Pacific Journalism Review (Pacific Media Centre, School of Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology)
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A case for Fiji’s grassroots citizenry and media to be better informed, engaged for democracy
Get PDFDemocracy in Fiji has been top-down where primarily the middle class and the wealthy elite have understood its true merits and values. Politicians, professionals, academics and civil society organisations, rather than the grassroots population, have been at the forefront of advocating against coups. Democracy was described as a ‘foreign flower’ by ethno-nationalists for two decades. Some critics see it as having failed to work properly in Fiji because a lack of infrastructure and development means grassroots people are not sufficiently informed to make critical decisions and hold leaders accountable. This, and a lack of unity, led to a failure of widespread protests against coups. Civil society, political activists and individuals were isolated in their struggle against coups. The media has been a key player in anti-coup protests as it relayed information that enabled networking and partnership. Media censorship since April 2009 has restricted their role and violated citizens’ Right to Information. This article argues that for democracy to work, the infrastructure and communications technology needs to reach the masses so people are adequately informed through an uncensored media
Action-packed travel? Yes. But analysis? Forget it.: Review of Swimming with Sharks: Tales from the South Pacific frontline, by Michael Field
No full textIn journalism, combining investigative reporting with autobiography at a substantial level of proficiency can be extremely difficult. Along with intelligence, tenacity and a highly developed ‘nose for news’, the ability to recognise your own relative unimportance in almost every situation being reported upon is critical. Unfortunately this collection of stories inverts what should be every journalist’s priorities. What might have been an informative account of events in the South Pacific over the last few decades instead becomes a disappointing, disjointed list of the experiences of one well-travelled storyteller
‘Embedded journalism’: Some NZ military perspectives
Get PDFCommentary: On 22 May 2009, Massey University’s Wellington campus hosted a conference on war reporting. Jointly organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Massey’s Department of Communication, Journalism and Marketing, the conference was attended and contributed to by senior international and national news media as well as humanitarian, legal and military representatives. This commentary is drawn from presentations by two military officers, management head Colonel Martin Dransfield and Director of Defence Communications Shaun Fogart
The Pacific right to know in the Digital Age
Get PDFCommentary: The explosion of mobile telephony in some islands of the South Pacific has literally connected our peoples to the rest of the world and opened up access to a wide variety of information. While there are some who view this expansion as a huge threat to the traditional media, the ongoing development and expansion of this technology presents the traditional media with enormous opportunities to reach a wider audience at basically little cost. But of course there is also a financial cost to the consumer, which in the case of the South Pacific can be a significant issue
'Flickers of peace' enter the media ethics agenda: Review of Peace Journalism: War and Conflict Resolution, edited by Richard Lance Keeble, John Tulloch and Florian Zollman
No full textThe book draws on the work by academics, international writers, journalists, theorists and campaigners. Commentary on the reporting of conflict includes Afghanistan, the Balkans, Cyprus, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kosovo, Palestine, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka. 
Invaluable history amid cultural struggles: Review of Changing stations: The story of Australian commercial radio, by Bridget Griffen-Foley
No full textWhile the first section of the book focuses on the battles over regulation of the initially scarce spectrum is informative, it is the second and largest part of the book dealing with programmes and the characters that brought them to life which really shines. It is the innumerable stories that Griffen-Foley has woven cleverly into her narrative that the real cultural worth of commercial radio is apparent. 
Editorial: The ongoing challenges
Get PDFThe notion that the war correspondents of today are essentially the same as their colleagues of, say the Vietnam war of more than four decades ago—but now armed with laptops, satellite dishes and digital cameras—is a fallacy. Australian author and media educator Tony Maniaty reminds us thus in this edition of Pacific Journalism Review. He writes:
There are notable exceptions—people who operate with vigorous independence from all authority and control—but these are rare: The emergence of a media-military complex, in which journalists are heavily integrated into the fighting machine and into the coverage of one perspective only of war, has fundamentally changed the nature of the business (p. 36
COP 15 and Pacific Island states: A collective voice on climate change
Get PDFCommentary: Pacific Island states battled to have their perspectives taken into account at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. Though widely accepted as being among the first victims of climate change, most developed countries, along with some emerging economies, put their own geopolitical interests ahead of what Pacific leaders argued was their right to survival as viable nations and cultures. The Pacific Island states negotiated collectively for shared goals, with Tuvalu often taking a leadership role. Australia and New Zealand, meanwhile, pursued strategies at marked odds with their smaller neighbours. Papua New Guinea broke ranks with other island nations, concentrating overwhelmingly on forestry negotiations to the exclusion of other common objectives. The PNG delegation also pushed to weaken the safeguarding of indigenous rights in the draft text on forestry. Much of the civil society present in Copenhagen, however, gave vocal support for the position taken by the Pacific Island states. This article is based largely on interviews with delegates and commentators at COP 15 in December 2009
Freedom of information – Challenges and the way forward
Get PDFCommentary: While the media has demonstrated that it can cover global and governance issues, it neglects the potential to be a responsible partner, especially in developing countries such as Papua New Guinea and to an extent the Pacific. However, this partnership can be strengthened with the media industry and government departments and agencies working to improve their ability to work with each to achieve social, economical and political mileage. Freedom of information and a free media is about upholding the freedom we currently enjoy in a democratic society, as it is about our freedom to express ourselves and be informed appropriately and responsibly
Pacific freedom of the press: Case studies in independent campus-based media models
Get PDFSouth Pacific university-based journalism school publications were innovative newspaper publishers from 1975 onwards and among early pioneers of online publishing in the mid-1990s. Several publications have become established long-term with viable economic models and have had an impact on Oceania’s regional independent publishing. All have been advocates of a free press and freedom of expression under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Among early trendsetters were Uni Tavur, Liklik Diwai in Papua New Guinea, and Wansolwara and Pacific Journalism Online in Fiji. Wansolwara and its online edition was also the flagbearer for independent publishing under the pressure of two coups d’état in 2000 and 2006 in Fiji. All newspapers have contended with censorship in various forms. Now Wansolwara has embarked on a publishing partnership with a leading post-coup Fiji daily newspaper. This article analyses the independent media published by communication studies educational programmes in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. It examines how a variety of niche publishing formula have boosted independent coverage and issues-based journalism on wide-ranging topics such as human rights, news media facing censorship and freedom of information