the contribution by its cross-disciplinary stakeholders as established initially under the faculty’s Creative Industries Research Institute (CIRI) and continued in the school rather than being located in a silo discipline”.

As outlined in the AUT University Mission Theme 3 directions, he said, the institution had “prioritised social, economic and environmental development” and was especially active in … responding to Pacific communities, and ethnic diversity, and playing our part in its development as a world centre”.

‘Excelled with objectives’
“The PMC has consistently met and excelled with these objectives as demonstrated in the annual reports and research publication metrics,” Dr Robie said.

He also appealed to the university to ensure that the people “who have worked so hard to make PMC successful” would be given a “rightful place in its future directions – they have earned it.”

Some of the PMC’s flagship publications, notably the 26-year-old research journal Pacific Journalism Review and Asia Pacific Report current affairs website, have opted to publish independently of the PMC umbrella.

RNZ Pacific reported on Monday that Dr Johnson had pledged that the “expressions of interest” in the director’s role would be presented to staff this week – three months after Dr Robie’s retirement.

It will be an internal appointment, not a “global” one, as the AAPMI had urged in its letter to AUT last month.

Republished from The Pacific Newsroom.

The centre’s recently retired director Professor David Robie has raised concern about the way AUT is handling the PMC’s leadership succession, as well as the removal of its physical office without a clear relocation.

It prompted an outcry among regional exponents of Pacific journalism.

Johnny Blades reports:

Since its inception in 2007, the Pacific Media Centre has built an extensive body of work in regional Asia-Pacific journalism and media research.

• READ MORE: Who is killing off top Pacific journalism – and why?
• Concerns grows over PMC after shock office ‘closure’ and no director
• Pacific reaction to ‘end of an era’
• Outcry over signs of upheaval at PMC – Dateline Pacific
• LISTEN to RNZ Dateline Pacific

But a little over a month after Dr David Robie retired as its director in December, he was sent photos of the PMC’s office stripped of its theses, books, monographs, research journals, media outputs, indigenous taonga and other history.

“I was hugely disappointed when I heard about the removal of the office and we were sent photographs,” Dr Robie said.

“Hugely disappointing because basically it’s trashing 13 years of building up the centre. And this was done without any consultation with any of the stakeholders or the PMC people themselves.”

Professor Robie, who said no clear relocation plan had been presented to the PMC and there was no inventory of the removed materials, also criticised AUT for not taking up his succession plan.

But the head of AUT’s School of Communication Studies, Dr Rosser Johnson, said the faculty had opted for a call for expressions of interest in the leadership role, rather than directly appointing someone.

He said they were looking to make the Pacific Media Centre more visible and more integrated with the life of the faculty.

“We’re moving a few people around. One of the groups of people who are moving around is the PMC,” Dr Johnson explained.

“But it’s moving to space that’s got double the office space and at least double the space for people to work in.”

However, people within the School of Communication Studies who spoke to RNZ Pacific were uncertain about where the PMC office would be, and whether it may simply be a small part of a larger, open space shared with other divisions.

A lack of communication and consultation over the move has drawn condemnation from many regional journalists and researchers.

With almost three months having elapsed since Dr Robie retired, there has been growing suspicion that AUT management will look to change the Asia-Pacific focus of the centre.

Ena Manuireva, a Tahitian doctoral candidate, said that given the recent Davenport review of the university’s culture which found bullying was rife, the handling of the PMC was “shameful”.

“It’s good for AUT to have some critical thinking in that department in their university. I’m trying to see what is the gain that they’re trying to have, what will be the outcome [of the changes],” Manuireva said.

“The outcome would be that AUT would be looked at as a university that’s not open to everyone, especially to the Pacific.”

Furthermore, the Australia Asia Pacific Media Initiative (AAPMI) has called for action to save PMC, warning that its closure would come “at a time when Pacific journalism is under existential threat and Pacific journalism programmes suffer from underfunding”.

