Pacific Journalism Review (Pacific Media Centre, School of Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology)
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Complacent media fails debate over ‘empire’ wars
Get PDFReviewed book by Nicky Hager
Publication date: October, 2011
Nicky Hager's main charge in Other People’s Wars is that New Zealand’s defence and foreign affairs establishment has developed a culture where some senior officers ‘wanted to obey the government only when they agreed with it’, and otherwise ‘quietly undermined’ its policies and decisions. They believed they could ‘go to war without telling the public most of what they did’—and Hager provides convincing evidence that, for most of the last decade, they have been successful
US failures in strategy and the ‘CNN effect’
Get PDFReviewed book by Robert G. Patman
Publication date: October, 2011
In this short, but interesting book, Robert Patman argues that US policy failures in the lead up to and aftermath of the October 1993 ‘Blackhawk Down’ incident in Mogadishu facilitated the conditions for the terrorist attacks on the US mainland in 2001. The thesis that the US merely reaped the bad fruit of its foreign policy on 9/11 is not new, but Patman’s approach is
Media—a destructive or constructive force in Pacific peace and development
Get PDFCommentary: How the media message is conveyed creates either a destructive or a constructive force in peace and development. The power of the media essentially depends on its primary purpose. There is a pronounced convention regarding the purpose of media—for those who believe media must have a purpose. But the purpose of any particular media is dependent on what is designed or set up by the ownership, which is why media ownership is an important issue in the Pacific region today. Those who own the media is ultimately responsible for its performance
Mental illness, journalism investigation and the law in Australia and New Zealand
Get PDFMental illness, its terminologies, definitions, voluntary and compulsory treatment regimes, and its interface with the criminal justice system are defined and regulated remarkably differently across the 10 Australian and New Zealand jurisdictions. This presents a legislative and policy nightmare for the investigative journalist attempting to explain the workings of the mental health system or follow a case, particularly if the individual’s life has taken them across state or national borders. This article considers the extent to which legal restrictions on identification and reportage of mental health cases in Australia and New Zealand inhibit the pursuit of ‘bloodhound journalism’—the persistent pursuit of a societal problem and those responsible for it. It recommends the development of resources assisting journalists to navigate the various mental health regulatory regimes. It also calls for the opening of courts and tribunals to greater scrutiny so that the public can be better educated about the people affected by mental illness and the processes involved in dealing with them, and better informed about the decisions that deprive their fellow citizens of their liberty
Media skills for daily life: Designing a journalism programme for graduates of all disciplines
Get PDFThis article in the journalism education field reports on the construction of a new subject as part of a postgraduate coursework degree. The subject, or unit will offer both Journalism students and other students an introductory experience of creating media, using common ‘new media’ tools, with exercises that will model the learning of communication principles through practice. It has been named ‘Fundamental Media Skills for the Workplace’. The conceptualisation and teaching of it will be characteristic of the Journalism academic discipline that uses the ‘inside perspective’—understanding mass media by observing from within. Proposers for the unit within the Journalism discipline have sought to extend the common teaching approach, based on training to produce start-ready recruits for media jobs, backed by a study of contexts, e.g. journalistic ethics, or media audiences. In this proposal, students would then examine the process to elicit additional knowledge about their learning. The article draws on literature of journalism and its pedagogy, and on communication generally. It also documents a ‘community of practice’ exercise conducted among practitioners as teachers for the subject, developing exercises and models of media work. A preliminary conclusion from that exercise is that it has taken a step towards enhancing skills-based learning for media work
‘Teacher! Teacher! I want “A”, teacher!’
Get PDFThis article broadly examines the teaching of journalism and media studies in the countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council and focuses specifically on the authors’ experiences of teaching these subject areas in the Colleges of Applied Science in Oman. Written partly in response to O’Rourke and Belushi (2010) and drawing on earlier work by Quinn (2001) and Al Hasani (2006), the paper addresses a number of broader questions about journalism and media education in the GCC countries. It asks whether the use of English as a language of instruction is sustainable in countries like Oman and whether its use is based on considerations of practicality or because of its perceived prestige. The article draws on debates about higher education language policy and questions about the viability of teaching ‘Western-style’ journalism in non-democratic societies raised by Josephi (2010) and others. The article argues that higher education policies which affect journalism and media education too often appear to be based on ideas about what will make the country look good or ‘modern’ while ignoring what might be its actual needs. The article argues that in some cases English language education in these subjects is not viable in its current form and that students themselves see the role of journalism in an utterly different light to that of their ‘Western’ or ‘Western’-educated instructors
Western media ‘elite’models challenged by PNG research
Get PDFReviewed book edited by Evangelia Papoutsaki, Michael McManus and Patrick Matbob
Publication date: October, 2011
More than 20 authors have been included in Communication, Culture and Society in Papua New Guinea: Yu Tok Wanem? This should surely be the book of the month on media in the Pacific. The editors have divided the book into four themes focusing on: mainstream media issues; social issues; information gaps and development issues, and the search for solutions. A glance at the mini-profiles of the authors show that many come from a range of PNG backgrounds, including the Highlands, Bougainville, New Ireland, Manus and East New Britain. Also represented in the book are well-known media academics from New Zealand and Australia
Searching for home: Explorations in new media and the Burmese diaspora in New Zealand
Get PDFThis study examines the place of new media in the maintance of Burmese diasporic identities. Political oppression in Burma, the experience of exile and the importance of opposition movements in the borderlands make the Burmese diaspora a unique and complex group. This study uses tapoetethakot, an indigenous Karen research methodology, to explore aspects of new media use and identity among a group of Burmese refugees in Auckland, New Zealand. Common among all participants was a twin desire to share stories of suffering and to have that pain recognised. Participants in this project try to maintain their language and cultural practices, with the intent of returning to a democratic Burma in the future. New media supports this, by providing participants with access to opposition news reports of human rights abuses and suffering; through making cultural and linguistic artifacts accessible, and through providing an easy means of communication with friends and family in Burma and the borderlands
Journalists and aid workers – an ambivalent relationship
Get PDFCommentary: The relationship between the news media and humanitarians remains extremely important as both play a key role in terms of shaping of what we know and how we experience armed conflicts of which most of us have no first-hand knowledge. By shaping public perceptions, these two actors also influence the actions taken by governments and the international community to put an end to or alleviate the suffering caused by wars. Yet, as this keynote address at the Reporting Wars conferences in Sydney and Wellington in May 2009 seeks to explain, there is nothing automatic about this process
Responsible media: Learning to survive the world’s difficult, remote and hostile environments
Get PDFWhat should be considered ‘adequate’ preparation and support for journalists and media workers in difficult, remote and hostile environments? One would assume there would be numerous sources of feedback and contributions measuring the suitability of the training, as well as providing information regarding what improvements are necessary to ensure journalists are provided the best possible pre-deployment preparation. However, after working and observing developments in this area over several years, three main issues have presented themselves. First, there is little investigation or analysis being conducted into these training programmes. Second, there are few independent organisations working to standardise the training and support provided to journalists. Finally, the extent of training and support to the local correspondents, fixers and stringers in developing countries, that most international media organisation depend on in these locations, has become an unfortunate casualty of shrinking international news budgets