Pacific Journalism Review (Pacific Media Centre, School of Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology)
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REVIEW: The brutally honest Orator: Review of The Orator (O Le Tulafale), written and directed by Tusi Tamasese
No full textReview of The Orator (O Le Tulafale), written and directed by Tusi Tamasese. Apia: Samoa, 2011. 1hr 50min. theoratorfilm.co.nz‘You know why women don’t want to be Orators, because they don’t want to show their breasts in public.’ This is how Samoan High Chief Tagaloa spoke, squinting through his leathery brown skin framed by a light trim of siga (white hair) as he spoke to Saili, the main actor in the feature film The Orator. When this was said, my 8-year-old nephew Barry Uelese Sapatu nudged me in the Magik Cinema in Apia and said: ‘But aunty, Grandma is an orator, and she doesn’t show her breasts in public, or does she?
Who guards the guardians?
Get PDFThe United Kingdom’s Leveson Inquiry has been the hottest free show in town since it began taking evidence in November 2011 until the first phase of the Inquiry concluded on 24 July 2012. During that time, the general public has been exposed to a tsunami of information from the great and the good in Britain, which raised questions not only about journalism practices and ethics but the separation of powers and the rule of law. The importance to any democracy of an independent judiciary cannot be overestimated. Sir Brian Leveson began the inquiry by posing the question: Who guards the guardians? He stressed that the concept of the freedom of the press was a fundamental part of any democracy and that he had no desire to stifle freedom of speech in Britain. This article reflects on missed opportunities and considers the future for press regulation in Britain. It also makes the point that irrespective of whatever new regime is established, it is time for proprietors, editors and journalists to stand up for responsible, public interest journalism and only then will there be an outside chance that the public’s faith in mainstream journalism will be restored
REVIEW: Manipulation that we now take for granted
No full textIt cannot have been a coincidence that the bombs and missiles that rained down on Baghdad at the beginning of the American invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003 fell just where the world’s television cameras could capture the resulting explosions. President Bush had promised shock and awe and there it was, carefully designed to look as spectacular as possible for the journalists beaming pictures and descriptions from the Palestine Hotel. It was a deliberate piece of media manipulation intended to remind the Arab states, Pakistan and Afghanistan, of American military might
REVIEW: Journalism at the community media level
No full textReview of Foundations of Community Journalism, edited by Bill Reader and John A. Hatcher. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2012, 283 pp. ISBN: 9781412974660 (pbk)This publication adds to a growing body of scholarly work currently being undertaken in the subfield of journalism and mass communication studies known as community media or alternative media. At first glance, the book appears to present a largely American perspective in its coverage of community journalism, but further reading assures one that the editors have fostered an approach that has universal relevance. The term community journalism is broadly defined as ‘journalism at the community level’. While the origins of community journalism in the United States is strongly linked to small-town newspapers, the practice has expanded in the 21st century as the notion of community itself has evolved from its link to geographical ties towards the emergence of global communities linked by ethnicity, religion, culture and interests. This deterritorialisation of community newspapers is demonstrated in the Pacific through the work of Tongan-born publisher Kalafi Moala, who prints weekly editions of Taimi ‘o Tonga for distribution to diaspora Tongan communities in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. With the changing conception of community journalism, it has become necessary to study this subfield within broader theoretical approaches, as the editors of this volume reflect in the book’s preface, ‘to prepare the next generation of scholars for a media environment in which community journalism no longer operates in the shadow of “big J” journalism.’ At the end of each chapter the volume includes reflective contributions from scholars and practitioners who bring valuable insights towards enabling a greater theoretical understanding of the field
Why the market can’t ensure a free press
Get PDFWhen Australia’s Independent Media Inquiry headed by ex-judge Ray Finkelstein released its report on the Australian media in February 2012, if you had been following the media discussion since then, one could not be blamed for thinking that Finkelstein wanted to create a state super cop which would seize control of the media, impose new standards on journalists, dragging every blogger and tweeter into its net. Some media have accused the inquiry report of being ‘leftist’, academic and beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. Part of the media’s job is to explain to the public what is in reports they do not have time to read so they can decide what they think. This commentary was an attempt to do that published by the independent New Matilda online magazine
Self-regulation as a tool for ensuring media accountability: The Kenyan experience
Get PDFThis article examines self-regulation as a mechanism of media accountability in Kenya. It is based on a study that explored the role of the Media Council of Kenya in self-regulation and the challenges it faces in performing this role. Data came from indepth interviews, document reviews and direct observation. Through effective institutional mechanisms, self-regulation is the preferred system of promoting ethical standards in the media in Kenya. However, the system is currently beset by a myriad challenges, among them lack of commitment by the media industry and a crisis of confidence in its ability to rein in errant media
REVIEW: Climate change, media, culture and the arts
No full textI approached this special edition of Dreadlocks with caution and apprehension. I saw two interpretations for the title: did it mean embracing science with creative political decisions for change, or did it mean using creativity through the arts as a symbol for approaching climate change? There is little hard science in these published papers, although there is a view from Richard Dawkins that makes an iconic appearance in a paper by Briar Wood from London Metropolitan University. This emphasises the Dawkins view that scientists must reach out to ‘…for want of a better word, poets’ and that there is a mismatch between science and the metaphorical language used to describe the real world. Improving communication and understanding is a good point to make, although where does climate science meet the arts
REVIEW: Gossanna cave siege tragic tale of betrayal
No full textReview of: Rebellion [l’Ordre at la morale], directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Nord-Ouest Films, 2012 [English version]. 136min. www. lordreetlamorale-lefilm.comWhen the headlines hit France in April 1988 about the critical turning point in ‘les évènements’ down under in New Caledonia, maverick filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz was just 18. He remembers the gritty images of the Gossanna cave siege on television. Indigenous Kanaks were reported to have massacred a quartet of gendarmes with machetes and shotguns and taken 27 others hostage (three others were captured later). There were also false reports of alleged decapitations and rape on Ouvéa in the remote Loyalty Islands
FRONTLINE: Background to 'Sulphate Sunrise' - investigating New Caledonia
No full textReporting on Vale SA, the Brazilian-based world’s second-largest nickel producer which aims to start production soon at its US$4.5 billion Goro refinery project in New Caledonia, represents a good example of the need to dedicate time building contacts on the ground and speaking to a variety of sources. This article examines a Global Mail investigation into an environmental issue that is complex from a scientific and technological point of view, but is further complicated by the multiple social, ethical, and spiritual perspectives linked to it. The mine is deeply embedded in a specific local political, economical and social framework—that of decolonisation and questions over legitimacy of power (Horowitz 2009, p. 249; van Vuuren 2008, p. 74). In terms of sources, a French environmentalist will have a radically different perspective to the environment to that of an indigenous Kanak, for whom land is first and foremost the source of identity and dignity. Views within the Kanak community also diverge
REVIEW: Everybody's uncle
No full textReview of: Scrim – the man with a mike, by William Renwick. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2011, 308 pp. ISBN 978-0864736956Biography is currently one of the most popular literary genres but New Zealand writers seem to choose their subjects from quite a narrow range of sportsmen and military figures. Few have chosen to write about historic media individuals. The last one I recall was Facing the Music: Charles Baeyertz and the Triad, by Joanna Woods (2008).Renwick sets out to put the record straight on some of the myths surrrounding this controversial broadcaster, a methodist minister, whose Friendly Road sessions on provate radio 1ZR in the 1930s made him one of the most popular men in the country.