But Dr Johnson denied that the School of Commuications was looking to change the centre’s focus. His characterisation of the matter suggests that the PMC will grow its presence.

“There’s only so much one or two or three people can do. So having more people involved opens up more opportunities for people to link into their communities,” he said.

“There’s absolutely no intention at all to limit the Pacific Media Centre.”

Professor Robie said he would wait and see what transpires, but in his view there was a gap between what was being said by AUT and the reality.

“The thing is that as a centre, [the PMC] had this unique combination of media output as well as the research,” Dr Robie explained.

“I guess what I fear is that there will be a stepping back from the actual media outputs and especially that very broad coverage that we had [through student projects such as Bearing Witness and Pacific Media Watch].”

Dr Johnson said a call for expressions of interest in the Pacific Media Centre leadership role would go out this week.

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

More than 22,000 Pacific people have tested for covid-19 in recent weeks, as the community in New Zealand has rallied in the face of the latest surge of the coronavirus.

At a news conference for Pacific media on Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, paid tribute to the community for the way it had responded to the call to get tested.

“That’s a 23.2 percentage of testing for Pacific people and of course New Zealand’s Pacific population is less than half that,” Ardern said.

WATCH: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talks to Tagata Pasifika

That could be seen in the long queues that had formed at testing centres right across Auckland’s south in the past week, with queues that had stretched for kilometres down roads.

Ardern and Dr Bloomfield also paid tribute to the family at the centre of the latest cluster, who had been subjected to some of the internet’s worst vitriol since coming forward.

“Where would we be right now if that family hadn’t done exactly the right thing and been tested,” the prime minister said.

“Had they not been tested in the way that they were, we would be dealing with a much larger outbreak than we have.”

‘Potentially saved lives’
“They have potentially saved lives,” she said.

While most of the cases in Auckland’s latest outbreak are from the Pacific community, both Ms Ardern and Dr Bloomfield stressed the response from the Pacific community had been unlike any other.

The Prime Minister’s Pacific media briefing.Video: RNZ News

Dr Bloomfield said he had been working closely with Pacific colleagues in district health boards, the Pacific team at the health ministry as well as agencies across Auckland.

“We want to reach into the Pacific community to ensure they have what they need,” he said. “The response from Pacific people in general has been fantastic,” he said.

Ardern said she had not been in contact with the family, but wanted to extend her gratitude to them, while also speaking out against vilifying comments and conspiracy theories that had emerged in the past week.

“People who say anything to vilify others who come forward for a test or who test positive, they’re the problem and that’s what I hope we all remember,” Ardern said.

Komiti Pasefika, the Council of Trade Unions Pacific Island worker representative group, has said that there were fears around getting a test, partly because of fears around immigration status or being exposed.

No barriers
Ardern said there should be no barriers, and anyone with symptoms or concerns should get tested.

Dr Bloomfield reiterated the message.

“Prior to this lockdown, the Pacific community had the highest rates of testing by ethnic population in the country,” he said.

“I think this time around we’ve seen once again their willingness to really support the efforts.”

Ardern said she did not want New Zealand to inadvertently be the source of an outbreak in the Pacific, drawing comparison to last year’s deadly measles outbreak in Samoa.

“I also feel a responsibility for our Pacific neighbours in what we may inadvertently share with them and so measles was a huge lesson for all of us around the close connection between our communities and the responsibility to keep one another safe, so that’s the lens I view our border restrictions,” Ardern said.

Border reopening decisions
“One of the basis in which we’ve made the decisions about opening up has been to be free from community transmission for 28 days, so we’re not there at the moment and so therefore that will affect any border re-openings with realm countries.”

Ardern said she was looking to speak to Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna soon about what support could be offered to the realm countries, as a reopening did not appear to be on the near horizon.

“It’s just simply whether or not we can both maintain covid-free status when we open our borders.”

The Health Ministry reported just one new case of covid-19 reported in the community in New Zealand today – along with two more imported cases, reports RNZ News.

There was no media conference today.

In a statement, the ministry said there were still nine people in hospital with the coronavirus, including three in ICU.

There were six new cases of covid-19 reported yesterday.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

• All RNZ coverage of covid-19
• If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP – don’t show up at a medical centre.

A reprieve for the newsagency Australian Associated Press (AAP) is featured today on Pacific Media Centre’s Southern Cross segment on Radio 95bFM.

An article written by student journalist Jade Bradford of Curtin University in Perth tells of how AAP is being saved. The implications of the story is discussed given that the agency was supposed to have been ceased operations later this month.

It comes as a major relief to Pacific Island nations that rely on it for balanced coverage of the region.

LISTEN: PMC’s Sri Krishnamurthi and Southern Cross on Soundcloud

On Friday, AAP announced that a consortium of philanthropists and media executives had expressed an interest in buying the AAP Newswire service. Good news for a free media in the Pacific.

“There is now a generation of journalists in Fiji who have never known what it’s like to have a truly free press,” says PMC director Professor David Robie, who is also editor of Asia Pacific Report.

In fact, it was AAP foreign correspondent based in Suva at the time, Jim Shrimpton, who broke the story of Fiji’s first coup in May 1987.

Also discussed on Southern Cross was the Papua New Guinea police investigating death threats texted to Lae city chief Neil Ellery, who has a New Zealand father, and his wife.

There is also a chat with Debate writer and programme producer James Tapp about confronting Pākehā Privilege as a white male student.

Tapp is a Bachelor of Communication Studies and Bachelor of Business conjoint student at Auckland University of Technology, majoring in international business and advertising creativity.

• Pacific Media Centre’s Southern Cross segment on 95bFM
• Pacific Media Watch reporter Sri Krishnamurthi, The Wire presenter Sherry Zhang and producer James Tapp

News that Australian Associated Press has been saved is being welcomed by media outlets in socially and culturally complex Pacific countries such as Papua New Guinea where dramatic and important stories often emerge.

When the closure of AAP was announced earlier this year, concern was expressed by media industry figures in Australia and across the Pacific.

Media outlets in the Pacific, in particular, are under-resourced due to various structural weaknesses and are, therefore, heavily reliant on credible news from Australia provided by AAP.

READ MORE: Loss of AAP a tragedy for entire Pacific

On Friday, AAP announced that a consortium of philanthropists and media executives had expressed interest are making a bid to buy the AAP Newswire service.

The consortium members, including former News Corp CEO Peter Tonagh; Fred Woollard, managing director of Samuel Terry Asset Management; and Kylie Charlton, managing director of Australian Impact Investments; have made an offer to purchase after raising a significant amount of money.

After the proposed closure was announced, Pacnews agency editor Makereta Komai was concerned that this would have a huge impact on the news service she works for and other struggling outlets.

AAP has been “a great and timely source of stories in Australia that are relevant and significant to the Pacific region,” she explained.

Essential tool
In countries like Papua New Guinea, the AAP Newswire service in particular has been an essential tool in achieving a Fourth Estate in terms of framing political issues.

Former AAP bureau chief Liza Kappelle said journalists at AAP focused on trying to make its news “interesting, engaging, informative and dead accurate”.

Among the Pacific countries, Papua New Guinea has by far the largest economy and the biggest population (8.6 million). The region includes approximately 600 small islands, and has more than 800 Indigenous languages with only 13 per cent of the population living in urban areas.

The region has seen a lot of closures and restrictions of news coverage by traditional media organisations at a time when international support is crucial.

Years ago, AAP had a bureau in Suva, Fiji, which was an important part of the region’s coverage. Then it was left with just one bureau, in Port Moresby. When that was closed in 2013, Australia broke 60 years of print media coverage on the ground in Papua New Guinea.

This left only the ABC’s broadcast media coverage, which has also been reduced due to the Australian government’s budget cuts.

In West Papua, the war of independence has intensified and Indonesia has banned media coverage of the conflict.

Media independence eroded
Successive governments in Papua New Guinea have been accused of eroding media independence.

Former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill was recently arrested under suspicion of corruption, having “bought” some leading journalists. Journalists and the media have increasingly come under threat legally and politically with restrictive legislation, intimidation, assaults, police and military brutality as well as illegal detention.

All this has occurred while Australia’s voice in the region has begun to fall silent.

China’s encroaching influence on the Pacific has made the struggle for media freedom in the region even harder. This is further complicated by Australia’s media freedom being also on a decline.

Consequently, Australia is no longer a press freedom role model for the Pacific. This year, Australia dropped five places to be rated at number 26 on the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index.

Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie says lack of media diversity in Australia is directly impacting on Australia’s poor press freedom rankings. He made comparisons to when press freedom began decreasing after the country’s media independence had been quite strong.

But then the first two military coups occurred in 1987.

Never known ‘truly free press’
“There is now a generation of journalists in Fiji who have never known what it’s like to have a truly free press,” said Dr Robie, who is also editor of Asia Pacific Report.

Here in Australia, it has become increasingly difficult for journalists to report on political issues. Laws have been introduced in recent years banning journalists from reporting on Australia’s refugee detention centres in Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, and also on Manus Island.

Australian law enforcement can probe into the identities of whistle-blowers and anonymous sources while seizing journalist’s documents and electronic devices.

The erosion of public interest journalism has left the Australian public with little understanding of what is happening in and around the Pacific Islands.

A survey by the International Federation of Journalists found nearly one in four journalists in countries including Australia, said accessing information from government or official sources was becoming more difficult.

The editor of Croakey Health Media, Dr Melissa Sweet, who has previously worked at AAP, knows this all too well, and said: “Nowadays you’ve got snowballs’ [little chance in hell] of getting people to talk to you, unless perhaps they are whistle blowers.

Tip of the iceberg
“Whistle blowers are really the tip of the iceberg in terms of who you need to communicate with to understand what’s going on in governments and organisations.

“I remember… back when I was at the AAP in the eighties, there were various meetings that I could go and report from and on that were open to the public that are now closed. Back in those days I had much better access, whether it was health ministers or health bureaucrats on all sorts of levels,” she recalls.

“People within government or bureaucracies have been unwilling to talk for a very long time. This has been a long-term trend.”

The declining plurality of the media in Australia has led to one of the most concentrated levels of media ownership in the world. Two parties own almost all privately owned media in Australia – Rupert Murdoch’s $16.3 billion dollar company, News Corp, and Nine Entertainment, which is run by a consortium created by company founders, the Packer family.

Prior to the purchase offer announcement, Murdoch’s News Corp, along with Nine Entertainment, were the two main shareholders of AAP, which has been described as the “Australian democracy safety net”.

The shareholders decided in March, that after 85 years in operation the country’s only national newswire service was no longer profitable and they announced plans for its closure on June 26 this year.

The Australian Journalism union, MEAA, blasted the shareholders’ decision, calling it “irresponsible,” “devastating” and “reckless.”

Worst time for Pacific media
The announcement could not have come at a worse time for media in the Pacific, where local media companies lack the clout to stand up to authoritarian governments. It is unknown what impact covid-19 will have on the region.

Recently, politicians and authorities in Fiji and Papua New Guinea have been accused of silencing criticism by sheltering behind emergency lockdown laws.

After the announcement in March, speculation arose about the reasons for the AAP closure. Kappelle, said she could not recall the exact words of chairman Campbell Reid. But when asked if the closure was because NewsCorp and Nine were tired of subsidising a breaking newswire service for their competitors, she answered, “That’s definitely the gist of it.”

The closure would certainly weaken competition from other news outlets. Murdoch, who has a personal fortune of $17.6 billion, has recently been accused of using the covid-19 crisis as an excuse to scrap regional newspaper titles within Australia.

Following the announcement, it was revealed that both NewsCorp and Nine had made plans to open their own breaking newswire services. However, both shareholders publicly blamed digital competitors Google and Facebook for the AAP’s demise.

Dr Sweet was devasted to hear of the proposed closure, saying it would impact on journalism globally. She explained it as a situation where people did not understand the current crisis facing many journalists and news outlets and that it was not only related to AAP, but to public interest journalism more broadly.

Vested interest reasons
“I guess as an industry we just haven’t done a very good job of explaining it and there’s vested interest reasons around that. No media outlet wants to say to you ‘we are going to hell in a hand basket’. They all want to keep trying to pretend that they are doing good journalism,” she explained.

“Whereas, the industry is obviously showing the strain of losing so many journalists, closing so many newsrooms, leaving so many communities under-served and under-covered.”

Prior to purchase offer announcement, Dr Sweet said it would be terrific if the people investing in the AAP newswire service weren’t just doing it because they wanted to make money, but so that journalism had a “public good model” that would fit with the history of AAP.

Professor Robie described continued coverage of regions such as Papua New Guinea, as vitally important, saying the country had “a treasure trove of dramatic and important stories.

“The security issues with the struggle of the Papuan people seeking independence are highly sensitive. Where the Australian media withdraws in the Pacific, Chinese media influences will take over.”

Jade Bradford is a student journalist at Curtin University in Western Australia. This article was first published in the journalism programme’s online newspaper Western Independent.

However, for the media sector, the virus is ironically creating both opportunities and challenges.

While mainstream media consumption has seen a massive increase since the start of the pandemic, the industry faces critical revenue challenges as advertising and sponsorship dollars disappear almost overnight.

Fijian Broadcasting Corporation chief executive Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says it is a situation that is effecting all media outlets.

LISTEN: FBC News audio clips

“It’s not only the Fijian Broadcasting Corporation, but all other media organizations are also facing very difficult times. Advertising is almost trickle down to nothing in some cases.”

“It’s not only the Fijian Broadcasting Corporation, but all other media organisations are also facing very difficult times. Advertising has almost trickled down to nothing in some cases.”

However, Sayed-Khaiyum says smaller marketing budgets are now pushing media outlets to create new ideas to help cushion the impact.

‘Ways and means’
“We have put together ways and means and ideas of putting a proposal to clients through which we will be able to attract more advertising. The public will go after the brands and the products that have kept on advertising throughout this covid-19 period and they will not pay attention to the once who have not been advertising because they have not been on top of people’s minds.”

Fiji Sun managing editor Rosi Doviverata says her newspaper staff are still coming to terms with a 20 percent salary reduction as the print business has also not been spared.

Go Advertising director Charles Wakeham says his agency is trying to be more understanding with clients.

“We just work with them and we welcome any cancellation that comes in and we just want to assure them be positive when this pandemic is over will start again.”

Meanwhile FBC chief executive Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says that with an increase in fake news on social media, more people are moving towards traditional media and this will eventually bring back the advertisers.

Apenisa Waqairadovu is a multimedia news journalist with FBC News.

Pacific governments across the region have put side their differences with media and are working alongside them in these difficult times, say New Zealand journalists covering Moana.

Most journalists who cover the Pacific come Pasifika backgrounds and have been pleasantly surprised by the change in attitude of governments.

“The Pacific is infamous for dodgy phone lines or elusive newsmakers but in this time of heightened alerts and information, for the most part countries/governments/authorities have been quite forthcoming about updating the Covid-19 situation,” says Koro Vaka’uta, a senior journalist with RNZ Pacific.

READ MORE: Al Jazeera coronavirus updates – Italy reports 812 deaths in one day

• Tahiti Covid-19 cases now up to 36
• Pacific Conference of Churches calls for ‘social distancing’
• Pacific Media Centre coronavirus updates
• Global coronavirus watch

“Funnily enough I haven’t noticed any higher degree of difficulty when it comes to contacting people than the norm.”

He is not alone in that assessment of regional governments being more co-operative with media.

Television New Zealand’s pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver, who has had her fair share of differences with Pacific governments over the years, says she has noticed a change in demeanour.

“I’ve found that governments have really stepped up with issuing regular media releases – sometimes Samoa issue several a day,” she says.

‘Huge change’
“It’s a huge change from normal media avoidance stand that many Pacific governments take.

“I believe it’s because there is a lot of inaccurate information and rumour driven by fear circulating on social media and governments are keen on getting as much accurate information out as quickly as possible to the public who they need to convince in some cases to adhere to measures put in place.”

TVNZ has partnered with Pasifika TV to deliver weekday daily Covid-19 Pacific Updates for the region.

“That is playing out on television stations across the Pacific, Facebook and One News Now Online. It is fortunate that Pasifika TV launched its free service to the Pacific last year as that has been a powerful tool in delivering to the region as a New Zealand government initiative,” she says.

RNZ Pacific manager Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor could not be more complimentary about her staff and how they have handled the pandemic.

“My team have been incredible – while under pressure they have come up with new ways to put content online and on air,” she says.

“Their biggest worry during the lead up to the lockdown was that we wouldn’t be able to deliver news bulletins or update our website from off-site.

Pasifika backgrounds
“Many RNZP staff members, including myself, are from Pasifika backgrounds. We know how important it is to get accurate information to our people.”

She says most of her staff are working remotely from home.

“As far as RNZ Pacific goes, currently all our staff are working offsite, for their own safety,” Tuilaepa-Taylor says.

“However, this has not affected our ability to compile bulletins. Our staff are in constant contact with each other via email and other digital methods.  Staff members are using a combination of phones and laptops to maintain contact, and record interviews.”

Vaka’uta says the strength of RNZ’s contacts through the Pacific has stood the organisation in good stead.

“We are fortunate to have a strong network of existing correspondents across the region who have provided updates throughout the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic. This means it hasn’t been an issue trying to get other voices on the ground,” he says.

“We are predominately using email and phone to keep in touch with our correspondents who send articles and accompanying images and also provide audio commentary of the situation on the ground at times.

Team spirits high
“The team’s spirits are relatively high, given the circumstances.

“Perhaps it is the novelty of the situation, but everyone seems to be highly focussed at disseminating as much accurate information as possible no matter the technical challenges.”

For Dreaver, it has brought new challenges of how she does her work, she relies mainly on social media because it is widely used in the Pacific.

However, she admits to being worried about exposure to Covid-19.

”As a reporter working on the ground in a Covid-19 situation we have strict guidelines and instructions to keep us all as safe as possible,” she says.

“We have divided into two teams and we cannot ever mix with anyone in the opposite team. We have masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and when we go to interview people, we set up a microphone outside their house and then move several metres back when we do the interview.

“We do interviews by Skype, Facebook messenger etc. We rely on footage people shoot on their phones.

Staying safe
“We do everything possible to stay safe we are extremely careful, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about getting infected.

“But I have a sometimes overwhelming responsibility to my Pasifika community who sometimes can be invisible in New Zealand to ensure their stories are being told that they have a voice in these grim times.”

Meanwhile, RNZ has had to trim its offerings to the Pacific but the good news was its shortwave service was still operational.

“The technical operations of the shortwave service are still maintained by a couple of key staff,” RNZ’s Pacific manager Tuilaepa-Taylor says.

“The lockdown has made it necessary to scale back some of our operations. We have temporarily ceased production on our Dateline Pacific, Tangata O Te Moana, Dateline Nights and the World in Sport programmes.  We will not resume producing these programmes, at least until the lockdown has ended,” she says.

“Essentially, our content continues to go out on air and online.”

Dreaver says she finds Facebook works best for the Pacific region.

Social media best way
“As a reporter, social media, especially Facebook, is the best way of getting stories and information out to the pacific and helping people connect with friends and family,” she says.

“But Facebook can also be a hindrance to reporters because of the hugely inaccurate information floating around. As countries go into lockdown everyone becomes a keyboard warrior with opinion and self-belief, they are right and reporters who are reporting facts are wrong.

“It’s never been this crucial to be absolutely factual and not buy in to fear or unsubstantiated rumour.

“I have found Facebook useful for connecting with grassroots and personal stories, but great care needs to be taken.”

For John Pulu of Tagata Pasifika he has discovered the joys of using Zoom.

“We are doing everything via Zoom. Star [Kata] has been doing a few interviews on Zoom and recording them and sending them to our editor.

“For me, it’s just making sure the other person has the correct technology, phone with camera etc. I really like Zoom because you can record. Once you are connected you are good to go.”

Pacific Island Times Yap-based correspondent Joyce McClure won’t be kicked off the island as “persona non grata” as demanded by a body of traditional chiefs there.

And questions are being raised about the legitimacy of the letter conveying the chiefly demands to the Yap State Legislature and then on to the Federated States of Micronesia Congress.

On March 29, a letter was hand delivered to Vincent Figir, former governor and current Speaker of the Yap State Legislature, by the Council of Pilung, one of two councils in Yap whose members are traditional chiefs.

READ MORE: Pacific Media Watch’s earlier report on the Yap saga

The council has 10 members, one for each municipality in the four contiguous islands that make up the mainland and is charged in the state constitution with performing “functions which concern tradition and custom”.

Signed by nine of the 10 members, the letter called for the Speaker’s support in “requesting to the FSM Congress the granting of a persona non grata against this particular American citizen”. The citizen, a resident of Yap for nearly three years, is Joyce McClure, a marketing consultant and freelance writer who provides news and travel articles about Yap to the Pacific Island Times and other regional and international media.

A list of reasons was headed “Unethical Journalistic Behaviour.”

Similar letters were delivered to Yap Governor Henry Falan and Yap State Congressman Joseph Urusemal.

Facebook triggered media reports
The letter was posted on Facebook the following week and picked up by media from Guam, Australia and New Zealand, all of which called for freedom of the press and supported McClure.

Comments to the Facebook post also supported McClure and some called for the elimination of the COP or, at a minimum, that their attention be concentrated on “culture and traditions” as the law states.

Speaker Figir sent the letter to Senator Theodore Rutun who chairs the Committee for Government Health and Welfare and it, in turn, decided to submit it to the Council of the Whole which is comprised of the state’s ten senators meeting under relaxed rules.

On April 30, the COW met to discuss the letter and determine what, if anything should be done with it.

The COW found that the request from the council asking for the Legislature’s support was out of line and that they have no jurisdiction over the subject matter.

The accusations, they determined, had no basis in the first place. It was also noted that different font sizes and typefaces were used in the letter, indicating a high probability of plagiarism.

Journalist saddened
A member of the COW was appointed to respectively convey the message of its rejection back to the chiefs.

“It is with great humbleness and gratitude that I thank the committee for their decision,” said McClure upon hearing the news. “But I am saddened that the council was embarrassed by the letter.

“It is reported by several people who hold positions of high authority within the legislative and administrative branches of the Yap state government that the council was used by others who, remaining in the shadows, wrote the letter and got the council members to sign it.

“I hope the council brings them to task for their unconscionable actions that publicly embarrassed the many wonderful people of Yap whom I consider my friends, neighbors and family.”

This article was originally published by the Pacific Island Times on 1 May 2019 and is republished here with permission.

Some of Joyce McClure’s articles:

• China lavishes ‘sports diplomacy’ money on Yap
• Yap is having serious second thoughts about Chinese tourism
• Chinese target Yap fish with local help